20 November 2024

Billionaires Must Help Fix the Planet

Ban Ki-moon

The climate crisis is a ticking time bomb, and those with the greatest power, wealth, and influence must take responsibility for their role in it. While millions of the world’s most marginalized people are paying the ultimate price with their lives, their homes, or their livelihoods, billionaires and fossil fuel giants continue to profit. The time has come to hold decision-makers and the wealthiest accountable.

The consequences of climate chaos have become increasingly frequent and devastating. Recent droughts in Ethiopia, Kenya, and Somalia, for instance, have caused millions of people who live in poverty in rural areas to lose their main economic asset: their livestock. Between 2021 and 2023, nearly 13 million livestock worth around $7.4 billion died in those countries. The people bearing the brunt of these impacts contributed little to the problem, while major fossil fuel corporations have continued to pollute with impunity, reaping enormous profits, paying far too little in taxes, and using their influence to shape policies in their favor.


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