A recent study has found that the wealthiest 10 percent of individuals globally are responsible for two-thirds of global warming since 1990.Â
The research, published in Nature Climate Change, highlights how the consumption patterns and investments of the rich have substantially contributed to the intensification of climate events like heatwaves and droughts.
Lead author Sarah Schoengart, a scientist at ETH Zurich, emphasized that this study directly links the carbon footprints of the wealthiest individuals to tangible climate impacts. “It’s a shift from carbon accounting toward climate accountability,” Schoengart explained.
The findings show that, compared to the global average, the richest 1% are responsible for 26 times more of the impact on once-a-century heatwaves, and 17 times more for droughts in the Amazon. The wealthiest 10 percent in major carbon-polluting countries like China and the United States are linked to two to three times more heat extremes due to their emissions.
Burning fossil fuels and deforestation have increased the Earth’s average surface temperature by 1.3°C, primarily over the past 30 years. Using economic data and climate simulations, the study traced emissions from different income groups and assessed their influence on specific climate events.
The study’s senior author, Carl-Friedrich Schleussner, head of the Integrated Climate Impacts Research Group at the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis, warned that climate actions that ignore the responsibility of the wealthiest members of society risk missing one of the most effective levers to reduce future climate damage.
