Wednesday

6th Dec 2023

Richest 10 percent in EU emit as much CO2 as poorest half

  • 'With the policies we currently have in place, we are heading for 3.2 degrees of global warming by the end of the century. This will result in disaster', climate activist Greta Thunberg commented on the report (Photo: Unsplash)
Listen to article

The richest 10 percent of European citizens were responsible for the same carbon pollution as half of Europe's poorest people in 2019, according to a new Oxfam report published on Monday (20 November).

For the EU's top one percent, their emissions are even more worrying.

Read and decide

Join EUobserver today

Become an expert on Europe

Get instant access to all articles — and 20 years of archives. 14-day free trial.

... or subscribe as a group

  • 'Europe's wealthiest are also Europe's biggest polluters. Their increasingly luxurious lifestyles and escalating opulence are wreaking havoc on our planet,' Oxfam's tax expert Chiara Putaturo said (Photo: Unsplash)

Oxfam's new report, Climate Equality: A Planet for the 99 Percent, shows that a person in the richest one percent produces on average 14 times more emissions than the bottom 50 percent of Europeans.

What's more, their carbon emissions in 2019 are enough to cause 1.3 million heat-related deaths, and are set to be 22 times higher than the level compatible with the Paris Agreement's 1.5 °C target in 2030.

In comparison, it is estimated that the emissions of the poorest half of the world's population will remain at a fifth of the level compatible with 1.5 °C.

These figures come just ahead of the UN climate summit in Dubai (30 November-12 December), where world leaders will fly in to discuss how to limit and prepare for future climate change.

"Europe's wealthiest are also Europe's biggest polluters. Their increasingly luxurious lifestyles and escalating opulence are wreaking havoc on our planet," Oxfam's tax expert Chiara Putaturo said.

Meanwhile, the poorest are suffering the most. More than nine-out-of-ten of the deaths caused by climate and weather-related disasters over the past 50 years have occurred in low-income countries, the UN points out.

"With the policies we currently have in place, we are heading for 3.2 degrees of global warming by the end of the century. This will result in disaster," climate activist Greta Thunberg commented on the report.

Another study calculated that the death toll from floods is seven times higher in the most unequal countries than in the more equal ones.

Inequality and climate change are not two separate crises, the Oxfam report stresses.

There's already evidence that economic inequality between countries is 25 percent higher than it would be in a world free of global warming.

Moreover, fossil fuel companies continue to be at the heart of the climate crisis, with research showing that 70 per cent of industrial carbon emissions since 1998 have come from just 100 oil, coal and gas companies.

In the current context, saving the planet will not happen without a huge shift towards a greener economy — and a huge amount of investment, both inside and outside the EU.

"We need a European wealth tax. There are billions of euros at stake to invest in fighting poverty, inequality, and the climate crisis," said Putaturo.

Oxfam has calculated that an annual wealth tax of up to five percent on Europe's billionaires could raise nearly €250bn a year.

A European citizens' initiative is currently gathering one million signatures to call on the EU to introduce a wealth tax on the very rich to fund a green and social transition.

But even if they get this support, there is no guarantee that the EU Commission will respond with a legislative proposal.

Opinion

The EU industrial emissions directive vs livestock industry showdown

The European Commission has proposed rules to address widespread air, water and soil pollution from large-scale animal rearing, but livestock lobbies and their political allies are fighting to uphold this destructive — and costly — status quo.

Analysis

Europe's summer wildfires: the lessons to be learnt

This summer's wildfires have dominated headlines, featuring pictures of helicopters flying overhead and tourists fleeing — but what lessons have experts drawn? They are calling for the need to manage forests and vegetation, and create more forest firebreaks.

EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors

The EU Commission reformed procurement directives to make bids more attractive (and competitive), but the reform has failed, say auditors. Procedures now take longer, and the number of direct awards and individual tenders has increased over the past decade.

Analysis

What are the big money debates at COP28 UN climate summit?

The most critical UN climate conference (COP28) ever will run from Thursday to mid-December — with talks on climate commitments and climate finance expected to determine the success of this year's summit.

Latest News

  1. EU nears deal to fingerprint six year-old asylum seekers
  2. Orbán's Ukraine-veto threat escalates ahead of EU summit
  3. Can Green Deal survive the 2024 European election?
  4. Protecting workers' rights throughout the AI revolution
  5. Russia, the West, and the geopolitical 'touch-move rule'
  6. Afghanistan is a 'forever emergency,' says UN head
  7. EU public procurement reform 'ineffective', find auditors
  8. COP28 warned over-relying on carbon capture costs €27 trillion

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. Nordic Council of MinistersArtist Jessie Kleemann at Nordic pavilion during UN climate summit COP28
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersCOP28: Gathering Nordic and global experts to put food and health on the agenda
  3. Friedrich Naumann FoundationPoems of Liberty – Call for Submission “Human Rights in Inhume War”: 250€ honorary fee for selected poems
  4. World BankWorld Bank report: How to create a future where the rewards of technology benefit all levels of society?
  5. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsThis autumn Europalia arts festival is all about GEORGIA!
  6. UNOPSFostering health system resilience in fragile and conflict-affected countries

Stakeholders' Highlights

  1. European Citizen's InitiativeThe European Commission launches the ‘ImagineEU’ competition for secondary school students in the EU.
  2. Nordic Council of MinistersThe Nordic Region is stepping up its efforts to reduce food waste
  3. UNOPSUNOPS begins works under EU-funded project to repair schools in Ukraine
  4. Georgia Ministry of Foreign AffairsGeorgia effectively prevents sanctions evasion against Russia – confirm EU, UK, USA
  5. Nordic Council of MinistersGlobal interest in the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations – here are the speakers for the launch
  6. Nordic Council of Ministers20 June: Launch of the new Nordic Nutrition Recommendations

Join EUobserver

Support quality EU news

Join us