Studies have shown that carbon emissions from the world's wealthy and poor show an extreme difference. Carbon emissions from the top rich, or 1% of the world, will be 30 times higher than the level that meets the Paris Convention's goal of curbing the rise of 1.5 degrees in global average temperature. On the other hand, the lowest 50% emit less than half of the carbon target. As a result, there are voices calling for the rich to reduce excessive carbon consumption. The 26th General Assembly of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP26), which has been held in Glasgow, England since the 31st, is set to close on the 12th. Representatives from more than 200 countries around the world attended the COP26 and various agreements on carbon reduction were reportedly reached. Oxfam, an international relief and development organization, released a report titled Carbon Inequality in 2030 based on a joint study by the European Institute for Environmental Policy (IEEP) and the Stockholm Institute for Environmental Research (SEI) on the 5th. Oxfam pointed out the problem of carbon emissions from consumption, saying, "The global emissions gap to maintain the 1.5-degree Paris Convention target reflects excessive emissions from the richest citizens." According to the report, it is expected that carbon neutrality will be possible by 2050 only when the global "total carbon emissions" are reduced to about 18 gigatons per year by 2030. This means that by 2030, the global average emissions per capita will be reduced to 2.3 tons per year to meet the 1.5-degree target. Let's look at the contents of the report. According to the report, the world's top 1% wealthy people will emit more than 30 times more carbon than the 1.5 degrees (2.3 tons) standard in 2030. According to the report, the estimated annual emissions per capita of the top 1% of the wealthy in 2030 were 70 tons. This is 67.7 tons more than 2.3 tons, which is 30 times different. On the other hand, 50% of the poorest people are estimated to have less than half of the estimated annual emissions per person of 2.3 tons. Looking at total emissions, not per capita emissions, the top 10% were expected to exceed the 1.5 degree total emissions target (18 gigatons) by 2030. The report expected this to have an effect on the increase in total emissions of the top 1%. According to the report, the total emissions of the top 10% did not exceed the benchmark, but the total emissions of the top 1% increased to 16% in 2030 after 13% in 1990 and 15% in 2015. "Whatever the 90 percent of the world's population, 40 percent of the middle class and 50 percent of the poor do, the top 10 percent will exceed the 1.5-degree target in 2030," said Nafkote Dabi, head of climate policy at Oxfam.
The report argues that the top 1% of the world's richest people need to reduce their current emissions by 97% to reach the 1.5 degree target in 2030. On the other hand, the middle class, which ranks 40% in income, was far from reaching the target, but showed the fastest reduction. According to the report, the top 1%'s per capita emissions are expected to be reduced by 5% from the 2015 Paris Convention to 2030. However, in order to meet the 1.5-degree standard, emissions should be reduced by '97%'. On the other hand, per capita emissions of the lowest 50 percent are expected to increase by 17 percent. However, contrary to the upper class, they said that even if they emit more than 200 percent, it is at 1.5 degrees. The income class, which is cutting close to the target, is the middle class, which is 40% between the top 10% and the bottom 50%. According to the report, they are cutting their per capita emissions by 9% from 2015 to 2030 and must cut their emissions by 57% to meet the target. In response, the report said, "The change in citizens of middle-income countries such as China and South Africa, which had the fastest growth rate per capita from 1990 to 2015, has greatly reversed the emission trend." Tim Gore, author of the report and director of the European Institute for Environmental Policy (IEEP) Low Carbon and Circulatory Economic Programme, said, "To close the carbon gap by 2030, the government must take action against the richest and most emitters." "We must address the climate and inequality crisis together," he said, adding that both measures include limiting carbon consumption, such as super yachts, private jets and space travel, and curbing climate-intensive investments, such as stock holdings in the fossil fuel industry. Writer: Yeyoung Jeon
(Picture from Unsplash)
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