France: A new study has stated that the difference between the carbon emissions of the rich and the poor within a country is now greater than the differences in emissions between countries.

The report found evidence for a growing divide between the “polluting elite” of rich people around the world and the relatively low responsibility for emissions among the rest of the population.

In a report entitled Climate Inequality Report 2023, economists from the World Inequality Lab dissect where carbon emissions are currently coming from.

The report found that “carbon inequalities within countries now appear to be greater than carbon inequalities between countries. The consumption and investment patterns of a relatively small group of the population directly or indirectly contribute disproportionately to greenhouse gases. While cross-country emission inequalities remain sizeable, overall inequality in global emissions is now mostly explained by within-country inequalities, according to some indicators.”

The authors of the study further suggest that windfall taxes on excess profits could help to fund low-carbon investment as well as progressive taxation in countries, including developing countries, which often undertax rich citizens and companies.

Mr. Peter Newell, a professor of international relations at the University of Sussex, commented on the report that “inequalities in emissions matter because carbon inequality within countries accounts for the bulk of global carbon emissions.” The professor also noted that “there is inequality between those generating the emissions and those suffering the worst effects of global warming and who have the least capacity to adapt.”

“Patterns of consumption and investment by the polluter elite, which drive these unequal contributions to climate change, need to be reduced and redirected, respectively. This is a huge challenge,” Mr. Newell added.

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