The richest pollute the most according to Oxfam
10:04
Only 1 percent of the richest people in the world emit more carbon dioxide than 66 percent of the poorest. This, in turn, destroys vulnerable communities and undermines global efforts to save the planet. The Guardian newspaper wrote about the matter on Monday, citing a report by Oxfam. It is a global humanitarian organization that fights hunger and poverty.
According to this comprehensive study, a group of people consisting of billionaires, millionaires, and people earning more than $140,000 a year accounted for 16 percent of carbon dioxide emissions in 2019. That's enough to cause over 1 million deaths from heat, according to the report, the Guardian reports.
It was calculated that 1 percent of the richest part of the population emitted 5.9 billion tons of carbon dioxide in 2019. The "mortality cost" formula states that for every million tons of CO2, there are 226 deaths. Therefore, the emissions of 1 percent of the richest, or the "polluting elite," are enough to cause heat-related deaths of over 1.3 million people in the coming decades.
