An Oxfam Intermón study reveals that the investments of 125 large fortunes emit as many emissions as the total of countries such as France or Argentina
Before the appointment of Egypt, the organization calls for decisive policies and a marked increase in taxes on investments in polluting industries
Investments of just 125 billionaires emit 393 million tons of carbon dioxide each year, the same amount as France. Namely, the annual ecological footprint of these great millionaires is a million times higher than that of any person belonging to the 90% poorest of the population, according to Oxfam Intermon. These data come from the report ‘Carbon Billionaires: The investment emissions of the World’s richest people’, carried out by this organization on the occasion of the climate summit held since this Sunday in Egypt. The research is based on an analysis of the investments of large fortunes in some of the largest companies on the planet and the carbon emissions derived from them. These billionaires, the report adds, own a total of 2.4 trillion dollars in 183 companies.
The report concludes that each of these billionaires generates a annual average of three million tons of carbon dioxide, a million times plus than the average of 2.76 tons that make up the Poorest 90% of the population world.
Emissions derived from investments
The real figure, maintains Oxfam Intermón, could be even higher because “the data that large companies publish on their carbon emissions systematically underestimate the true level of their carbon footprint.” In addition, the organization estimates that billionaires and large companies that do not publicly disclose their level of emissions (which is why they could not be included in the study) are surely “those with the greatest climate impact.”
“These few billionaires accumulate ‘investment emissions’ whose carbon footprint equals to the total number of countries France, Egypt or Argentina”, explains Nafkote Dabi, responsible for Climate Change at Oxfam Intermón. “The huge and growing responsibility of the wealthy for total emissions is often not addressed or taken into account when making climate policies,” adds Dabi. “This needs to change, these billionaire investors at the top of the corporate pyramid have to accept their impact in accelerating the climate crisis -questions the person in charge of Climate Change of the organization- They have been avoiding responsibilities for too long & rdquor ;.
Public politics
“On average, the emissions derived from the lifestyle of billionaires, with their private jets and yachts, are thousands of times higher than those of any person, which is already unacceptable. But if we analyze the emissions derived from their investments, the figure is more than a million times higher & rdquor ;, says Dabi.
Before the climate summit that is being held since this Sunday, the organization demands that governments “regulate and design” policies that force companies to control and report on greenhouse gas emissions and establish a “clear roadmap towards reducing emissions. At the same time, it also calls for a marked increase in taxes on investments in polluting industries.
Contrary to the average population, studies show that 70% of the emissions of the richest people in the world derive from their investments. Oxfam Intermón has used public data to calculate the “emissions derived from investments & rdquor; of the billionaires who have more than 10% of the shares of a company, assigning them a part of the issues of the company in question in proportion to the part they own of it.
14% in polluting industries
Related news
The study has also pointed out that large investors allocate an average of 14% of their investments to polluting industries such as energy or materials such as cement. This average doubles that of investments in Standard and Poor 500 companies. Only one billionaire in the sample used for the study had invested in a renewable energy company.
“We need COP27 to bring to light and change the role that large companies and their large investors are having in benefiting from the pollution that aggravates the global climate crisis & rdquor ;, says Dabi. “We cannot allow them to hide or try to whitewash their image by doing ‘greenwashing’ (‘green marketing).” Governments, Oxfam Intermón maintains, must “urgently address this situation by making public the emission figures rich, regulating investors and large companies to drastically reduce carbon emissions and taxing the richest and polluting investments & rdquor ;.