World's richest 10% produce 50% of CO2: Report
London
THE INDEPENDENT
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The richest 10 % of people produce half of the Earth's carbon emissions, while the poorest half-most threatened by droughts and super stroms linked to climate change--contribute a mere 10%, British charity Oxfam said in a study released on Wednesday .The richest 10% have, on average, carbon footprints 11 times that of the poorest 3.5 billion people on the planet, the campaign group said in its report. One of the biggest obstacles facing negotiators from 195 countries, attending the Paris climate meet, is how to find the billions of dollars needed by developing nations to enable them to stop using fossil fuels and adapt to the weather shocks.
“Climate change and economic inequality are inextricably linked and pose one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century ,“ Tim Gore, Oxfam's head of food and climate policy , said.
Emissions are rising fastest in developing countries, Oxfam said. Yet emissions relating to goods and services consumed by the richest citizens in China, India, Brazil and South Africa are way behind those of their counterparts in the wealthiest countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, it said.
Oxfam found that India's richest 10% use on average just one quarter of the carbon used by the poorest half of the population of the US.It also said total emissions of China's poorest 600 million people are one third of the total emissions of US's richest 10%, some 30 million people. REUTERS
Tuvalu faces threat from rising sea
The PM of Tuvalu, the world's fourth smallest nation, has appealed for help from EU leaders to stop it disappearing from Earth. Enele Spoaga arrived in Brussels on Monday to call on EU leaders for support. The islands, home to just 10,000, is under threat from rising sea levels as it is just 4m above sea level. He called on Europe to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep warming down to 1.5°C. He said: “We need to save Tuvalu to save the world. “
“Climate change and economic inequality are inextricably linked and pose one of the greatest challenges of the 21st century ,“ Tim Gore, Oxfam's head of food and climate policy , said.
Emissions are rising fastest in developing countries, Oxfam said. Yet emissions relating to goods and services consumed by the richest citizens in China, India, Brazil and South Africa are way behind those of their counterparts in the wealthiest countries of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development, it said.
Oxfam found that India's richest 10% use on average just one quarter of the carbon used by the poorest half of the population of the US.It also said total emissions of China's poorest 600 million people are one third of the total emissions of US's richest 10%, some 30 million people. REUTERS
Tuvalu faces threat from rising sea
The PM of Tuvalu, the world's fourth smallest nation, has appealed for help from EU leaders to stop it disappearing from Earth. Enele Spoaga arrived in Brussels on Monday to call on EU leaders for support. The islands, home to just 10,000, is under threat from rising sea levels as it is just 4m above sea level. He called on Europe to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to keep warming down to 1.5°C. He said: “We need to save Tuvalu to save the world. “
Source: Times of India, 3-12-2015
