A recent study reveals that the consumption and investment habits of the world's wealthiest individuals significantly exacerbate the risk of deadly heatwaves and droughts. Researchers have directly linked the carbon footprint of the richest to real-world climate impacts, emphasizing their disproportionate contribution to climate change.
Compared to the global average, the wealthiest 1% contribute 26 times more to century-level heatwaves and 17 times more to droughts in the Amazon. Emissions from the wealthiest 10% in China and the United States account for nearly half of global carbon pollution, leading to a two- to threefold rise in heat extremes. If everyone emitted like the bottom 50% of the global population, the world would have seen minimal additional warming since 1990.
The research combines economic data and climate simulations to track emissions from different socioeconomic groups, also considering emissions hidden in financial investments. Experts suggest that targeting the financial activities and investment portfolios of high-income individuals could lead to significant climate gains. However, efforts to increase taxes on the super-rich and multinationals have largely stalled.