Oxfam climate report calls for tax on the super-rich

Oxfam says that — between superyachts, SUVs, and frequent air travel — a billionaire can create carbon emissions in one day equivalent to what an average Irish person emits in a whole year. File picture: Leon Lord/Fiji Sun/ AP

Carbon emissions from superyachts and private jets belonging to the world’s billionaires are leading to millions of excess deaths and causing trillions of euros in economic losses through climate breakdown, research from Oxfam shows.

The charity’s 'Carbon Inequality Kills' report found that emissions generated by the lifestyles of 50 of the world’s richest people are greater than the emissions generated by 155m people combined.