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Yachts in the port of Monaco: disastrous consequences for millions of people
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The lifestyle of many super-rich is felt to be more and more harmful to the climate despite global warming.
In the past, many people were satisfied with a bigger car or a round on the golf course, but Jeff Bezos and Co. are now drawn into space.
The aid organization Oxfam has now determined how large the excessive CO2 consumption of the super-rich is.
The study, which is based on studies by the Institute for European Environmental Policy (IEEP) and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), was presented at the World Climate Conference in Glasgow.
According to the study, the per capita emissions of people belonging to the richest one percent of the world's population would be 30 times higher in 2030 than would be compatible with the 1.5 degree target.
The super-rich thus damaged the climate more than the poorest 50 percent of the world's population put together.
The richest one percent will soon be responsible for 16 percent of emissions?
According to the study entitled "CO2 inequality in 2030: per capita emissions and the 1.5 degree target", the per capita emissions of greenhouse gases in 2030 should average a maximum of 2.3 tons worldwide if the goal is to be achieved of limiting global warming in this century to 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial age.
While the per capita emissions of the poorer half of the population will remain well below this level at the end of this decade, the richest ten percent of the world's population will exceed it nine times by 2030.
The study even predicts that the richest percent will exceed it by 30 times.
Overall, the richest percent of the world's population will be responsible for 16 percent of total global emissions by 2030, Oxfam said.
Luxury should be restricted
"With a single space flight, a billionaire causes more emissions than someone in the poorest billion can bring together in a lifetime," criticized the organization's climate expert, Nafkote Dabi.
»A small elite treat themselves to a free ticket for the destruction of our climate.
This has catastrophic consequences for millions of people who are already facing deadly storms, hunger and hardship. "
The study author Tim Gore from IEEP called for climate protection measures to be geared towards the "extremely rich".
»The climate and inequality crises should be tackled together.
This includes measures to limit CO2 consumption for luxury goods such as mega yachts, private jets and private space travel, as well as to limit climate-intensive investments such as shareholdings in the fossil fuel industry. "
China and India are emitting more
Only on Thursday was EU Commission President Ursula criticized for a 20-minute charter flight from Vienna to Bratislava.
Clear words came from both the European Taxpayers Association and the Bundestag.
The flight is an "ecological sin," said the General Secretary of the Taxpayers' Association, Michael Jäger, the "Bild" newspaper.
Oxfam urged all countries to revise their climate targets under the 2015 Paris Agreement.
By 2030, the states would have to strive for greater emissions reductions that correspond to their "fair share".
The study shows that the geographic distribution of greenhouse gas emissions is increasingly no longer composed primarily of traditional industrialized countries.
Almost a quarter (23 percent) of the richest one percent will be Chinese and a tenth (11 percent) Indian.
In Glasgow, the delegations from around 200 countries are currently negotiating the further implementation of the Paris Climate Agreement of 2015. In it, the international community agreed to limit global warming to well below two degrees, ideally 1.5 degrees compared to the pre-industrial era.
According to experts, in order to achieve the 1.5 degree target, global greenhouse gas emissions would have to be halved by 2030, and climate neutrality would have to be achieved by 2050.
apr / AFP / dpa