Study reveals billionaires produce as much carbon pollution in 90 minutes as an average person does in a lifetime

[Plutoisaplanet]

I hope we'll be ready to give up a lot of luxuries some of these rich people have given us. They're the ones that own businesses that gives us our toys too.

Why don't we see their study in the same article about commercial airlines contribution to emissions too? Perhaps she just hates rich people as the last paragraph seems to imply.

The article isn’t even looking at their own usage of the planes. They’re just assuming because Elon owns two planes, he’s flying in both of them. It’s not considering shared use, or even the amount of productivity as a result of using them.

Realistically Elon works at several companies and works more than 80 hours a week. I doubt he owns any yachts and he doesn’t own any homes. You can’t really compare him to the average person.

 

[kiwigraeme]

This is simply not true. The specific heat capacity of liquid water varies a fraction of a percent until it changes state. That is the actual metric of how much heat any matter can absorb as it rises by a unit of temperature.

Unless the oceans are literally boiling, the ocean will continue to function as an effective thermal buffer and they will not “reach their limits” in moderating atmospheric temperatures lol.

You are quite right, I should have clarified my thoughts more . As the surface temp rises, there is a fall in the overall energy oceans take in over time, as more of this energy can be returned to the atmosphere by evaporation, heating the prevailing winds, etc
Plus I'm not upto date, probably lots of pluses and minuses, with flow of heat from surface to lower currents .

I was just parroting the known fact, that the ocean has been buffering a lot of the heat, and I had read years ago, it's buffering effect has been decreasing.

No idea what latest models say, probably quite complex and need to measure lots of data points in all currents deep and at surface

Definitely the surface temps is a major factor to the weather day to day, Here in NZ our temps are ocean moderated, but if particular warm India ocean current comes our way - we will notice as affects rain and temps .

Was it 2 years ago the high air streams had huge variations in the Northern Hemisphere, So interesting times , Even variation in prevailing winds near surface have a huge weather effect . Eg we can have very cold summer days if southerlies off Antarctic waters , Northern hemisphere can get similar , So ignoring long term climate change, we will also see some changes in local weather if currents heat/cool or flow differently deeper, swallower, slower faster tec

 

[yannus]

A man who works hard and gets a well deserved income is respectable. When you start knowing how ALL billionaires made their fortune, not the Micro$oft myth of Bill working in his garage, but the sad truth of corruption, manipulation and unfair advantages, then you realize that they are parasites. Everyone knows how hard it is to honestly earn 100.000$, not even talking about a million. Some people will argue that they are ahead of their time, again Bill story is a good counter example (E,E,E among others).

 

[monkeylove]

I remember reading that the top 10 percent of the world's population are responsible for 60 percent of personal consumption, and that if it's the case that half of the world population live on less than $7 daily, then it's possible that even those with average wages in industrialized countries are part of that 10 percent.

 

[TheBigT42]

"investments"???

 

[yannus]

I remember reading that the top 10 percent of the world's population are responsible for 60 percent of personal consumption, and that if it's the case that half of the world population live on less than $7 daily, then it's possible that even those with average wages in industrialized countries are part of that 10 percent.

That's correct but the problem is that the curve is exponential. So the 0.1% richest people are shamelessly using A LOT of resources while telling us (and most of the times forcing us) to consume less.

 

[monkeylove]

That's correct but the problem is that the curve is exponential. So the 0.1% richest people are shamelessly using A LOT of resources while telling us (and most of the times forcing us) to consume less.

For me, 60 percent is large.

 

[yannus]

For me, 60 percent is large.

Could be, but the concept is all that matters not the number. We can witness with our own eyes the exponential nature of this around us. By extrapolating, we understand the burden billionaires are for us.

 

[monkeylove]

Could be, but the concept is all that matters not the number. We can witness with our own eyes the exponential nature of this around us. By extrapolating, we understand the burden billionaires are for us.

The numbers matter because they imply that many will have to sacrifice and not just billionaires.

 

[theupsstorelosan]

The recent Oxfam report sheds light on the staggering carbon emissions produced by the world’s wealthiest individuals, highlighting how their private jets, yachts, and investments in carbon-intensive industries contribute disproportionately to the climate crisis. According to the report, the average billionaire’s carbon footprint is exponentially higher than that of regular citizens, with just 90 minutes of emissions equivalent to what an average person generates over an entire lifetime.

Key findings include:

• Private Jets: Billionaires' jets release roughly 2,074 tonnes of CO₂ annually per person, which equals 300 years of emissions for an average person. Oxfam found that Elon Musk's jets alone generated 5,497 tonnes of CO₂ in 2023, while Jeff Bezos’ jets spent 25 days in flight, producing as much CO₂ as a U.S. Amazon employee would emit in 207 years.
• Superyachts: These luxury vessels are even more polluting than jets, producing 5,672 tonnes of CO₂ annually per yacht. This equates to the emissions of 860 average people for a year.

Beyond their luxury lifestyle, billionaires' investments also play a massive role. Around 40% of these billionaires' assets are tied to emissions-heavy industries like oil and mining, producing millions of tonnes of CO₂ equivalents annually. This disparity underscores Oxfam’s call for fairer taxes on extreme wealth to address the climate impacts of this inequality. Implementing measures such as taxes on private jets and yachts could curb the emissions associated with high-consumption lifestyles and fund climate action efforts

 

[yannus]

The numbers matter because they imply that many will have to sacrifice and not just billionaires.

Billionaires will never sacrifice, they're getting wealthier by the hour.

 

[monkeylove]

Billionaires will never sacrifice, they're getting wealthier by the hour.

I think most people worldwide won't sacrifice.