Oxfam: richest 0.1% emit more than poorest 3.5bn and profit from climate disaster recovery

Mixed · 2Oxfam published a report on Tuesday 27 October 2026 saying the world's richest 0.1%, about 8 million people, are responsible for more carbon emissions than the poorest 3.5 billion people combined. 1 2 Left · 1The Guardian reports that Oxfam also found this group heavily invested in disaster preparedness, recovery and reconstruction, a market projected to grow from $70bn to $92bn a year by 2029. Oxfam calls this a "double dividend" from the climate crisis and says it gives the wealthy an incentive to delay or disrupt climate action. 2 Left · 1Oxfam's new "destroy and rebuild index" lists 217 corporations that either fuel climate breakdown or profit from adapting to it. Last year they made an average of US$1.8bn and paid out $1bn in dividends. BlackRock and Vanguard hold shares in 92% of them, worth more than $1tn, according to Oxfam. 2

Left · 1The report also says crises tend to boost the profits of food trading companies dominated by billionaires, whose wealth has risen by $120bn since 2020. It cites a 231% surge in cocoa prices after extreme weather in west Africa in 2024, from which it says local farmers gained nothing. 2 Centre · 1Anadolu Agency says the report found the richest 1% responsible for 20% of global warming since 1990. It estimates that one year of their emissions could cause 1.9 million excess heat-related deaths, 78% of them in low- and lower-middle-income countries, which account for just 8% of global emissions. It also projects nearly $53 trillion in economic damage by 2050. 1 Mixed · 2Both outlets cite Oxfam's finding that private jets emit more CO2 in two seconds than most people, or a person in the poorest half, emit in a year. 2 1

Mixed · 2The two outlets give different figures for how much more an individual in the richest 0.1% contributes to extreme heat. The Guardian says 125 times more than the average person. Anadolu says nearly 400 times more than someone in the poorest 50%. 2 1 Mixed · 2Oxfam officials describe the situation as one of unequal responsibility. Executive Director Amitabh Behar said: "This is not a tragedy of shared fate; it is a crime of extreme inequality." Jean McLean, chief influencing officer, accused billionaires of turning chaos into profit. Lead author Alex Maitland told the Guardian "This is deliberate", saying the evidence of political influence is "pretty damning". 1 2 Mixed · 2Oxfam says the wealthy are insulated from climate harm and so less likely to use their lobbying power for climate action. It also says disasters are used to push privatisation, land grabs, deregulation and tax breaks for the super-rich. 2 1

Mixed · 2Oxfam calls on governments attending COP31 to make wealthy polluters pay through higher taxes, to increase public climate finance for the Global South, and to triple adaptation funding by 2035. The Guardian adds that it wants the UK government to base climate finance on grants rather than loans. 1 2