As President Biden arrives at the U.N. climate summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, then heads to the G20 meeting in Bali, Indonesia, a new Oxfam analysis looks at the investments of 125 of the world’s richest billionaires and reveals that, on average, they’re emitting 3 million tons a year of carbon — more than a million times the average person. The report is titled “Carbon Billionaires” and suggests a wealth tax could help curb the urgent climate finance needs of developing countries.
The carbon billionaires represent household names, billionaires who you can imagine who they are. So, we looked at the richest 220 people and assessed which of them there was data for the emissions from their investments. So these are not emissions from their personal lifestyles — the private jets, the large houses — but from where they decide to put their money. And, you know, we find that they tend to do it more in polluting industries rather than in clean industries, twice the average investor.
And so, the amounts are staggering. I mean, the amount emitted by one of these average billionaires is the same as, you know, the equivalent of 4 million people going vegan, and thus not — and
— source democracynow.org | Nov 11, 2022