Greenpeace has calculated that the world's wealthiest individuals cause nearly $1 trillion a year in climate damage through their ownership of carbon-intensive assets and investments, such as property developments and oil producers.
Ownership-Based Emissions
The study attributes 'climate debt' to high net worth individuals by assigning them a share of the damage from assets they own. The top 1% by wealth control about a quarter of global annual emissions, with ownership-based emissions accounting for 60% of global carbon output.
Clara Thompson, global lead campaigner at Greenpeace International, stated: 'At a time when people face rising energy bills and climate impacts, many wonder why ordinary households shoulder the burden while the wealthy profit from crisis-driving industries.'
Wealth Disparity
The top 0.1% account for about 17% of ownership-based emissions, and the top 0.01% about 9%. In contrast, the bottom half of the world by wealth accounts for just 3%. Thompson emphasized that ownership matters more than consumption for the ultra-wealthy, and climate policy should focus on what people own and invest in.
Proposed Solutions
One approach to address the imbalance could be wealth taxes. 'Climate debt is about responsibility,' Thompson said. 'If those who contributed most should contribute more to fixing it, that principle should apply to extreme wealth.'
Separate data showed big banks poured $900 billion into fossil fuels last year despite promises to curb such investments. The inequalities are increasingly under scrutiny as wealth inequality soars globally.
Governments have gathered in Bonn, Germany, for talks ahead of the Cop31 UN climate summit in November, focusing on a 'just transition' for workers affected by the shift away from fossil fuels.
