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Climate Crisis

Ten years after the Paris Agreement, the super-rich are widening the emissions gap and putting world on track for catastrophe

In response to the UNEP Emissions Gap Report published today, Nafkote Dabi, Climate Policy Lead at Oxfam, said:  

“Just days before global leaders arrive in Brazil for COP30, this report is a blaring siren calling for greater climate action.   

“Since the Paris Agreement, the richest 1% have used up more than twice the carbon budget of the poorest half of humanity. This inequality is more than unjust—it’s deadly. The extreme emissions of the richest people and countries are burning through the little remaining the amount of CO2 that can be emitted while avoiding climate disaster. Meanwhile, the poorest communities suffer the most devastating impacts.  

“Governments cannot close the emissions gap without slashing the carbon footprint of the super-rich and addressing extreme inequality. COP30 must be a turning point. Global leaders must cut the emissions of the richest, tax rich polluters and their profits, and deliver a just transition—one that creates decent green jobs, builds resilient economies, and puts people and planet before profit.”  

Notes to editors

The latest Oxfam report, “Climate Plunder: How a powerful few are locking the world into disaster”, presents new data which finds that a person from the richest 0.1% produces more carbon pollution in a day than the poorest 50% emit all year. If everyone emitted like the richest 0.1%, the carbon budget would be used up in less than 3 weeks.  

The “UN Emissions Gap report: Off Target” finds that global warming projections over this century, based on full implementation of updated government climate pledges, are 2.3-2.5°C, while those based on current policies are 2.8°C.

Contact information:

For more details, please contact: 

Rachel Schaevitz, Head of Communication, Media, & Advocacy: [email protected]

A person from the richest 0.1% produces more carbon pollution in a day than someone in the bottom 50% produces all year

  • Since 1990, the richest 0.1% have increased their share of total emissions by 32%, whilst the poorest half of humanity have actually seen their share fall by 3%.

  • If everyone emitted carbon like the richest 0.1%, the carbon budget – the amount of CO2 that can be emitted while avoiding climate disaster – would be used up in less than 3 weeks.

  • To stay within the limits of the 1.5°C threshold, the richest 0.1% would need to cut their per capita emissions by 99% by 2030. 

  • A person from the world’s richest 0.1% emits over 800 kg of CO2 every day. Even the strongest person on earth could not lift this much. In contrast, someone from the poorest 50% of the world emits an average of just 2 kg of CO2 per day, which even a small child could lift.

Ahead of the major international climate conference COP30 in Belem, Brazil, new Oxfam research finds that the high-carbon lifestyles of the super-rich are blowing through the world’s remaining carbon budget – the amount of CO2 that can be emitted while avoiding climate disaster. The research also details how billionaires are using their political and economic influence to keep humanity hooked on fossil fuels to maximize their private profit. 

The report, “Climate Plunder: How a powerful few are locking the world into disaster”, presents extensive new updated data and analysis which finds that a person from the richest 0.1% produces more carbon pollution in a day than the poorest 50% emit all year. If everyone emitted like the richest 0.1%, the carbon budget would be used up in less than 3 weeks. 

The super-rich are not just overconsuming carbon, but also actively investing in and profiting from the most polluting corporations. Oxfam’s research finds that the average billionaire produces 1.9 million tonnes of CO2e a year through their investments. These billionaires would have to circumnavigate the world almost 10,000 times in their private jets to emit this much. Almost 60% of billionaire investments are classified as being in high climate impact sectors such as oil or mining, meaning their investments emit two and a half times more than an average investment in the S&P Global 1,200. The emissions of the investment portfolios of just 308 billionaires total more than the combined emissions of 118 countries. 

“The climate crisis is an inequality crisis. The very richest individuals in the world are funding and profiting from climate destruction, leaving the global majority to bear the fatal consequences of their unchecked power,” said Amitabh Behar, Executive Director of Oxfam International. 

The power and wealth of super-rich individuals and corporations have also allowed them to wield unjust influence over policymaking and water down climate negotiations. At COP29, 1,773 coal, oil, and gas lobbyists were granted badges, more than the 10 most climate-vulnerable nations combined. Multiple rich and high-emitting countries including the US, UK, France and Germany have watered down climate laws after large donations from anti-climate lobbyists.   

“It is a travesty that power and wealth have been allowed to accumulate in the hands of a few, who are only using it to further entrench their influence and lock us all into a path to planetary destruction. The super-rich and the corporations they run have a deadly track record of bankrolling lobbyists, spreading climate disinformation, and suing NGOs and governments that try to stand in their way. We must break the chokehold of the super-rich over climate policy by taxing their extreme wealth, banning their lobbying and instead put those most affected by the climate crisis in the front seat of climate decision-making,” said Behar. 

The emissions of the richest 1% are enough to cause an estimated 1.3 million heat-related deaths by the end of the century, as well as $44 trillion of economic damage to low- and lower-middle-income countries by 2050. The impacts of these climate damages will disproportionately impact those who have done the least to cause the climate crisis, particularly people living in the Global South, women, girls and Indigenous groups. 

COP30 marks ten years since the Paris Agreement in 2015. During this period, the world’s richest 1% have burnt through more than twice as much of the carbon budget than the poorest half of humanity combined 

Ahead of COP30, Oxfam calls on governments to cut the emissions and dismantle the political and economic power of the super-rich through: 

  • Slashing the emissions of the super-rich and make the richest polluters pay, through taxation on extreme wealth, excess profits taxes on fossil fuel corporations, and supporting the UN Convention on International Tax Cooperation. A 60% tax on the total incomes of the richest 1% globally could cut carbon emissions equivalent to the total emissions of the UK and generate in the region of $6.4 trillion.

  • Curbing the economic and political influence of the richest by banning fossil fuel corporations from climate negotiations such as COP, implementing sustainability regulations for corporations and financial institutions, and rejecting trade and investment agreements like investor-state dispute settlements (ISDS) that put the interests of the super-wealthy above public good.

  • Strengthening the participation of civil society and Indigenous groups in climate negotiations and address the unequal impacts of climate change.

  • Adopting a fair-share approach to the remaining climate budget by committing to nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that reflect historical responsibility and capacity to act, and ensuring rich countries deliver ambitious climate finance.

  • Building an equal economic system that puts people and planet first by rejecting dominant neoliberal economics and moving towards an economy based on sustainability and equality. 

Notes to editors

Download – Climate Plunder: How a powerful few are locking the world into disaster

The Stockholm Environment Institute’s Emissions Inequality Dashboard is also available for consultation. 

Oxfam has launched a global petition to Make Rich Polluters Pay. 

Contact information:

Rachel Schaevitz, Head of Communication, Media, & Advocacy: [email protected]

Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, rich countries’ pitiful climate targets fall drastically short

In response to the latest Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) synthesis report published yesterday, Nafkote Dabi, Climate Lead at Oxfam, said:

“Ten years on from the Paris Agreement, we now see revealed a damning indictment of the collective failure of global leaders to address the climate crisis. The richest and most polluting countries have betrayed the people being hit the hardest by climate disasters, particularly those in low-income countries, Indigenous people and women.

Countries’ climate plans will reduce global emissions by just 10% by 2035, far short of what is needed. Science is clear: emissions must fall by at least 60% from 2019 levels in order to avoid climate breakdown. The EU has failed to even submit a new NDC while the US has withdrawn totally from the Paris Agreement and is slashing its already minimal climate finance.”

Oxfam Aotearoa’s Climate Justice Lead, Nick Henry, added: “”Despite the global need to strengthen climate action, New Zealand is not even on track to meet our existing commitments. We need our leaders in Government to show us a plan for real action to keep their promises and reduce emissions.”

Nafkote Dabi continued, “China’s first emissions reduction target of 7-10% from peak levels by 2035 is a step forward but still falls short of aligning with global climate goals. Brazil, host of COP30, despite being a climate leader, continues to approve new oil exploration in the heart of the Amazon – a contradiction that undermines its credibility.

The COP30 Summit next month must put humanity onto a safer path by insisting that world leaders deliver much bolder and more equitable NDCs than the inconsistent and inadequate collection that currently sit on its table. Central to any progress must be the tackling the extreme carbon pollution of the super-rich: the emissions of the 1% alone are predicted to cause 1.3 million heat-related deaths by the end of the century, and blow through the world’s remaining carbon budget.

The richest countries and richest people are locking the world into a catastrophic trajectory which COP30 must arrest.”

Notes to editors:

The International Court of Justice (ICJ), the world’s highest court, has confirmed that countries have a legal obligation to reduce emissions enough to protect the universal rights to life, food, health, and a clean environment.

Research by Oxfam International and CARE Climate Justice Centre finds that two thirds of climate finance is currently in the form of loans, increasing the debt burden on poor countries, which stands at $3.3 trillion. The $100 billion annual commitment agreed at COP15 remains unmet, and the $1.3 trillion needed for mitigation and adaptation has also not been delivered.

Research by Oxfam International finds that the energy consumed by the wealthiest 1% – predominantly in the Global North – alone would be enough to meet the basic energy needs of people without electricity access seven times over.

Research by the United Nations finds that emissions cuts of 42 per cent are needed by 2030 and 57 per cent by 2035 to get the world on track for 1.5°C. 

Contact information:

For more details, please contact: [email protected]

Two thirds of climate funding for Global South is loans as rich countries profiteer from escalating climate crisis

New research by Oxfam and CARE Climate Justice Centre, published today, finds developing countries are now paying more back to wealthy nations for climate finance loans than they receive- for every 5 dollars they receive they are paying 7 dollars back. 65% of funding is delivered in the form of loans.  

This form of crisis profiteering by rich countries is worsening debt burdens and hindering climate action. Compounding this failure, deep cuts to foreign aid threaten to slash climate finance further, betraying the world’s poorest communities who are facing the brunt of escalating climate disasters. 

Some key findings of the report: 

  • Rich countries claim to have mobilized $116 billion in climate finance 2022, but the true value is only around $28-35 billion, less than a third of the pledged amount. 

  • Nearly two thirds of climate finance was made as loans, often at standard rates of interest without concessions. As a result, climate finance is adding more each year to developing countries’ debt, which now stands at $3.3 trillion. Countries like France, Japan, and Italy are among the worst culprits.  

  • Least Developed Countries got only 19.5% and Small Island Developing States 2.9% of total public climate finance over 2021-2022 and half of that was in the form of loans they have to repay.  

  • Developed nations are profiting from these loans, with repayments outstripping disbursements. In 2022, developing countries received $62 billion in climate loans. We estimate these loans to lead to repayments of up to $88 billion, resulting in a 42% “profit” for creditors. 

  • Only 3% of finance specifically aimed at enhancing gender equality, despite the climate crisis disproportionately impacting women and girls. 

Oxfam Aoteraoa’s Climate Justice Lead, Nick Henry said: “New Zealand does well in providing all of our climate finance as grants rather than loans, setting an example for other rich countries to follow.” 

“Rich countries are treating the climate crisis as a business opportunity, not a moral obligation,” said Oxfam’s Climate Policy Lead, Nafkote Dabi. “They are lending money to the very people they have historically harmed, trapping vulnerable nations in a cycle of debt. This is a form of crisis profiteering.” 

This failure is occurring as rich countries are conducting the most vicious foreign aid cuts since the 1960s. Data by the OECD shows a 9% drop in 2024, with 2025 projections signalling a further 9–17% cut. 

As the impacts of fossil fuelled climate disasters intensify —displacing millions of people in the Horn of Africa, battering 13 million more in the Philippines, and flooding 600,000 people in Brazil in 2024 alone – communities in low-income countries are left with fewer resources to adapt to the rapidly changing climate. 

“Rich countries are failing on climate finance and they have nothing like a plan to live up to their commitments to increase support. In fact, many wealthy countries are gutting aid, leaving the poorest to pay the price, sometimes with their lives” said John Nordbo, Senior Climate Advisor at CARE Denmark. “COP30 must deliver justice, not another round of empty promises.” 

“New Zealand’s climate finance commitment is due to run out at the end of this year and urgently needs to be renewed. Pacific communities on the frontlines of the climate crisis need and deserve our ongoing support” said Nick Henry. 

Adaptation funding is also critically underfunded, receiving only 33% of climate finance as investors favour mitigation projects with more immediate financial returns.  

Ahead of COP30, Oxfam and CARE are calling on rich countries to: 

  • Live up to climate finance commitments: Provide the full $600 billion for 2020–2025 and clearly outline how they plan to scale-up to the agreed $300 billion annually, and lead on the $1.3 trillion Baku to Belém roadmap. 

  • Stop crisis profiteering: Drastically increase the share of grants and highly concessional finance to prevent further indebting the world’s most climate-vulnerable communities. 

  • Multiply adaptation finance: Commit to at least triple adaptation finance by 2030, using the COP26 goal to double adaptation financing by 2025 as a baseline. 

  • Provide finance for loss and damage: The global Fund for Responding to Loss and Damage must be adequately capitalized. Victims of climate change must nor continue to be ignored. 

  • Mobilize new sources of finance: Raise funds by taxing the super-rich, which in OECD countries alone can raise $1.2 trillion a year, and the excess profit of fossil fuel companies globally, which could raise $400bn per year annually. 

Notes to Editors  

Download the report. 

Methodology note.   

The CARE Climate Justice Center (CJC) leads and coordinates the integration of climate justice and resilience across CARE International’s development and humanitarian work. The CJC is an initiative powered by CARE Denmark, CARE France, CARE Germany, CARE Netherlands, and CARE International UK. To learn more, visit www.careclimatechange.org 

Results of a global survey by Oxfam International and Greenpeace show 8 out of 10 people support paying for public services and climate action through taxing the super-rich. The research was conducted by first party data company Dynata in May-June 2025, in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Kenya, Italy, India, Mexico, the Philippines, South Africa, Spain, the UK and the US. The survey had approximately 1200 respondents per country, with a margin of error of +-2.83%. Together, these countries represent close to half the world’s population. See the results here. 

Contact information:

For interviews or further information, please contact: 

Rachel Schaevitz, Head of Communications, Media & Advocacy: [email protected]  

Colonialism hijacks energy transition: 70% of minerals for renewables lies in Global South but the majority of profits are captured by the world’s richest

  • Although Global South countries hold roughly 70% of transition minerals reserves, the majority of the investments in renewable energy are concentrated in the Global North (50%) and China (29%) – with those profits largely falling into the hands of the richest 1%.

  • In 2024, Latin America received 3% of global clean energy investment, and Southeast Asia, Middle East and Africa each received just 2%, despite Sub-Saharan Africa being home to 85% of the world’s population without access to electricity.

  • Latin America holds nearly half of the world’s lithium but captures only about 10% of the value.

  • The energy consumed by the wealthiest 1% alone would be enough to meet the basic energy needs of people without electricity access seven times over.

The vital transition from fossil fuels into renewable energy is being captured by super-rich polluters – individuals, companies and countries – reproducing colonial patterns that are entrenching inequalities and fuelling human rights violations, says Oxfam’s new report “Unjust Transition: Reclaiming the Energy Future from Climate Colonialism”, published today.

For example, Tesla, the firm owned by the world’s richest man, Elon Musk, made $5.63bn from Electric Vehicles (EVs) sales in 2024. For each EV, the company earned profits of $3,145 – 321 times more than the entire Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) got for supplying the 3Kg of cobalt in each car.  The DRC captures as little as 14% of the cobalt value chain, but retaining the full value could generate more than $4 billion a year —enough to provide clean energy to half of its nearly 110 million population.

The Oxfam report describes the “plunder” of minerals like lithium, cobalt, nickel and rare earths, land grabs for bioenergy, carbon removal projects, and seizure of large-scale resources for hydropower, wind and solar. These projects often involve violence, forced labour, and environmental harm, with little consent from local people living inside these new “sacrifice zones”.

Currently, mining, renewable energy projects and industrial development linked to the energy transition – overwhelmingly driven by the Global North and powerful elites – are threatening the rights of Indigenous peoples in as much as 60% of their recognised lands; at 22.7m km². This is roughly 85 times the size of Aotearoa.

“The richest countries and super-rich individuals are driving the climate crisis to its current tipping point, over-consuming the carbon budget through deeply unequal and extractive systems. Now they are trying to capture and control the energy transition at the expense of the poorest and most climate-vulnerable countries, driving up inequality further,” said Oxfam Executive Director Amitabh Behar. “A truly just transition starts with an end to the patterns of injustice, misrule and excess.”

Rich countries and powerful elites also dominate the international financial architecture, pouring billions into their own transitions while locking Global South countries into a growing debt crisis and leaving them little to fund their own development.  So-called developing countries owe $11.7 trillion in external debt—more than 30 times the estimated cost of providing universal clean energy by 2030.

“Many Southern countries are being locked out of transition altogether despite having significant potential – 70% of the world’s wind and solar potential lies in the Global South. Their governments can’t take advantage of falling renewable costs because of high debt and unfair lending terms. Our research shows that the cost of powering people is almost twice as high in African countries, compared to the price in advanced economies.  If they do engage with foreign investment, it is all led by extraction and the pursuit of profits for the few over the public good for the many,” Behar said.

Securing a just transition also means tackling today’s shocking inequality in energy access. The richest 10% of citizens consume half of all global energy, while the poorest half of humanity consumes just 8%. If redistributed, the energy consumed by the wealthiest 1% alone would be enough to meet the basic energy needs of people without electricity access seven times over.

“Addressing inequality and colonialism in the transition offers an opportunity to radically reshape the energy landscape. Indigenous People, communities, women, workers and progressive local governments are already building new energy systems rooted in local control, progressive economics and ecological care, and where decent work, social protections, indigenous rights, and reskilling are placed at the core,” said Behar. “We must support them so that the transition stops serving profit and starts serving life.”

The report provides case studies of renewable energy projects that benefit local communities and avoid exploitation. One of those case studies is the Nga Awa Purua geothermal energy project near Taupō, which is operated as a joint venture with Mana Whenua.

“A just transition to renewable energy needs to prioritise decolonisation and include Indigenous communities” said Oxfam Aotearoa Climate Justice Lead Nick Henry.

“Projects like Nga Awa Purua show that when Indigenous communities control their own land and resources, they can fully participate in energy transition and share the benefits.”

Oxfam’s report calls on policymakers to adopt a new decolonised and decentralised energy system, which recognises and repairs the harms of the historical power imbalance and prioritises global cooperation and solidarity by:

  • Adopting a public-first financing approach to climate and development goals and rejecting the ‘Wall Street Consensus’ model where public money is used to guarantee private profits.

  • Rich polluting individuals, companies, and countries need to recognize their responsibility for the climate crisis and pay for the damage.

  • Radically reforming international tax, trade and financing models to unlock current barriers for the just energy transition in Global South countries. These tools include domestic value addition, technology transfer and industrial sovereignty

  • End exploitative practices and uphold labour rights and human rights in the energy transition, including recognizing the land rights and sovereignty of Indigenous peoples.

Notes to editors

Download the report here.

Contact information:

[email protected]

Climate Justice for Women in Timor-Leste

Oxfam has published a new report: “Climate Justice for Women in Timor-Leste“

Timor-Leste is one of the most climate-vulnerable nations in the world, facing increasingly intense rainfall, cyclones, floods, and droughts. These climate impacts are not only devastating rural livelihoods, food systems, and water security, but are also widening gender inequalities and deepening poverty. Women across the country—especially those in remote and marginalised communities—are bearing the brunt of climate disasters, with limited access to recovery resources, secure land, and decision-making power.

In this context, Oxfam in Timor-Leste has released a vital new report: Climate Justice for Women in Timor-Leste: Tracking Climate Finance to Build Resilience. The report exposes a critical gap in how climate finance is currently distributed. Despite repeated global and national commitments to gender equality, only 2.4% of climate finance in Timor-Leste supports projects that prioritise gender equality. Even more concerning, just 0.4% of climate funding directly supports women’s organisations or cooperatives.

This lack of targeted investment has serious consequences. Women are at the heart of climate resilience in Timor-Leste—they manage agroforestry, lead savings groups, and organise community disaster preparedness. Yet their work is underfunded, underrecognised, and often excluded from climate policy and finance decisions. Without change, climate finance risks reinforcing the very inequalities it should be addressing.

The report also maps the complex network of climate finance decision-makers in the country, from the National Designated Authority and the Ministry of Tourism and Environment, to international donors such as the Green Climate Fund and multilateral development banks. It highlights the lack of transparency and accessible information around climate finance flows, making it nearly impossible for communities—and especially women—to track whether funds are actually reaching those most affected by climate impacts.

Importantly, the report provides a roadmap for change. It calls on bilateral partners, development banks, and the Timorese government to commit a greater share of climate finance to gender equality, create mechanisms to fund women-led initiatives, and improve public transparency through platforms available in Tetun. Ensuring that climate finance supports women’s rights is not only a matter of justice—it is a pathway to more effective, inclusive, and sustainable climate solutions.

This analysis was conducted under the Kōtui Programme, a regional initiative led by Oxfam Aotearoa with support from the New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Kōtui aims to improve gender equality and women’s access to resources that enhance their resilience and wellbeing in the face of climate change.

In a time when climate finance must become more equitable and accountable, Climate Justice for Women in Timor-Leste serves as both a warning and a guide. It reminds us that empowering women is not just a side goal of climate action—it is central to building lasting resilience for all.

Read the report here.