The wealthiest citizens, described as a polluter elite, have to make dramatic changes to their lifestyles in order to meet the global targets on climate change, according to a new report by a group of behavior experts. For the richest 1%, this means reducing their emissions by a factor of at least 30 by 2030, they argued.
Image credit: Flickr / Daniel Lobo.
Tackling the climate crisis requires everyone to change their behavior, but the responsibility isn’t evenly shared. From 1990 to 2015, nearly half of the growth in absolute global emissions was due to the richest 10%, with the wealthiest 5% alone contributing over a third (37%) of that figure, according to the new report’s findings.
The richest one per cent of the world s population produces double the carbon emission of the poorest 50 per cent combined, according to the UN.
And the so-called polluter elite of the wealthiest 5 per cent have contributed to 37 per cent of the growth in emissions from 1990–2015, experts have calculated.
This disparity in pollution is highlighted by a recent report from the UK-based Cambridge Sustainability Commission on Scaling Behaviour Change.
The document was compiled by 31 environmental impact experts tasked with exploring ways to best scale up actions to tackle carbon emissions.
Actions suggested by the panel include deterring people from frequent flying and driving SUVs as well as convincing the wealthy to better insulate their homes.