A recent investigation has revealed that the global elite, specifically the wealthiest ten percent of the population, bear responsibility for two-thirds of anthropogenic global warming observed since 1990, as communicated by researchers on Wednesday.
The consumption patterns and investment strategies of affluent individuals have significantly amplified the jeopardy of catastrophic heatwaves and prolonged droughts, according to a groundbreaking study that quantified the influence of concentrated private wealth on extreme climatic phenomena.
“We have established a direct correlation between the carbon footprints of the most affluent individuals and tangible, real-world climate repercussions,” stated lead author Sarah Schoengart, a scientist affiliated with ETH Zurich, in an interview with AFP.
“This represents a fundamental shift from mere carbon accounting to a paradigm of climate accountability.”
In comparison to the global average, the top one percent of earners, for instance, contributed 26 times more to heatwaves that historically occur once a century and were 17 times more influential in instigating droughts within the Amazon basin, as detailed in the findings disseminated through the journal Nature Climate Change.
Carbon emissions originating from the wealthiest ten percent in both China and the United States – nations collectively responsible for nearly half of the world’s carbon pollution – each contributed to a two- to threefold escalation in the intensity of heat extremes.
The combustion of fossil fuels and widespread deforestation have collectively elevated Earth’s average surface temperature by 1.3 degrees Celsius, with the majority of this warming occurring within the last three decades.
Schoengart and her colleagues integrated economic data with sophisticated climate simulations to meticulously trace emissions emanating from diverse global income strata and to meticulously evaluate their consequential impact on specific categories of climate-intensified extreme weather events.
The research team further underscored the significant contribution of emissions embedded within financial investments, extending beyond personal lifestyle choices and direct consumption.
“Climate mitigation efforts that fail to acknowledge the disproportionate responsibilities of the most affluent members of society risk neglecting one of our most potent avenues for curtailing future devastation,” commented senior author Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, who leads the Integrated Climate Impacts Research Group at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, situated near Vienna.
A Proposal for Billionaire Taxation
He suggested that proprietors of capital could be held accountable for climate-related damages through the implementation of progressive taxation on accumulated wealth and investments with a substantial carbon intensity.
Prior scholarly work has indicated that levying taxes on asset-related emissions presents a more equitable approach compared to broad-based carbon taxes, which often disproportionately affect individuals with lower incomes.
Recent proposals aimed at increasing tax burdens on the ultra-wealthy and multinational corporations have, for the most part, encountered significant inertia.
In the preceding year, Brazil, during its tenure as the G20 host, advocated for a two-percent tax on the net worth of individuals possessing assets exceeding $1 billion.
Despite an agreement among G20 leaders to “cooperate to ensure that ultra-high-net-worth individuals are effectively taxed,” no subsequent actions have been observed to date.
In 2021, a coalition of nearly 140 nations committed to working towards a global corporate tax framework for multinational enterprises, with approximately half endorsing a minimum rate of 15 percent; however, these discussions have also reached an impasse.
According to Forbes magazine, a substantial portion, nearly one-third, of the world’s billionaires originate from the United States, a figure surpassing that of China, India, and Germany combined.
Anti-poverty non-governmental organization Oxfam reports that the wealthiest one percent have amassed $42 trillion in newly generated wealth over the past decade.
This organization further contends that the top one percent hold more accumulated wealth than the bottom 95 percent collectively possess.
