MarkNov 22, 2022
Greta Thunberg

A billionaire emits a million times more greenhouse gases than the average person, according to Oxfam.

We know which ones we need to hold accountable for the climate crisis.

https://policy-practice.oxfam.org/resources/carbon-billionaires-the-investment-emissions-of-the-worlds-richest-people-621446/

Carbon Billionaires: The investment emissions of the world’s richest people - Oxfam Policy & Practice

The world’s richest people emit huge and unsustainable amounts of carbon and, unlike ordinary people, 50% to 70% of their emissions result from their investments. New analysis of the investments of 125 of the world’s richest billionaires shows that on average they are emitting 3 million tonnes a year, more than a million times the […]

Oxfam Policy & Practice
Nov 9, 2022 at 7:35amWeb
Show threadAz_The nicest of the damned.Nov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg Can we put it back in them?
Show threadHelloitsmeNov 9, 2022
@Az_ @gretathunberg 😂👍
Show threadRealitätsabstandsoptimierer:inNov 9, 2022
@Az_ @gretathunberg That's called Carbon Capture and Storage, if I am not mistaken. 😛
Show threadPhil ReesNov 9, 2022
@bugbuster42 @Az_ @gretathunberg I'd call it the reversal of a toot but that's toot.
Show threadManz 👽Nov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg Absolutely! The climate crisis is also a class crisis.
Maybe a redistribution of wealth could be part of the solution?
Show threadKitKatNov 9, 2022
@manz @gretathunberg Carbon fee and dividend
Show threadAlex KellyNov 9, 2022

@gretathunberg Absolutely they do. As I wrote after the floods here in Australian in March - these fossil fuel companies are projected to export more than $379bn worth of oil and gas by June this year. According to research from Market Forces, as many as sixty-two of these companies paid no tax in 2019-20.

As we process the magnitude of these floods, while still trying to make sense of the black summer fires, it is clear that we are going to need significant resources to manage the ongoing, rolling crises that will define our lives in the decades to come. As these impacts become more and more frequent, we need to organise around the idea that those responsible for the climate crisis must pay for the mess they have made.

https://overland.org.au/2022/03/make-the-fossil-fuel-companies-pay/

Make the fossil fuel companies pay - Overland literary journal

As we process the magnitude of these floods, while still trying to make sense of the black summer fires, it is clear that we are going to need significant resources to manage the ongoing, rolling crises that will define our lives in the decades to come. As these impacts become more and more frequent, we need to organise around the idea that those responsible for the climate crisis must pay for the mess they have made.

Overland literary journal
Show threadIntroverted TravelsNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg indeed!
Show threadanubis2814Nov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg 4% of the richest people emit 49% of the carbon, if the rest of us had some of that money they would emit a lot less and we would spend that money on energy saving devices. Overpopulation has always been a lie by the rich.
Show threadYvan DecreuxNov 9, 2022
@anubis2814 @gretathunberg
The rich emit less by dollar they spent than the poor. If the poor had that money, they would emit just the same as the rich do, if not more.
Show threadJim SutherlandNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg x a million more sounds like an underestimate to me. Never the less you are absolutely right!
Show threadHanspeter RosenlechnerNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg Yes, but who WILL hold anyone accountable? If #politicians did, they’d commit political suicide. Consequently: “#Elections are the cause of our current #climatecrisis. … We need to tackle the issue of electoral short-term thinking before we can tackle things like #climatechange.“ https://is.gd/fmWw0E
#DEMOCRACY ≠ #ELECTIONS,
DEMOCRACY = RANDOM SELECTION of a representative (!) sample of society.
Show threadSoweli liliNov 9, 2022
@hpr Take a look at https://www.sortitionfoundation.org/
Elections are not the only way
Sortition Foundation

We promote and institute sortition in empowered assemblies, and envision a world free from partisan politicking, where a representative random sample of everyday people make decisions in an informed, deliberative and fair environment. Join us!

Sortition Foundation
Show threadundead enby of the apocalypseNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg @hpr the state and capitalism are intertwined, in order to stop carbon emissions we need to end both
Show threadHanspeter RosenlechnerNov 9, 2022
@enby_of_the_apocalypse @gretathunberg Capitalism (or the economy in general) is an entity in its own right. The power to make decisions lies solely with legislature. To ask a chief executive to change the rules by which he operates would be to turn him into something akin to a virus that takes over the operating system. No, the rules of the operating system must be set by the state, and therefore state officials must not be compromised by capitalism / money. The state and the economy must be clearly separated and work together as separate entities, according to the rules set by the state - through an uncompromisable legislative power selected by lot.
Show threadRootvegrockstarNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg I had My business's carbon report done recently- I run a sustainable grocery store that deals directly with farmers.
Show threadgodofredoNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg true. But what can be done about that? Convincing rich people to cut down on their emissions won’t work.
Show threadManz 👽Nov 9, 2022
@gottfired @gretathunberg unrich them 😈
Show threadNils 'Kojote' HitzeNov 9, 2022
@gottfired @gretathunberg eating them could help
Show threadJohn ShirleyNov 9, 2022

@gottfired @gretathunberg

they can be forced to cut down and find new healthier investments--through new, tougher laws and perhaps lawsuits.

Show threadLouis de ConstanceNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg
Show threadDerGretistNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg well, not really. the emissions come from productive processes, and not from ownership, which is not much more than a sheet of paper.
Show threadRichard AyresNov 9, 2022
@DerGretist @gretathunberg
Sure, but they own, and profit from, the productive processes.
Show threadDerGretistNov 9, 2022
@rayres @gretathunberg but if you redistribute their wealth emission will not go down.
Show threadRichard AyresNov 9, 2022
@DerGretist That doesn't excuse it. They are responsible for what they do with their wealth.
Show threadSignalelevenNov 9, 2022
@DerGretist @gretathunberg is flying 3 times a day in a private jet part of the productive process?
Show threadLiveFastPieYumNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg @gretathunberg To the poorest states of the world, all of us are billionaires. I think it’s easy to point at billionaires and say: IT’S THEIR FAULT! It is true that they have a higher responsibility and not all of them meet act accordingly. But it is also true that all of us are accountable for the climate. Keep in mind: Some billionaires are billionaires because WE ARE BUYING THEIR STUFF!
Show threadundead enby of the apocalypseNov 9, 2022
@livefastpieyum @gretathunberg well, it’s not like we can stop paying for groceries and rent and utilities and stuff right away. We need to build parallel, non-hierarchical, less harmful to the climate structures so that we can stop relying on corporations and we can end capitalism.
Show threadundead enby of the apocalypseNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg @livefastpieyum honestly I think it’s far more likely that the end of capitalism will come from the poorest parts of the world since they have less to loose, but we should also be trying to fight capitalism as much as we can.
Show threadLiveFastPieYumNov 9, 2022
@enby_of_the_apocalypse @gretathunberg Not sure we need to ‘end’ capitalism. Maybe a different, social, sustainable capitalism will do. The problem usually isn’t the system. It’s the a-holes exploiting the system. And we as a society need to stop them or, better yet, build a society that does not tolerate them. If you behave anti-social, anti-environment, nobody is going to have anything to do with you. Let alone do business with you. Go screw yourself.
Show threadundead enby of the apocalypseNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg @livefastpieyum I disagree, the problem is usually the system. Capitalism is brutal in so many ways beyond the climate crisis, it needs to be ended.
Show threadLiveFastPieYumNov 9, 2022
@enby_of_the_apocalypse @gretathunberg show me a system that mankind will not screw up. Then we can continue this discussion. I enjoyed it :)
Show threadundead enby of the apocalypseNov 9, 2022
@livefastpieyum @gretathunberg sure, anarchism. Even though that’s less of a system and more of an ongoing process to always push for a better, less hierarchical society.
Show threadAaronNov 22, 2022
@livefastpieyum @gretathunberg It's not because we buy their stuff. It's because the legal framework around corporations maintains their status as monetary hoovers, sucking money out of the pockets of everyday folks and depositing it in the treasuries of those that already have wealth. And money is power.
Show threadAaronNov 22, 2022
@livefastpieyum @gretathunberg Our economy is setup so that even if you are relatively wealthy compared to someone from a poor country, you are still so close to the financial breaking point. Because we have to spend all that money constantly, or else we end up jobless, vehicle-less, and homeless. Take a look at how much money we save, on average, and you will see a very different picture from a hundred years ago.
Show threadHans-Günter BrünkerNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg
The reduced #gasprice and the reduced cost of #electricity decided upon in #Germany will provide these billionaire with huge savings instead of encouraging them to consume less #energy.
#Gaspreisbremse #Strompreisdeckel #unsozial #ukrainewar
Show threadHarfeurNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg What can we do as citizens? I am already trying to do zero waste, digital sobriety, I never take the car, always the bike and if not the train. I repair as much as possible instead of throwing away. What can we do to make things happen and to make leaders understand that we must stop talking and act?
Show threadundead enby of the apocalypseNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg @harfeur anticapitalism. Look into anarchism, do some direct action to help weaken capitalism. That can be things as simple as helping the homeless, spreading information or helping unionize your workplace (if it isn’t already). Let’s build non-hierarchical structures to show the world there is another way, to learn about how to organize society without hierarchies such as capitalism and the state which brought us into this mess in the first place, and to eventually help us exit capitalist, authoritarian structures.
Show threadHRH ginsterbuschNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg One ponders if there is something like BED (Banana Equivalent Dose) for that - like when they say, cows are one of the main factors, is there maybe a Cow Fart Equivalent Dose (CFED)? On base of that, what would be the CFED for a stinking rich person?
Show threadMsGolightlyNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg Yep, #COP27 = The International Hypocrisy Conference. Total Joke
Show threadIan MontgomeryNov 9, 2022
@MsGolightly @gretathunberg wasn’t that shiz sponsored by Pepsi? 😂😂
Show threadMsGolightlyNov 9, 2022
@nadmin Sponsored by big oil is the more problematic thing..... they all fly there in private jets - and as for the record of Egypt.... totally risible.
Show threadKaptenNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg capitalism has failed it's chances to remedy the situation. It is incapable of fixing the damage it has done. There is no alternative other than revolution
Show threadAaronNov 22, 2022
@kapten @gretathunberg It would be enough to replace corporations with cooperatives. Make companies answer to the many, instead of the few.
Show threadKaptenNov 22, 2022
@hosford42 @gretathunberg not necessarily since the co-op structure isn't a guarantee for a eco-sustainable economy. In smaller businesses it works fine, but for large scale production it becomes a real pain to manage without centralization
Show threadAaronNov 22, 2022
@kapten @gretathunberg Coops can be just as centralized as any other corporate structure. What's different is who the shareholders are, and (typically) how evenly shares are distributed. This gives a different incentive structure, while still allowing for top-down governance by an executive.
Show threadAaronNov 22, 2022
@kapten @gretathunberg You are right that it's no guarantee, but the distributed decision making and the alignment of values between customers/workers and owners means that the tragedy of the commons ceases to be a major driver of behavior.
Show threadUppsalaCyclistNov 9, 2022

@gretathunberg there are ~3300 billionaires in the world. So that amounts to another 3.3bn average people living on the planet.

Also, billionaires' emissions contribute to the emissions of an average person. So it's probably marginally more than that 3.3bn that we calculated.

Show threadJames EdwardNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg They are counting “investment emissions”, i.e. all the pollution these people cause to happen. I think this is a useful lens through which to judge our own activity. It’s not just about our direct pollution but also the pollution that we pay others to emit for us whenever we buy something or make an influencing decision.
Show threadYvan DecreuxNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg
They are talking about the investments of these billionaires. The actual emitters are everybody using the products and services that their companies provide, including some who strongly oppose any regulation or taxation of those products and services.
Besides, if governments take the necessary actions to address the climate crisis, it will take money, and billionaires will contribute much more to the solution than the average person.
Show threadYvan DecreuxNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg
It may be difficult for you to accept it, but the problem is not the billionaires or governments, it is the people. Whenever governments take the necessary actions to tackle the crisis, people oppose them. They opposed carbon tax in France; a majority oppose the end of fossil fuel vehicles decided by the EU; they strongly opposed the end of fossil fuel subsidies in Ecuador, and elected a more right-wing president.
Our task is to convince the people; then governments will follow.
Show threadYvan DecreuxNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg
You have done a great job in raising public awareness about the urgency of the situation. The next step is to think about actual solutions and promote them. Those do not include "give all the money to the poor" or "get rid of capitalism". We need real solutions: better railway infrastructures, bicycle paths, nuclear and/or renewable energy (depending on the advances of nuclear and energy storage technologies), thermal renovation of buildings, etc.
Show threadGuenther SchneiderNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg Here’s an overview by countries:
https://www.visualcapitalist.com/mapped-the-worlds-billionaire-population-by-country/
Mapped: The World’s Billionaire Population, by Country

Collectively, worldwide billionaire wealth is nearly $12 trillion. This map breaks down where these 3,311 billionaires live around the globe.

Visual Capitalist
Show threadgruenemotteNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg eat the rich or they will eat us!
Show threadThe Duality of XanNov 9, 2022
@gretathunberg Dont eat the rich. Mulch them and use them as fertiliser in reforestation efforts. 🌳
Show threadLiam LemonNov 9, 2022
@XanIndigo @gretathunberg haha. Love this