Don’t Blame Billionaires for Climate Change

Blame the billionaires.

That’s what we do now.

Any problem in the world?

It’s because of those damn billionaires.

It’s so absurd.

And this week, that absurdity hit a new low point.

According to a new report published by Oxfam, 125 of the world’s richest billionaires emit more greenhouse gas emissions than the average person.

As reported by CNN, according to the report, these billionaires’ investments produce an annual average of 3 million tonnes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per person, which is 1 million times higher than the average 2.76 tonnes of CO2 for those living in the bottom 90%.

Oxfam’s Climate Policy Lead Nafkote Dabi states:

The major and growing responsibility of wealthy people for overall emissions is rarely discussed or considered in climate policy making. This has to change.

This is stupid for so many reasons.

First, of course their investments will result in higher carbon emissions than the average person, because the average person can’t invest as much as a billionaire.

If we are to assume that my investment in an oil and gas company contributes to climate change, then that contribution would be far less than that of a billionaire because my investment itself would be far less than that of a billionaire.

It’s also interesting to note that Oxfam claims that the major and growing responsibility of wealthy people for overall emissions is rarely discussed. That’s nonsense.

When speaking about climate change solutions, we almost always hear about the unethical fossil fuel companies, Big Ag, and the auto industry — all things run by billionaires.

Don’t get me wrong.

The obstacles the fossil fuel companies have put in place to dissuade us from investing in cleaner energy are very real and insanely unethical. 

But the bottom line is that we as individuals carry far more responsibility than billionaires when it comes to carbon emissions.

Collectively, we drive cars — 286 million in the U.S. alone.

Collectively, most of us (likely around 95% of the U.S. population) buy industrially produced meat, vegetables, and fruits. Industrial agriculture is responsible for roughly 24% of all carbon emissions.

Collectively, we make decisions every single day that result in carbon emissions.

Certainly there are changes we as individuals can make to lower our carbon footprint.

Walking more, not wasting electricity, buying local food, using public transportation — there are literally dozens of ways individual consumers can make a difference. But for the most part, we prefer to blame the billionaires.

Not only that, but we choose to shame them while being just as guilty in our own glass houses. 

Truth is, if the global community really wants to effectively address climate change, it should work with billionaires instead of trying to bury them.

Take Elon Musk, for instance.

Being the richest man on Earth, he's an easy target, especially now that he’s become so vocal on Twitter.

And while I may not agree with his take on certain things, the fact is this billionaire has done more to address climate change than the very people who want to shit on him. 

Elon Musk is 100% responsible for launching the transition away from internal combustion to vehicle electrification.

Had he not shown the world that electric cars can be technologically superior to internal combustion, there would be no electric vehicle market today.

And because of this transition to vehicle electrification, we are going to see a massive decrease in carbon emissions.

As I mentioned last week, according to Bloomberg, gasoline demand is set to peak in less than four years, partly as a result of the rapid proliferation of electric vehicles. Diesel demand is set to peak a little later, in about six years. Significant declines for both begin in about seven years.

By 2050, almost 2.4 billion zero-tailpipe-emission vehicles on the road are expected to eliminate 31 million barrels a day of road fuel demand. 

Folks, this is all possible because of a billionaire.

Moreover, it’s this billionaire’s move that is not only transitioning passenger vehicles from internal combustion to electric but also trucks and buses.

If you’re a regular reader of these pages, you know that I’m extremely bullish on electric buses right now. 

Across the globe, fleet managers are rapidly switching to electric buses, and not because they’re particularly concerned about climate change.

They’re making the switch because electric buses are cheaper and more efficient to operate than internal combustion buses, and government mandates, from the federal level down to the local level, are forcing fleet operators to make this transition.

I’m not saying I’m a fan of government intervention at any level, but if the government’s going to expedite this transition, we might as well profit from it. 

That’s why I’m screaming from the rooftops for investors to buy the only electric bus manufacturer that provides fleet managers with the buses, charging infrastructure, and specialty components required to make these things work. 

It’s actually the only pure-play electric bus manufacturer that’s not getting crushed during this crazy market, too.

In its most recent quarter, this company saw a 27% increase in total revenue ($74.6 million compared with $58.5 million in Q2 2021) and a 93% increase in battery production, delivered 52 new electric buses, and had more than $500,000 in cash and cash equivalents.

You can watch my most recent investor presentation on this company here.

Look, it doesn’t matter whether or not you find the data on climate change to be sound.

The bottom line is that governments across the globe are actively moving to reduce carbon emissions, and a lot of money is going to be made in the process.

I’m sure as hell going to get some of that action for myself, and you should too.

So while the rest of the world is blaming billionaires for their problems, let’s follow in Elon Musk's footsteps and get stupid rich. 

To a new way of life and a new generation of wealth…

Jeff Siegel

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Jeff is the founder and managing editor of Green Chip Stocks. For more on Jeff, go to his editor’s page.

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