Climate Change From Big Carbon Footprints of Rich Mostly Affects Poor

Summary: Climate change from big carbon footprints of the rich mostly affects the poor, according to Oxfam Media Briefing, published Dec. 2.

global carbon footprints ~ NASA's Earth Exchange (NEX) platform combines historical measurements with data from climate simulations to provide forecasts of changes in such variables as global temperature (shown here) through 2100 according to different greenhouse gas emissions scenarios: NASA Earth Exchange (NEX), Public Domain, via NASA Global Climate Change

A media briefing published Wednesday, Dec. 2, 2015, by Oxfam, an international anti-poverty confederation, finds that climate change from big carbon footprints of rich affects mostly the global population’s poor half of around 3.5 billion people.

Oxfam Media Briefing notes that the lifestyle of the world’s richest 10 percent is responsible for around 50 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Contrastingly, the individual consumption of the poorest half of the total global population of around 7.3 billion people accounts for only around 10 percent of the global emissions total. The richest 10 percent create carbon footprints that are 60 times as high as those of the poorest 10 percent. Oxfam’s dramatic scale of contrast between “haves” and “have-nots” presents the richest 1 percent’s average footprint as possibly 30 times that of the poorest 50 percent and 175 times that of the poorest 10 percent.

“Climate change is inextricably linked to economic inequality: it is a crisis that is driven by the greenhouse gas emissions of the ‘haves’ that hits the ‘have-nots’ the hardest,” states the opening sentence of the briefing’s summary.

Oxfam’s briefing seeks to dispel long-circulating myths about responsibility for sparking climate change. A point of contention is the allocation of emissions cuts according to status as already industrialized or newly industrializing. The briefing gives consideration to the significantly different consumption footprints of developing versus developed countries.

Stark examples emphasize the scale of dissimilarity between already industrialized and newly industrializing as: “While the huge populations of countries like China and India clearly contribute significantly to the global total of emissions from lifestyle consumption -- again reinforcing the need for strong climate action in those countries -- the poorest half of the Chinese population (over 600m people) have a total emissions footprint that is still only one-third that of the richest 10% of US citizens (around 30m people). The poorest half of the Indian population (around 600m people) emits only half as much again, about the same as the richest 10% of people in Japan (around 12m people).”

The Earth’s poorest half “live overwhelmingly” in countries, especially in Africa and Asia, that are regarded as most vulnerable to global warming. According to a recent study of 52 countries by the World Bank, the poorest 20 percent of national populations live in areas with high exposure to such natural disasters as droughts, floods and heat waves. This high incidence of inclement weather is especially significant in many African and South East Asian countries.

The briefing’s release is timed specifically to coincide with ongoing negotiation talks during the 21st annual meeting of the United Nations Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP). Held this year at Paris’ Le Bourget Centre, COP21 opened on Monday, Nov. 30, and will continue until Saturday, Dec. 12. COP21 aims to produce an effective agreement that realistically tackles climate change by capping the 21st century’s global temperature rise at no more than 2 degrees Celsius (3.6 degrees Fahrenheit) above the pre-industrial mean temperature level.

“The litmus test of the deal will be whether it [COP21] delivers something for the poorest people who are both the least responsible for and the most vulnerable to climate change, wherever they live,” notes Oxfam’s briefing.

Oxfam's Dec. 2 publication date for 2015 Oxfam Media Briefing, Extreme Carbon Inequality,  is timed for release during COP21, which runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, 2015: Oxfam International @Oxfam via Twitter Dec. 3, 2015

Acknowledgment

My special thanks to talented artists and photographers/concerned organizations who make their fine images available on the internet.

Image credits:

NASA global temperature simulation: NASA Earth Exchange (NEX), Public Domain, via NASA Global Climate Change @ http://climate.nasa.gov/news/2293/

Oxfam's Dec. 2 publication date for 2015 Oxfam Media Briefing, Extreme Carbon Inequality, is timed for release during COP21, which runs from Nov. 30 to Dec. 12, 2015: Oxfam International @Oxfam via Twitter Dec. 3, 2015, @ https://twitter.com/Oxfam/status/672430336924610561

For further information:

Cole, Steve, and Darryl Waller. "NASA releases detailed global climate change projections." NASA Global Climate Change > News. June 9, 2015.
Available @ http://climate.nasa.gov/news/2293/

Kottasova, Ivana. "World's richest 10% produce half of all carbon emissions - Oxfam." CNN Philippines > Front Page > Business. Dec. 5, 2015.
Available @ http://cnnphilippines.com/business/2015/12/03/richest-carbon-emission-oxfam.html

Oxfam. Extreme Carbon Inequality. Oxfam Media Briefing. Dec. 2, 2015.
Available @ https://d1tn3vj7xz9fdh.cloudfront.net/s3fs-public/file_attachments/mb-extreme-carbon-inequality-021215-en.pdf

Oxfam International @Oxfam. "6 key takeaways from the start of #COP21 Paris climate conference." Twitter. Dec. 3, 2015.
Available @ https://twitter.com/Oxfam/status/672430336924610561