Oxfam Report Finds Top 1% Account for 20% of Global Warming Since 1990

Residents of Cuyahoga County and the rest of the world are facing a climate crisis driven disproportionately by the ultra-wealthy, according to a report published on Monday by the global organization Oxfam. The study finds that the world's richest 1% of the population is responsible for 20% of global warming since 1990. This share is 20 times larger than their portion of the global population. The report was released on October 27, 2026.

The data shows that 8 million people, comprising the top 1% of global earners, produce far more emissions than the 3.5 billion people in the poorest half of the world. Individuals in the top 0.1% emit 48 times more carbon dioxide than the average person in the United States over the course of a year. The analysis was conducted using climate attribution models and a consumption-based emissions dataset developed by the Stockholm Environment Institute.

In the United States, the gap is even more pronounced. A person in the top 0.1% of U.S. earners, who makes an average of $1.98 million annually, emits more carbon dioxide in just 118.3 days than a person in the poorest half of the country emits in 30 years. The poorest half of U.S. residents earn an average of $25,600 a year. The U.S. currently ranks as the second-largest carbon emitter in the world, behind China.

Private aircraft account for a large share of these emissions. In 2025, private jets released 16 million metric tons of carbon dioxide. This amount is equivalent to the annual energy use of more than 2 million homes. The United States has the highest concentration of private jet traffic, with 68% of all private jets taking off from U.S. soil. The fleet spent more than 6.5 million hours in the air last year.

Rachel Carle, senior advisor on climate justice at Oxfam America, noted that the ultra-rich consume differently than everyday people. She stated that they are also more likely to invest in companies that pollute. The report analyzed 217 companies that profit from creating, preparing for, or recovering from climate disasters. These firms made an average of $1.8 billion in 2025 and paid out more than $1 billion to shareholders.

The report links these emissions directly to extreme weather events. A person in the top 1% contributes to extreme heat events at a rate 34 times higher than the average person. The emissions from the top 1% in a single year are estimated to cause 1.9 million excess heat deaths. Meanwhile, lower-income individuals are more likely to suffer from climate disasters and often lack the funds to recover from them.

Oxfam recommends taxing the emissions of the super-rich to address the disparity. The organization suggests taxes on high-emitting luxury items, such as private jet use, and windfall taxes on profits from fossil fuel companies. Revenue from these taxes could be used to increase climate financing in the Global South and invest in adaptation measures worldwide.

Carle said the goal is to address inequality in ways that protect the planet and communities. She emphasized that polluters need to pay for the harm they have caused. The United Nations warned this month that global emissions must drop by 18% by 2030 to keep warming below 2 degrees Celsius.