Wealthy individuals have a higher carbon footprint. A new study published in Nature Climate Change quantifies the climate outcomes of these inequalities. It finds that the world's wealthiest 10% are responsible for two-thirds of observed global warming since 1990 and the resulting increases in climate extremes such as heat waves and droughts.

cross-posted from: https://slrpnk.net/post/21822936

“If everyone had emitted like the bottom 50% of the global population, the world would have seen minimal additional warming since 1990,”

The study assesses the contribution of the highest emitting groups within societies and finds that the top 1% of the wealthiest individuals globally contributed 26 times the global average to increases in monthly 1-in-100-year heat extremes globally and 17 times more to Amazon droughts.

The research sheds new light on the links between income-based emissions inequality and climate injustice, illustrating how the consumption and investments of wealthy individuals have had disproportionate impacts on extreme weather events

Our study shows that extreme climate impacts are not just the result of abstract global emissions, instead we can directly link them to our lifestyle and investment choices, which in turn are linked to wealth,"

  • Realitätsverlust@lemmy.zipEnglish
    45·
    2 days ago

    If I drop dead tomorrow, the global emissions won’t change

    Neither will global emissions change if jeff bezos drops dead tomorrow. The companies are all public and will still be led by a board of directors.

    • nyctre@lemmy.world
      5·
      2 days ago

      And the private jet flights and the monster boat are nothing?

      And what about all the money he gave to Trump and to other politicians to influence policy decisions?

      • Realitätsverlust@lemmy.zipEnglish
        25·
        2 days ago

        And the private jet flights and the monster boat are nothing?

        I’m gonna be honest - yes. Those things are nothing in the grand scheme.

        And what about all the money he gave to Trump and to other politicians to influence policy decisions?

        You can’t put a number on these kind of things, so I’m not going to count that. Otherwise, everyone that is buying nestle products is exploiting third world countries.

        • nyctre@lemmy.world
          1·
          1 day ago

          The thing is, he’s got the power to influence the world for the better but he’s not doing it. “Part of the problem or part of the solution” applies to him at the very least a thousand fold.