World's richest 1% have already used fair share of emissions for 2026, says Oxfam

"The world's richest 1% have used up their fair share of carbon emissions just 10 days into 2026, analysis has found. Meanwhile, the richest 0.1% took just three days to exhaust their annual carbon budget, according to the research by Oxfam. The charity said the worst effects of the emissions would be faced by those who had done the least to cause the climate crisis, including people in low-income countries on the frontlines of climate breakdown, Indigenous groups, women and girls."

"A billionaire carries, on average, an investment portfolio in companies that will produce 1.9m tonnes of CO2 a year roughly equivalent to the annual emissions of 400,000 petrol cars. To stay within the agreed global heating limit of no more than 1.5C above preindustrial levels set by the Paris agreement in 2015, the richest 1% of the world's population would have to reduce their emissions by 97% by 2030."

Oxfam found the world's richest 1% exhausted their fair share of carbon emissions within ten days of 2026 and the richest 0.1% did so in three days. Those emissions will most harm people who contributed least to the crisis, including residents of low-income countries, Indigenous communities, women and girls. Lower- and middle-income countries face disproportionate risk and potential global economic damage up to $44 trillion by 2050. Billionaires' investments tie them to highly polluting industries; an average billionaire's portfolio corresponds to about 1.9m tonnes of CO2 annually. To limit warming to 1.5C, the richest 1% must cut emissions by 97% by 2030. Oxfam urges taxing extreme wealth and pollution sources to fund a fair green transition.

Read at www.theguardian.com