The brutal unfairness of this reality should be a rallying call to protest, to urgently demand legislative change and to fight for this planet and its people.
New Oxfam analysis shows that while the super-rich are responsible for a disproportionate share of carbon pollution, it is ordinary people who bear the brunt of the resulting floods, fires and famine.
According to Oxfam’s ‘Disaster Divides’ report, the world’s richest 0.1 percent (8 million people) produces more carbon pollution than the world’s poorest 3.5 billion people combined.
Published ahead of the UN’s climate summit, COP31 in Türkiye, the report exposes how the world's super-rich are driving climate breakdown through their outsized emissions. Simultaneously, they shield themselves from the consequences and increasingly profit from the destruction.
“The ‘Disaster Divides’ report features statistics that should shake world leaders into action, but ordinary people must also feel the gravity behind each number. Only one year of emissions by the richest 1 percent will cause 1.9 million excess heat-related deaths, predominantly affecting poorer families. The brutal unfairness of this reality should be a rallying call to protest, to urgently demand legislative change and to fight for this planet and its people. Climate inequality is a mirror for larger societal gaps that Irish people also feel on a day-to-day basis. We’re seeing this with energy poverty and a powerful few using data centres in this country above the needs of its people. The fight for a liveable future is already on our doorstep.”
— Jim Clarken, Oxfam Ireland CEO
Combining carbon inequality data with cutting-edge climate attribution models, Oxfam has found that:
The richest 1 percent are responsible for 20 percent of global warming since 1990 – 100 times more, per person, than someone in the poorest half of humanity.
Just one year of emissions by the richest 1 percent will cause 1.9 million excess heat-related deaths. 78 percent of these deaths will occur in low- and lower-middle-income countries, despite these countries being responsible for 8 percent of global emissions.
The emissions of the richest 1 percent will cause nearly $53 trillion in damage by 2050.
A person in the richest 0.1 percent has contributed nearly 400 times more to today’s extreme heatwaves than someone in the poorest 50 percent.
The super-rich buy safety through private insurance and homes in safer, cooler places. For everyone else, climate disasters mean destroyed homes and crops, depleted savings, and lost livelihoods. This leaves people even more exposed when the next disaster hits, deepening the inequality that made them far more vulnerable to climate disasters in the first place.
By 2050, as many as 1 billion people (around 10 percent of the world’s population) could be displaced by the climate crisis. Most of those displaced will be in the Global South.
Oxfam's report also shows how climate disasters are becoming increasingly profitable for some investors. As climate-fuelled floods, storms and wildfires increase, the global disaster recovery market is projected to grow from $70 billion to $92 billion annually by 2029. Some of the same major investors profiting from polluting industries are also investing in the industries that benefit from rebuilding after disaster strikes.
The report also warns that climate disasters are increasingly exploited to push policies that deepen inequality, including the privatisation of climate action and public services, land grabs, deregulation and tax breaks benefiting the super-rich. The result is a vicious cycle of injustice: deaths from flooding are seven times higher in more unequal countries.
Oxfam Ireland is calling on Irish leaders attending COP31 to:
Introduce a moratorium on further data centre expansion and connections until Ireland can demonstrate that data centre growth is compatible with its legally binding emissions reduction targets.
Make the high-emission individuals in the top 1% pay by introducing a Polluter Pays Tax and a Windfall Tax on energy companies. Revenues will be invested in climate action, tackling inequality and supporting communities most affected by climate change.
Increase Ireland's international climate finance contribution to at least €500 million annually and publish a roadmap to deliver Ireland's fair share of global climate finance, including dedicated funding for loss and damage.
Champion grant-based climate finance for countries on the frontline of the climate crisis, ensuring support reaches local communities, women-led organisations and civil society groups rather than adding to debt burdens.
Use Ireland's influence within the EU to push for stronger action on climate inequality, including fair taxation and stronger regulation of major polluters - and an end to climate profiteering.
Accelerate Ireland's commitment to spend 0.7% of Gross National Income on Official Development Assistance, recognising that climate justice and poverty reduction are inseparable.
/ENDS
Download Oxfam’s new report and methodology note here.
According to the International Organization for Migration, as many as 1 billion people could be displaced by the climate crisis by 2050. The frequency and intensity of these events is rising as a direct result of climate change.
“The ‘Disaster Divides’ report features statistics that should shake world leaders into action, but ordinary people must also feel the gravity behind each number. Only one year of emissions by the richest 1 percent will cause 1.9 million excess heat-related deaths, predominantly affecting poorer families. The brutal unfairness of this reality should be a rallying call to protest, to urgently demand legislative change and to fight for this planet and its people. Climate inequality is a mirror for larger societal gaps that Irish people also feel on a day-to-day basis. We’re seeing this with energy poverty and a powerful few using data centres in this country above the needs of its people. The fight for a liveable future is already on our doorstep.”
