Inequality and climate injustice

In the last ten days Oxfam has released two fascinating reports relating to inequality, one of which also considers how it impacts climate change.

The first report found that the richest one per cent of the world’s population had burned through their share of the annual global carbon budget by 10 January. It further found that the same one per cent are responsible for twice the amount of carbon emissions as the poorest half of humanity. The consequences of this imbalance are real - the carbon emissions of the rich cause trillions of dollars in economic damage, extensive crop losses, and millions of excess deaths.

To coincide with the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Oxfam released its annual inequality report titled “Takers not Makers”. This report found that the wealth of the world’s billionaires grew by $US2 billion in the past year and predicts that there will be five trillionaires within the next decade. The report also notes that sixty percent of billionaire wealth is now derived from inheritance, monopoly power or crony connections, and argues that “extreme billionaire wealth is largely unmerited”. It also makes mention of the significant transfers of wealth that continue to take place from the Global South to the Global North through the financial system.

Today also sees the inauguration of a billionaire US President who was bankrolled by the richest man in the world. These events beg two questions - is this the direction society should be going? And in whose interests will these billionaires govern?