Environment: billionaires' money pollutes, says a report by two NGOs
Youth climate protest in Istanbul in September 2021 (illustrative image).
This is not the first time that the carbon footprint of billionaires has been pointed out by NGOs.
© AFP - OZAN KOSE
Text by: RFI Follow
1 min
This is a report by the NGOs Oxfam and Greenpeace which was published this Wednesday, February 23.
The financial assets of 63 French billionaires emit as many greenhouse gases as that of 50% of the French population.
The two NGOs propose the establishment of a carbon tax for the richest.
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This is not the first time that the carbon footprint of billionaires has been pointed out by NGOs.
But this time, it is not their lifestyle, their yacht cruises or their private jet shopping “getaways” that are targeted.
It's their money.
According to Oxfam and Greenpeace, through their investments and financial support for certain polluting companies, “
billionaires enable and encourage projects that emit greenhouse gases all over the planet
”.
The result: a dizzying carbon footprint.
What participation for the richest?
With at least 152 million tonnes of CO2 equivalent in one year, the financial assets of 63 French billionaires emit as much as Denmark, Finland and Sweden combined.
The finances of the Mulliez family alone, which is at the head of the Auchan group, emit more than all the inhabitants of a French region like New Aquitaine.
A significant impact which raises the question of the participation of billionaires in the necessary ecological transition efforts according to the two NGOs which are campaigning for a carbon tax for the richest.
A wealth tax specifically dedicated to adapting to climate change.
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