Oxfam Report: World's Wealthiest Profit Twice by Polluting the Atmosphere
Businesses in industries harming the atmosphere are also driving their own climate change mitigation ventures
The world's wealthiest individuals profit twice: from industries that pollute the atmosphere and from businesses that help address the consequences of climate change. This conclusion was reached by Oxfam, a UK-based international confederation of independent non-governmental organizations that combats poverty, social inequality, and injustice worldwide.
According to the organization's estimates, the market for disaster preparedness and post-disaster recovery will grow from $70 billion to $92 billion annually by 2029. The report's authors express concern that this reduces the interest of big capital in reducing emissions.
Oxfam's index includes 217 companies that either exacerbate the crisis or profit from adapting to it: from cooling systems and flood barriers to insurance and loans. The wealth of billionaires owning food trading companies has increased by $120 billion since 2020. Following extreme weather in West Africa, cocoa prices surged by 231%, while local farmers gained nothing from this.
Oxfam calls for higher taxes on the ultra-wealthy and polluting companies.
