I don't like the methodology of the study (done by Oxfam if you want to look it up). It attributes emissions to a person when it is done by a company they're invested in. From the press release:
Billionaires’ lifestyle emissions dwarf those of ordinary people, but the emissions from their investments are dramatically higher still —the average investment emissions of 50 of the world’s richest billionaires are around 340 times their emissions from private jets and superyachts combined. Through these investments, billionaires have huge influence over some of the world’s biggest corporations and are driving us over the edge of climate disaster.
Nearly 40 percent of billionaire investments analyzed in Oxfam’s research are in highly polluting industries: oil, mining, shipping and cement. On average, a billionaire’s investment portfolio is almost twice as polluting as an investment in the S&P 500. However, if their investments were in a low-carbon-intensity investment fund, their investment emissions would be 13 times lower.
I'm of the opinion that we should look at people's consumption behavior rather than their production behavior. When Exxon Mobil or Delta Airlines pollute, they're doing it for their customers. Reducing the consumption from the customer point of view does reduce the overall emissions, so I'm gonna continue to reduce my own contributions to this crisis.
