Wealthiest 10% fuel climate crisis; poorest bear the brunt
Ten percent of the richest people in the world are responsible for two-thirds of global warming. A small fraction of society consumes the world's resources, while the consequences are borne by residents of the poorest regions. "We link the carbon footprints of the wealthiest individuals directly to real-world climate impacts," said Sarah Schoengart from ETH Zurich.
The latest research published in the prestigious journal "Nature Climate Change" indicates that the top 10 percent of the wealthiest people have been responsible for two-thirds of global warming since 1990. The consumerism and excessive resource consumption by this group drive the climate crisis, which most severely affects residents of the poorest areas of the world.
Climate change leads to extreme weather events such as floods, fires, and droughts. These phenomena impact the food market, escalate conflicts, and contribute to outbreaks of epidemics, thereby deepening global inequalities.
Sarah Schoengart from ETH Zurich emphasizes that the carbon footprint of the wealthiest is directly linked to actual climate impacts. The richest 1 percent have contributed 26 times more to heatwaves and 17 times more to droughts in the Amazon than the global average.
Is taxing the wealthiest the remedy for climate change?
Carl-Friedrich Schleussner from the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis suggests that progressive taxation of wealth and carbon investments could help limit future climate damage. These taxes could encourage companies to invest in green technologies.
In 2021, almost 140 countries agreed to start work on a global corporate tax. Nevertheless, this initiative has not resulted in any concrete actions. According to "Forbes," almost one-third of the world's billionaires come from the United States, outnumbering the combined total of billionaires in China, India, and Germany.
Efforts to fund aid for the poorest countries face widespread opposition from the largest economies in the world. This, in turn, intensifies the debate on the effects of the impending climate crisis.
