An investigation published in the journal Nature Climate Change evaluated the extent to which different groups and societies contribute to emissions. It revealed that the wealthiest 1% of the world contributes 26 times more than the global average to the rise in global temperature extremes and 17 times more to droughts in the Amazon.
The research, conducted by ETH Zurich in Switzerland, highlights the link between income-based emission inequality and climate injustice. It demonstrates that the consumption and investments of the wealthy have had, and continue to have, a disproportionate impact on extreme climate events.
These effects are “particularly severe in vulnerable tropical regions, such as the Amazon, Southeast Asia, and Southern Africa,” which have historically contributed less to global emissions.
The study indicates that extreme climate impacts are not merely the result of abstract global emissions but “can be directly linked to lifestyle and investment choices, which are in turn linked to wealth,” emphasized Sarah Schöngart, a researcher at ETH Zurich and the study’s lead author.
“We found that wealthy emitters play a significant role in driving climate extremes,” and this “provides strong support for climate policies aimed at reducing their emissions,” Schöngart added.
By using a model that combined economic data and climate simulations, the researchers were able to trace emissions from different global income groups and assess their contribution to specific climate extremes.
They discovered that emissions from the top 10% of the population in the United States and China alone have multiplied extreme temperatures in vulnerable regions by two or three times.
“If everyone had emitted like the poorest 50% of the global population, global warming would have been minimal since 1990,” assured Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, co-author of the study and head of the Integrated Climate Impact Research Group at IIASA.
“Correcting this imbalance is crucial for fair and effective climate action,” the researcher noted.
The study also emphasizes the importance of emissions linked to financial investments, asserting that focusing on the financial flows and portfolios of high-income individuals can yield substantial climate benefits.
The authors believe these findings can help develop progressive policy instruments aimed at social elites, highlighting that making wealthy polluters pay can also provide much-needed support for adaptation and loss and damage in vulnerable countries.
Rebalancing the responsibility for climate action according to the actual contribution to emissions “is essential,” not only to contain global warming “but also to achieve a more just and resilient world,” the authors conclude.
