GNV News – January 18, 2026

In early 2026, the world’s richest 1% used up their entire annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions allowance in just the first 10 days, by January 10. The international NGO Oxfam revealed this in its latest analysis. This allowance, also called the “carbon budget,” is the upper limit of CO2 emissions compatible with keeping the rise in global temperature within 1.5°C above pre‑industrial levels. For the remaining 300+ days of the year, the CO2 that the rich will emit each day is calculated to threaten internationally agreed climate targets and to have serious impacts on the lives of the vast majority of people.

Global temperature rise is almost proportional to the amount of CO2 emitted. According to Oxfam, if you calculate the allowable CO2 emissions in 2030 that correspond to the 1.5°C target and divide that figure equally among the projected 8.5 billion people that year, you get a per‑capita emissions allowance. The ultra‑rich in the top 0.1% had already used up their annual carbon budget in just the first three days, by January 3.

The main reasons the rich emit so much CO2 include their lifestyles, such as using private jets, as well as the fact that they invest heavily in industries with extremely high emissions, which is a major factor.

As a result, various forms of environmental destruction are being triggered. Oxfam warns that the greenhouse gases emitted in a single year by the richest 1% will cause about 1.3 million heat‑related deaths by the end of this century, and that 40 years of excessive emissions by this top 1% will inflict US$44 trillion in economic losses on sectors such as agriculture in low- and lower‑middle‑income countries, according to a warning. A 2025 study found that the per‑capita impact (contribution) of the richest 1% on environmental degradation was 26 times that of an average person for once‑in‑a‑century heatwaves and 17 times for Amazon droughts. This shows that solving the climate crisis is inseparable from correcting economic inequality and disparity.

However, that disparity and inequality may not be properly recognized. An international research team surveyed 4,000 people in Denmark, India, Nigeria, and the United States and found that, regardless of country of origin, respondents underestimated the emissions of the top 10% compared to reality. Conversely, they overestimated the emissions of the bottom 50%.

From January 19 to 23, 2026, the World Economic Forum (Davos meeting) will be held. Most attendees are wealthy people such as senior government officials and corporate leaders. It is said that many of them will arrive by private jet. They may already have used up their annual CO2 allocations. What kind of discussions will take place on global warming and inequality?

Learn more about global inequality and climate change → “Climate Change and the New ‘Apartheid’ It Creates”

Learn more about the world’s rich → “Billionaires: Questioning Their Very Existence”

Learn more about the Davos meeting → “The Davos Meeting and Another World”

Private jet, Sun Valley Airport, United States (Photo: Thomas Hawk / Flickr [CC BY-NC 2.0])