An international group of scientists has found, that since 1990 the 10% richest people on the planet have been responsible for 2/3 of the global warming.
It is noted, that this is the first study aimed at quantifying the impact of capital concentrated in individuals on extreme climate events. Scientists emphasize that the consumption and investment of the world’s richest people has significantly increased the risks of deadly waves of extreme heat and droughts.
«We directly link the carbon footprint of the richest people to their actual climate impact. This is a transition from carbon accounting to climate accounting», — says the lead author of the study, a researcher at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich Sarah Shengart.
In particular, according to the study, literally 1% of the richest people on the planet are 26 times contributed more to the emergence of waves of extreme heat, that had previously occurred no more than once a century, and 17 times more — droughts in the Amazon than the average person on the planet. Emissions from the richest 10% of people in the United States and China account for almost half of all carbon dioxide emissions in the world, which has led to a 2-3-fold increase in abnormally high temperatures.
The burning of fossil fuels and deforestation have led to increase in average temperature of the Earth’s surface by 1.3°C over the past 30 years. Shengart and her colleagues combined economic data and climate modeling to track emissions from different income groups across the world and estimate their impact on specific types of extreme weather events caused by climate change. The researchers emphasized that not only personal consumption and lifestyle, but also financial investments play a significant role in the volume of harmful emissions into the atmosphere.
«A climate change response that fails to take into account the enormous responsibility of the wealthiest members of society risks missing out on one of the most powerful levers we have to reduce future damage», — emphasizes the study’s senior author, Head of the Integrated Climate Impacts Research Group at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis in Austria Karl-Friedrich Schleissner.
Schleissner notes, that owners of large capital should be held accountable for their climate impact by paying progressive taxes on property and activities that produce harmful emissions. Previous studies have shown that taxing the capital associated with large amounts of emissions is more appropriate than a general tax on carbon emissions for everyone, which significantly burdens people with low incomes.
Last year, Brazil, which hosted the G20 summit, proposed to introduce a 2% tax on individuals’ assets worth more than $1 billion. Although the G20 leaders agreed to «work together to ensure that high-income individuals are taxed effectively», no further action has been taken.
In 2021, nearly 140 countries agreed to work on a global corporate tax for multinationals, with almost half endorsing a minimum rate of 15%, but these negotiations have also reached a deadlock. According to Forbes magazine, nearly a third of the world’s billionaires are US citizens, more than China, India, and Germany combined. According to the non-governmental organization Oxfam, over the past decade, the richest 1% have accumulated $42 trillion in additional capital.
Warming by 3°C will destroy 40% of the world economy, — study
The results of the study were published in the journal Nature
Source: Agence France-Presse; ScienceAlert
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