The richest people on the planet were seen as a threat to the climate, since 1% of representatives of this segment of the population emits more carbon than 66% of the poor. About it reported in the Oxfam report “Climate equality: a planet for the 99%”.

According to the report, the richest 77 million people account for more than 16% of total CO2 emissions. Scientists estimated their total carbon footprint at the end of 2019 at 5.9 billion tons. According to researchers, for every ton, 226 lives are lost worldwide. That is, just 1% of the population would be enough to kill 1.3 million people in the coming decades from extreme heat and other climate disasters.

The researchers noted that low-income people and those who spend a lot of time outdoors will suffer from this negative impact first.

The 0.1% carbon footprint of the wealthy’s superyachts and private jets is 77 times the target for global average temperatures to rise above 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels set out in the Paris Agreement.

To solve the problem, scientists propose that the authorities introduce high taxes on the income of the super-rich, as well as on the profits from their existing fossil fuel production enterprises. This method of control will raise $6.4 billion a year from just the wealthiest 1% of people, and will also reduce CO2 emissions into the atmosphere by 695 million tons.

Due to continued greenhouse gas emissions, 2023 may be the warmest in the last 125 thousand years, scientists say.

Anna Morozova