Confronting Carbon Inequality Oxfam Report 2020 | UPSC
HEADLINES:
Richest 1% emit twice as much carbon as poorest 50%: Oxfam report
WHY IN NEWS:
A rich person contributes more to the climate crisis than a poor person
SYLLABUS COVERED: GS 3: Reports
LEARNING:
For PRELIMS just note the publisher’s name and the key observations in your Prelims book.
For MAINS this is an important issue ! The report highlights income inequalities , climate fight and the recovery options . Let us dive in !
ISSUE:
CONFRONTING CARBON INEQUALITY REPORT
TITLE
Confronting Carbon Inequality -Putting climate justice at the heart of the COVID-19 recovery
PUBLISHED BY
Oxfam International
REPORT ANALYSIS
- Amidst the global health and economic crises, the climate crisis continues to grow.
- Extreme weather disasters have not stalled during the COVID-19 pandemic – from cyclone Amphan in India and Bangladesh to the wildfires raging in the USA.
- This serves as a potent reminder that the world stands perilously close to exceeding the 1.5C goal of the Paris Agreement.
- Reduction of the per capita footprint to the 1.5°C-consistent level by 2030 would cut annual carbon emissions by over a third.
THE ERA OF EXTREME CARBON INEQUALITY
- The richest 10% of humanity accounted for 52% of the cumulative emissions, depleting the global carbon budget for 1.5C by nearly a third (31%).
- The 40% of humanity in the global middle class accounted for 41% of the cumulative emissions, 25% of the carbon budget.
- While the poorest 50% accounted for just 7% of cumulative emissions, and a mere 4% of the budget.
UNEQUAL CARBON EMISSIONS GROWTH 1990-2015
- The richest 10% accounted for 46% of the total emissions growth – only marginally less than the 49% contributed by the middle 40%.
TACKLING CARBON INEQUALITY
- The per capita consumption footprints of the richest 1% are currently around 35 times higher than the target for 2030.
- Reducing the per capita footprint of the richest 10% to the 1.5C-consistent level by 2030 would cut annual carbon emissions by over a third .
RECOMMENDATIONS FOR ECONOMIC RECOVERY FROM COVID-19
- Wealth taxes, luxury carbon taxes – such as carbon sales taxes on SUVs, private jets or super yachts, or levies on business class or frequent flights.
- Ending the tax-free status of aircraft fuel, unconditional aviation industry bailouts and tax breaks for company cars.
- Public investment, including to create decent job guarantees, alongside working-time reductions where appropriate
- Improving energy efficiency of housing, especially to reduce energy bills for low income or marginalized groups.
- Banning advertising in public spaces and changing corporate governance to curtail companies short-termism and create accountability for long-term social and environmental impacts.
- Setting science- and equity-based national targets to reduce carbon emissions from consumption as well as production.
IASbhai WINDUP:
- The largest share of emissions by the rich was from flights and cars, including private jets, luxury SUVs and sports cars.
- About half of the emissions of the richest 10 per cent are associated with North America and the European Union (EU).
- Also China (7.95 tCO2 / person), making it the lowest per capita emitter amongst the world’s large economies.
- Additionally, the per capita CO2 emissions of the richest 10 per cent Indians were about 4.4 tonnes in 2018.
- In comparison, the per capita emissions of the richest 10 per cent Americans were 52.4 tonnes — almost 12 times that of the richest Indians.
- The report briefly acknowledged the intersectionality of income inequality and the climate crisis with factors such as race, class, gender, caste and age.
SOURCES:DOWNTOEARTH | Confronting Carbon Inequality Oxfam Report 2020 | UPSC
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