Study reveals billionaires produce as much carbon pollution in 90 minutes as an average person does in a lifetime
Oxfam, the British NGO that focuses on addressing global poverty, published a report examining carbon inequality.
In a nutshell: The world is trying to cut down on carbon emissions through the likes of renewable energies and other environmentally friendly initiatives. But it seems one of the best ways to reduce these planet-warming gases would be for billionaires such as Elon Musk and Jeff Bezos to stop using their private jets and yachts so much. According to a new report, members of the super-rich create the same amount of carbon emissions in 90 minutes that an average person does over their entire lifetime.
Oxfam, the British NGO that focuses on addressing global poverty, published a report examining carbon inequality. It looks at how the yachts, jets, and polluting investments of 50 of the world's richest billionaires are accelerating the climate crisis.
The results make for startling reading. Oxfam identified private jets belonging to 23 of the 50 richest people in the world and found that, on average, these billionaires each took 184 flights – spending 425 hours in the air – in 2023. That was equal to an average of 2,074 tonnes of carbon a year, or as much carbon as the average person would produce in 300 years, or 2,000 years' worth for someone in the global poorest 50%.