The study by Oxfam International found that the emissions of the wealthy 77 million people are roughly the same as those of five billion individuals in the bottom half of the population. It added that a person in the bottom 99 per cent would take roughly 1,500 years to produce as much carbon as the wealthiest billionaires do in a year. These statistics are truly shocking and should prompt a re-evaluation of our current situation.

Delving deeper, the study uncovers a stark contrast in carbon emissions between the global elites and the rest of the population. This disparity fuels the ongoing debate about the hypocrisy of wealthy individuals advocating for carbon reduction while leading extravagant, carbon-intensive lifestyles. This revelation should spark a sense of indignation among the public and a demand for change.

Furthermore, the Oxfam paper exposes the actions of global leaders and policymakers who persist in using carbon-spewing private jets despite spearheading discussions on climate change.

For instance, global leaders used 1,040 private jets to attend the World Economic Forum's 2022 meeting in Davos, Switzerland. The United Nations Climate Change Conferences in 2021 (Glasgow, Scotland) and 2023 (Dubai, United Arab Emirates) also had the same problem. Private jets emit ten times more carbon dioxide per person than commercial flights and approximately 50 times more than trains.

Meanwhile, global elites stood their ground despite criticism from the plebs of their carbon-intensive lifestyles.

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates justified his jet-setter lifestyle in an interview with the BBC's Amol Rajan. The technocrat said it is perfectly fine for him to fly around the world on private jets because he continues to "spend billions of dollars" on climate change activism. Indeed, Gates has the money to burn, as evidenced by his ownership of four private jets that cost $194 million.

A study by Stefan Gossling, an economics professor at Linnaeus University in Sweden, found that Gates took 59 private jet trips totalling more than 213,000 kilometres (132,352 miles) in 2017. Meanwhile, data from the World Bank disclosed that Gates has already emitted 1,760 tons of carbon dioxide—a hundred times more than the emissions per capita in the United States.

U.S. Special Climate Envoy John Kerry also faced criticism for flying to Iceland on a private jet in 2019. During the Obama administration, the former secretary of state was awarded for his climate leadership. At the time, Kerry defended using private jets, citing the necessity of offsetting carbon when travelling globally to address climate issues.

However, a round trip to Iceland by private jet would emit about 90 tons of carbon. In contrast, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) estimated that a typical passenger vehicle would only produce about 4.6 tons of carbon annually.

Gates and Kerry lecturing people about "climate change" and minimising one's carbon footprint while flying on carbon-guzzling private jets can only be described using one word – hypocrisy.

15/12/2023

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