Governments worldwide are facing growing pressure to confront the role of extreme wealth in accelerating the climate crisis. Campaigners are urging leaders to ban highly polluting luxury goods and impose tougher taxes on fossil fuel profits, arguing these measures are crucial to keeping global climate targets within reach.
New research from Oxfam highlights the scale of carbon inequality. The richest one per cent of people on the planet had already used up their entire annual carbon budget just ten days into 2026. This point, when emissions exceed levels compatible with limiting warming to 1.5°C, has been labelled “Pollutocrat Day.” Even more alarming, the wealthiest 0.01 per cent exhausted their yearly allowance within the first three days of the year. Oxfam warns this ultra-rich group would need to slash emissions by 97 per cent by 2030 to meet Paris Agreement commitments.
Luxury Consumption and Political Influence
While private jets and super-yachts have become symbols of elite excess, Oxfam’s findings show the problem runs deeper than personal lifestyles. Wealthy individuals and corporations hold vast investments in fossil fuel industries and wield significant political influence, shaping climate policies to their advantage.
At last year’s COP30 climate summit in Brazil, fossil fuel lobbyists formed one of the largest delegations, with more than 1,600 representatives. Oxfam’s climate policy lead Nafkote Dabi says this concentration of wealth and power enables elites to weaken climate negotiations and delay meaningful action.
The report estimates that an average billionaire’s investment portfolio is tied to companies responsible for producing around 1.9 million tonnes of CO₂ annually, locking the world into long-term climate damage. Emissions from the richest one per cent in just one year could contribute to 1.3 million heat-related deaths by the end of the century and cause up to $44 trillion in economic losses by 2050, hitting low- and middle-income countries hardest.
Making Rich Polluters Pay
Oxfam is calling on governments to take decisive action by taxing wealth and fossil fuel profits more aggressively. A proposed “Rich Polluter Profits Tax” targeting hundreds of oil, gas, and coal companies could raise up to $400 billion in its first year — roughly matching the climate damage costs borne by countries in the Global South.
The organisation is also pushing for bans or heavy taxes on carbon-intensive luxury items such as private jets and super-yachts. A super-rich European can produce as much carbon in a single week of luxury travel as someone in the world’s poorest one per cent emits in a lifetime.
Campaigners argue that targeting the richest polluters offers a direct and effective route to cutting emissions while reducing inequality. By reining in extreme wealth and carbon excess, governments could move closer to climate goals and better protect the communities most vulnerable to climate change.
