The Disaster Divide: Climate Inequality in the United States
Key U.S. findings from Oxfam's report “Disaster Divide: How climate chaos deepens inequality and enriches the few”
Oxfam's new report finds that the richest 0.1% of people—8 million—now emit more than the poorest 44% of humanity, 3.5 billion people combined. One year of emissions from the richest 1% will cause an estimated 1.9 million excess deaths from heat. Time and again, the harm falls disproportionately. In more unequal countries, for example, deaths from flooding are seven times higher.
The United States exemplifies both extremes. It carries the largest share of historical responsibility for excess emissions (40%), hosts more than two-thirds of the world's private jet flights, and is home to investors who profit both from fueling climate disasters and cleaning them up—all while its lowest-income households, whose emissions have contributed the least to the climate crisis, are the most exposed to climate-driven costs.