Billionaires emit million times more greenhouse gas than average: Oxfam

The report by Oxfam found that the investments of 125 billionaires produce 393 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emissions every year.

The average billionaire emits a million times more CO2 than a person in the poorest 90% of the world's population, according to the global poverty charity, which makes it equivalent to the CO2 output of the whole of France.

The study found that the richest 125 people in the world have a combined $2.4 trillion stake in 183 companies, which averages out to 3 million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide emitted per billionaire, per year.

This is significantly higher than the average emissions of people outside the world's wealthiest 10%, which is 2.76 metric tonnes of carbon dioxide annually.

The study found that the average billionaire has twice as much of their investment portfolio in "polluting industries" than the average person.

Danny Sriskandarajah, the chief executive of Oxfam GB, said that world leaders at the COP27 climate summit should show how big corporations and rich investors make money from pollution, which is causing the climate crisis.

"The role of the super-rich in super-charging climate change is rarely discussed," Sriskandarajah said.

"This has to change. These billionaire investors at the top of the corporate pyramid have huge responsibility for driving climate breakdown. They have escaped accountability for too long."

Nearly 200 countries are represented at the COP27 summit in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, which formally opened on Sunday. The delegates are gathered to discuss how to address the climate crisis.

Climate justice and reparations will also be discussed as divisive issues among wealthy countries.