The wealthiest 1% of the global population is responsible for the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions as the poorest two-thirds of the planet, comprising five billion people, according to an analysis published by the non-profit organization Oxfam International.

While combatting the climate crisis is a shared challenge, not all are equally responsible, and government policies must be adjusted accordingly, Max Lawson, who co-authored the report, told AFP.

“The richer you are, the easier it is to reduce both your personal and investment-related emissions,” he remarked, adding that “you don't need a third car or a fourth vacation, nor do you need to invest in the cement industry.”

The report, titled "Climate Equality: One Planet for the 99%," is based on research compiled by the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI). It examines pollution emissions linked to consumer habits across different income groups up to the year 2019.

The research is published as world leaders prepare for climate talks at the COP28 summit in Dubai later this month. There are increasing fears that limiting the long-term temperature rise to 1.5 degrees Celsius will soon be unattainable.

One of the key findings of the study is that the richest 1% globally - 77 million people - are responsible for 16% of the world's carbon dioxide emissions related to their consumption.

This emission percentage is equal to that of the lower-income 66% of the global population, or 5.11 billion people.

The income threshold to be included in the top 1% of the global population was adjusted by country, using purchasing power parity – for instance, $140,000 in the United States, compared to approximately $40,000 in Kenya.

Country-specific analyses also presented stark pictures. For example, in France, the wealthiest 1% of the population emits as much carbon dioxide in one year as the poorest 50% does in ten years.

Excluding the carbon dioxide linked to his investments, Bernard Arnault, the billionaire founder of Louis Vuitton and France's richest person, has a pollution emission footprint 1,270 times greater than the average French citizen.

The key message, according to Lawson, is that policies need to be progressive.

"We believe that if governments don't implement a climate policy that is progressive, where we see the people emitting the most being asked to make the biggest sacrifices, then we are never going to have good policy around this," he emphasized.