In a video posted by the environmental group Futuro Vegetal, activists can be seen standing in front of the superyacht Kaos with a banner that reads: “You Consume Others Suffer” after apparently spraying the large vessel with red and black paint. The video ends with a statement that warns, “We can’t keep maintaining your privileges. Eat the rich. Support us.”
Recent data from Oxfam International using research obtained from Stockholm Environment Institute found “the wealthiest 1 percent of humanity are responsible for twice as many emissions as the poorest 50 percent.” Furthermore, data indicates carbon footprints of the wealthy are more likely to increase rather than decrease, with research estimating that by 2030, the wealthiest will have carbon footprints 30 times greater than the goal established by the Paris Agreement.
“Emissions from billionaire lifestyles, their private jets and yachts are thousands of times the average person, which is already completely unacceptable. But if we look at emissions from their investments, then their carbon emissions are over a million times higher, ” Nafkote Dabi, Climate Change Lead at Oxfam, stated. He called on governments to publish emission figures for the richest people and begin taxing wealth and polluting investments.
“The richest 1% of the world population pollutes more than the poorest 50%,” Futuro Vegetal activists explained, according to CNN. “They are condemning us to a future of pain, misery and desolation.”
Another activist group, Extinction Rebellion, has also reportedly planned to target the wealthy in their protests, stating, “the rich and their leisure activities that waste essential resources are a luxury that we cannot afford,” CNN noted.
Two of the protestors involved in the spray painting incident have been detained by authorities, though they were expected to be released Monday, per the outlet.
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