An Oxfam analysis has said that just days into 2026, the world’s richest 1 per cent have already used up their entire annual carbon budget. According to the study, the top 0.1 per cent exhausted their allowable emissions even earlier, by January 3.
The carbon budget refers to the volume of carbon dioxide that can be released while still keeping global warming within the 1.5 degrees Celsius threshold. The Paris Agreement, adopted in 2015, commits countries to pursue efforts to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees above pre-industrial levels and to keep global warming well below 2 degrees.
Oxfam noted that each billionaire, on average, is linked through investments to companies emitting about 1.9 million tonnes of CO2 annually. It said that to remain within the 1.5-degree target, emissions from the richest 1 per cent would need to be cut by around 97 per cent by 2030.
The analysis further warned that decades of excessive emissions by the ultra-wealthy are inflicting severe economic harm on low- and lower-middle-income countries, with projected losses reaching up to $44 trillion by 2050, TNIE reported.
It is also estimated that the emissions produced by the richest 1 per cent in a single year could contribute to approximately 1.3 million heat-related deaths by the end of the century.
Oxfam pointed out that communities in poorer nations, despite contributing little to global emissions, are among the worst affected by climate impacts. Its report, Climate Plunder: How a powerful few are locking the world into disaster, stated that an individual from the richest 0.1 per cent emits more carbon in a single day than half of the world’s poorest population emits in an entire year.
The organisation has urged governments to sharply reduce emissions from the super-rich, calling for higher taxes on their incomes and for coordinated negotiations under the UN Convention of International Tax Cooperation to establish a fairer global tax system. It also advocated excess profit taxes on fossil fuel companies.
In addition, Oxfam has called for bans or heavy taxation on carbon-intensive luxury goods such as private jets and super-yachts, while urging countries to shift towards more sustainable and equitable economic systems and move away from dominant neoliberal economic models.