Paper in Nature Climate Change journal reveals major role wealthy emitters play in driving climate extremes

Paper in Nature Climate Change journal reveals major role wealthy emitters play in driving climate extremes

The world’s wealthiest 10% are responsible for two-thirds of global heating since 1990, driving droughts and heatwaves in the poorest parts of the world, according to a study.

While researchers have previously shown that higher income groups emit disproportionately large amounts of greenhouse gases, the latest survey is the first to try to pin down how that inequality translates into responsibility for climate breakdown. It offers a powerful argument for climate finance and wealth taxes by attempting to give an evidential basis for how many people in the developed world – including more than 50% of full-time employees in the UK – bear a heightened responsibility for the climate disasters affecting people who can least afford it.

“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,” said Sarah Schöngart, a climate modelling analyst and the study’s lead author.

      • JLock17@lemmy.worldEnglish
        333·
        2 days ago

        Undeniably a majority. We can’t ignore the fact that we have impact on climate too. Big interest want us to argue over blame rather than try to fix the problem (Them). That said, I don’t commute by aircraft daily like Taylor Swift and every other rich person.

        • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
          81·
          2 days ago

          I don’t commute by aircraft daily like Taylor Swift and every other rich person.

          That shit shouldn’t be legal. In short private jets shouldn’t be legal IMO.

          • JLock17@lemmy.worldEnglish
            5·
            2 days ago

            Yeah, but if they didn’t they might actually have to interact with the poors, and they can’t have that.

      • hark@lemmy.worldEnglish
        2·
        1 day ago

        Plus things like planned obsolescence they push for to keep people spending. The system is formed around their whims and the system they want demands waste to continue the flow of money.

      • Buffalox@lemmy.worldEnglish
        3·
        2 days ago

        Probably about or more than half of that. At least that’s what I seem to recall having read.

    • Knock_Knock_Lemmy_In@lemmy.worldEnglish
      11·
      2 days ago

      Global top 10%’ or ‘access to wealth’

      • You are 18-25, your net financial wealth is $50,000 or more.

      • You are 25-29, your net financial wealth is $100,000 or more.

      • You are 30-35, your net financial wealth is $200,000 or more.

    • kameecoding@lemmy.worldEnglish
      193·
      2 days ago

      Hmm, I am probably not, 10% is what, 700 million?

      Between all the rich people, USA, Canadians, UK, Germany, and the rest pf Western Europe that number likely includes enough people to exclude me as a central European

      • JLock17@lemmy.worldEnglish
        162·
        2 days ago

        The last number I was given was that anyone who makes more than a converted $20,000 per year is in the global top 10%. There used to be a global income comparison tool that showed where you stand on the global scale. I feel 90% confident that any individual person reading this is someone who is above that line, especially if they can afford things like internet and electric together. Those kinds of guys are driving cars to work and eating out, instead of making their food every single day and listening to radio because they can’t afford any luxuries.

        I agree that it ain’t exactly smart to say everyone in a developed economy is doing well, but I want to remind anyone reading this to count their blessings and consider their own impact just as much as they try to hold the worst offenders accountable.

        • kameecoding@lemmy.worldEnglish
          6·
          2 days ago

          Copied from reddit comment

          According to https://wid.world/world/#tptinc_p90p100_z/US;FR;DE;CN;ZA;GB;WO/last/us/k/x/yearly/t/false/0/200000/curve/false/country , the global 90th percentile income threshold in 2023 is at about $46,7k USD, market xchg rate.

          So yeah, it’s quite a bit higher than that, plus I think you vastly underestimate how expensive it is to have your own internet connection and electricity.

          And I also make my food everyday that’s quite normal for almost everyone but US citizens

          • JLock17@lemmy.worldEnglish
            3·
            2 days ago

            Making your own food is normal for a lot of people here too, but I know a ton of people who just eat garbage all the time. My grandmother just eats all the time. She will just sit down and eat an entire pan of fried potatoes back to back, and my dad and stepmom just eat fast food every day. I had a nightmare where I was forced to watch my family eat junk off a table and then they got taken away once they got so fat to be butchered. I’ve been getting sick lately thinking about it, and my room mate keeps nagging me to eat way too much. I hate how fat I’ve gotten.