Oxfam: Super-rich get a 'double dividend' from the climate crisis
newsOct 27, 202633260
Oxfam’s new report finds the world’s richest 0.1% are gaining a “double dividend” from the climate crisis by both investing in polluting industries and buying into the booming disaster-preparedness, recovery and reconstruction market. The NGO’s “destroy and rebuild” index identifies 217 corporations involved in fueling breakdown or profiting from adaptation; that adaptation market is projected to grow from $70bn to $92bn a year by 2029. The richest 0.1%, about 8 million people, emit more CO2 than the poorest 3.5 billion combined and have contributed 125 times more than the average person to extreme heat events, Oxfam says. Oxfam reports the 217 companies made an average of US$1.8bn last year and paid $1bn in dividends; six major asset managers appear on the list and BlackRock and Vanguard hold shares in 92% of those companies, worth more than $1tn. The NGO also highlights that crises boost profits for major food traders, noting billionaires’ wealth rose by $120bn since 2020 and citing a 231% cocoa-price surge after 2024 West African extreme weather that did not benefit local farmers. Jean McLean, Oxfam’s chief influencing officer, said billionaires “benefit at both ends of the crisis,” and the report warns this financial exposure gives wealthy actors an incentive to delay or disrupt stronger climate action while people least responsible face higher food prices, rebuilding costs and relocation burdens. Oxfam links the emissions of the richest 1% to an estimated 1.9 million excess heat-related deaths, underscoring its argument that these investment patterns widen global inequality and entrench protection for the wealthy.
