Oxfam: The Super-Rich Reap Double Dividends from the Climate Crisis, from Cause to Catastrophe
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- Laporan Oxfam mengungkap kelompok terkaya 0,1% dunia meraup keuntungan dari investasi di industri pencemar sekaligus bisnis pemulihan bencana yang nilainya diproyeksikan naik dari US$70 miliar ke US$92 miliar per tahun pada 2029.
- Indeks 'destroy and rebuild' Oxfam mencatat 217 korporasi yang meraup rata-rata US$1,8 miliar dan membagikan US$1 miliar dividen pada tahun lalu, dengan BlackRock dan Vanguard menguasai saham di 92% perusahaan tersebut.
- Ketimpangan ini dinilai memperlebar jurang global dan memberi insentif bagi kelompok kaya untuk menghambat aksi iklim, sementara negara miskin menanggung beban kematian akibat panas ekstrem.
The climate crisis is not only an ecological disaster but also a profit engine for a handful of the world's wealthiest people. A new Oxfam report reveals that the top 0.1%—about 8 million people—not only enjoy gains from the industries that drive climate change but also reap large profits from preparedness and post-disaster reconstruction businesses. The value of this adaptation market is projected to leap from US$70 billion to US$92 billion per year by 2029.
The UK-based nonprofit calls this phenomenon the climate crisis's "double dividend." On one hand, the super-rich keep channeling capital into dirty energy and polluting industries. On the other, they put money into companies that provide cooling equipment, flood barriers, firefighting gear, insurance, and emergency loans—services increasingly in demand as extreme weather worsens. Oxfam argues this pattern creates a hidden incentive to slow or even derail efforts to cut emissions.
"The super-rich are profiting at both ends of the crisis: first, through continued investment in polluting industries; second, through investment in the fast-growing 'adaptation economy'—recovery and rebuilding services sold to a hotter world," said Jean McLean, Chief Influencing Officer at Oxfam, as quoted in the report.
Oxfam data shows a stark emissions gap. The richest 0.1% emit more carbon than the poorest 3.5 billion people combined. Their contribution to extreme heatwaves is reported to be 125 times that of the average global citizen. Lavish lifestyles, including private jet use, are one driver. But the biggest impact comes from their investment portfolios.
Oxfam introduces a "destroy and rebuild" index mapping 217 companies operating on both sides of the crisis: worsening climate change or profiting from adaptation efforts. Last year, these companies posted average profits of US$1.8 billion and paid out US$1 billion to shareholders. Six giant asset managers, which advise wealthy investors, are on the list. Two of them, BlackRock and Vanguard, hold shares in 92% of the companies in the index, with a total value exceeding US$1 trillion.
A similar pattern appears in the food sector. Crises caused by extreme weather or war tend to lift the profits of large trading houses controlled by billionaires. The wealth of this group is reported to have grown by US$120 billion since 2020. When drought, floods, or storms damage harvests, food price spikes benefit corporations and investors, while smallholder farmers and consumers bear the burden. Oxfam cites a 231% surge in cocoa prices after extreme weather in West Africa in 2024, which it says local farmers did not enjoy.
The impact of this inequality is serious. Oxfam estimates that the annual emissions of the richest 1% will cause 1.9 million excess heat deaths, based on projected effects on human health, agricultural productivity, and sea-level rise. More than three-quarters of those deaths occur in low- and middle-income countries, which account for only 8% of global emissions.
Rich countries and individuals are relatively shielded from the climate crisis because they can buy expensive food, sturdy homes, emergency evacuation, private health care, and personal security. According to Oxfam, this makes them reluctant to use their lobbying power to push for climate action, and even inclined to slow emissions cuts that could threaten their wealth. Some exploit disasters to advance privatization agendas or press poor countries to take out loans.
"This is deliberate. When you factor in their political influence, this is very damning evidence that they are able to orchestrate what is happening," said Alex Maitland, one of the report's lead authors.
Oxfam calls for higher taxes on the wealthy, private jets, oil and gas companies, and polluting industries. It also urges the UK government to increase its international climate finance commitments in the form of grants, not loans, and to stop profiting from climate disasters.
"The tricky thing about talking about climate change is that everyone wants to believe it's a shared problem, but it isn't. Tackling the climate crisis is actually easy. Control the richest, limit their power, limit their emissions, and tax their wealth," said Nafkote Dabi, climate change policy lead at Oxfam International.
For Indonesia, these findings are relevant given the country's position as one of the biggest recipients of climate crisis impacts and as an investment destination for the adaptation sector. The Oxfam report can serve as a mirror showing that without strict oversight, global capital flows into climate resilience projects could widen domestic inequality. The government needs to ensure that green financing schemes, including from philanthropy and foreign investors, do not end up commercializing disasters and impoverishing vulnerable communities.
Going forward, the question is simple: will the international community curb the space for capital that exploits the crisis, or will it let the super-rich keep harvesting dividends from the Earth's suffering?
