Oxfam Intermón has tied the emissions of the super-rich to a higher degree of climate accountability and has warned that major investors are involved in both the dirtiest industries and in the rebuilding businesses that follow disasters.
The burden of the climate crisis and the resources required to endure it is distributed extremely unevenly. The 0.1% of the planet’s wealthiest, the super-rich, generate staggering amounts of carbon emissions: eight million people in this top tier pollute more than the 3.5 billion individuals who are the poorest on the planet.
The pre-COP31 report on super-rich emissions combines inequality data with climate attribution models. According to these calculations, a person in that group contributes almost 400 times more to the current heatwaves than anyone in the half of humanity that is poorer.
The report also highlights the business behind recovery. The «Destroy and Rebuild» index pinpoints 217 companies active in both sectors that contribute to the worsening of the climate crisis and in the preparation, response, and reconstruction after disasters. And when it comes to the most vulnerable, they are hardly protected by anyone.
The emissions of the super-rich make them more responsible for the climate crisis
The world’s top 0.1% (8 million people) produce more carbon emissions than the 3.5 billion people who are the poorest combined, according to a new analysis by Oxfam Intermón. Published ahead of the UN climate summit COP31, held in Turkey, the report shows how the super-rich are aggravating the climate crisis with their outsized emissions, while shielding themselves from its consequences and, increasingly, profiting from the destruction.
An individual in the top 0.1% has contributed nearly 400 times more to today’s extreme heat waves than someone in the world’s lower half. Collectively, this small group accounts for more than triple the carbon emissions of the entire Sub-Saharan Africa population (1.3 billion people).
“Those who contributed least to causing the climate crisis are losing their homes, their crops and their lives. Meanwhile, the super-rich can shield themselves from its impacts while benefiting from the consequences of their emissions and profit from reconstruction. In the climate crisis, we are not all in the same boat,” says Sofía del Valle, Head of Climate Justice at Oxfam Intermón.
Conclusions about the emissions of the super-rich
Oxfam Intermón has combined data on inequality in carbon emissions with advanced climate attribution models and has arrived at the following conclusions:
- The top 1% is responsible for 20% of global warming since 1990. Per person, their contribution is 100 times greater than that of someone in the lower half of humanity.
- One year’s emissions from the top 1% will cause 1.9 million additional heat-related deaths. Seventy-eight percent will occur in low- and lower-middle-income countries, even though these nations account for only 8% of global emissions.
- The emissions of the top 1% will cause damages worth almost $53 trillion by 2050.
Private aviation, accessible only to the wealthiest, is one of the clearest examples of the stark inequality and the problem of the emissions of the super-rich. The new Oxfam Intermón analysis, based on tracking data of private aircraft, shows that in just two seconds the total private-jet fleet emits more carbon than a person in the lower half of humanity would in an entire year.
Although the super-rich bear a disproportionate share of carbon emissions, the least-polluting population suffers the worst consequences of floods, fires and famines. The super-rich can shield themselves with private insurance and homes in safer, cooler locations.
For many others, climate disasters mean losing their homes, crops, savings, or livelihoods. These losses leave them even more exposed to the next disaster and amplify the inequalities that already made them far more vulnerable. By 2050, up to 1 billion people (about 10% of the global population) could be displaced by the climate crisis, most of them in the Global South.
In Spain, extreme weather events, such as heat waves, fires and floods, are becoming more intense and frequent. As the two-year anniversary of the DANA (Destructive Rainfall Event) passes, which left a devastating mark on more than a hundred Valencian municipalities, Oxfam Intermón reminds that its aftermath clearly showed the unequal impact of the climate crisis.
Remember that households with fewer resources, women, older people and migrant communities bore the brunt of its consequences. They are also the ones with fewer resources and institutional support and the ones who take the longest to recover from such impacts anywhere in the world, including Spain.
Oxfam Intermón’s report also shows that climate disasters have become an increasingly lucrative business. The global post-disaster recovery market is expected to rise from $70 billion to $92 billion annually by 2029 and to be in the hands of many super-rich individuals.
A new index: Destroy & Rebuild
The new index “Destroy & Rebuild” (in Spanish, “Destruir y Reconstruir”) identifies 217 companies with activity in both sectors that contribute to the climate crisis and in the planning, recovery and reconstruction after disasters. BlackRock and Vanguard invest in 92% of the companies listed in the index. Their combined investments exceed one trillion dollars.
The report also warns that climate disasters are increasingly used to push policies that worsen inequality, such as privatizing climate action and public services, land grabbing, deregulation, and tax breaks for the wealthy. The result is a vicious circle of injustice: flood deaths are seven times higher in the most unequal countries.
“The super-rich are polluting the planet and the rest of us bear the consequences,” says Del Valle. “They profit from the pollution and from the disaster.”
What does Oxfam call for ahead of COP31?
Oxfam Intermón urges the governments gathered at COP31 to:
- Make the polluters pay in order to cut their carbon emissions significantly and swiftly, among other steps, via a permanent tax on fossil fuel companies and permanent taxes on wealth and income, as well as on luxury items with high emissions such as private jets.
- Substantially increase climate finance for the Global South, prioritizing grant-based public funding over debt-creating loans. The amount allocated to adaptation should triple by 2035.
- Radically reduce inequality within and between countries, through climate-resilient infrastructure and public services.
- End the speculation around climate disasters. Governments must curb the excessive power of large corporations and ensure that emergency response and reconstruction prioritize people’s needs over corporate profits.
With an eye on the 29F elections in Spain
In Spain, ahead of the upcoming general elections, Oxfam Intermón urges all political forces to embed climate justice in their commitments for the next legislature. Among its proposals, the following stand out:
- Promote an ambitious climate adaptation policy in Spain, aimed at protecting the most vulnerable and reducing inequalities.
- Implement a tax on extraordinary profits of fossil fuel companies, to disincentivize emissions and generate resources to strengthen public finances and services, supporting households most affected by climate change and rising living costs.
Aid or business?
Recovery also depends on how quickly aid arrives. Two households may suffer similar damage, but the one with savings can pay for temporary housing or basic repairs while the other waits or goes into debt, which multiplies their vulnerability.
Hence, a response aimed at reducing inequality should take into account each family’s available resources, in addition to material losses. Providing advances and making procedures more accessible would help prevent a climate emergency from turning into a long-lasting economic crisis and a business that fuels the emissions of the super-rich.
