The wealthy contribute disproportionately to planetary decline

3 comments

1. As is frequently the case, someone talking about the wealthy in terms of percentage of the global population, but with no reference to how that translates into dollars.

   *The top 1% of consumers contribute 14% to carbon footprint and 11% to the species loss footprint.*

   *Forty three percent of carbon emissions came from the world’s wealthiest 10% of consumers.*

   *”31–67% and 51–91% of the planetary boundary breaching responsibility could be attributed to the global top 10% and top 20% of consumers, from both developed and developing countries”.*

   So, what exactly does it take to fall into the global 1%, 10%, and 20%? Here’s a handy calculator.

   [https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/how-rich-am-i](https://www.givingwhatwecan.org/how-rich-am-i)

   I’ll do some of the work, looking at someone who’s single and childless in the US. All numbers are after-tax.

   >If you have a household income of $63,000 (in a household of one adult), you are in the richest 1% of the global population, your income is 18.7 times the global median

   >If you have a household income of $20,400, (in a household of one adult), you are in the richest 10% of the global population, your income is 6 times the global median

   >If you have a household income of $10,400, (in a household of one adult), you are in the richest 20% of the global population, your income is 3.1 times the global median

   Because this is what wealthy is being compared to, how half of the world lives.

   *Half of the global population lives on less than US$6.85 per person per day*

   [https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/developmenttalk/half-global-population-lives-less-us685-person-day](https://blogs.worldbank.org/en/developmenttalk/half-global-population-lives-less-us685-person-day)

   $6.85/day is $2500/year, FWIW. It’s not all that difficult to be considered wealthy when abject poverty is the global norm.

   I can’t post the screenshot because this sub doesn’t allow the posting of pics, but a couple weeks ago a climate scientist posted a perspective on how our lifestyles are so disproportionately high-emitting compared to those 4 billion people — the average American energy-efficient refrigerator, running for a year, generates more emissions than the yearly emissions for any one of those 4 billion people.

2. This is not new information, it’s a summary of other existing info, and there is 0 call to actual action provided.

   What are you trying to do with you blog exactly?

   [https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/top-5-ways-billionaires-are-driving-climate-change/](https://www.oxfamamerica.org/explore/stories/top-5-ways-billionaires-are-driving-climate-change/)
   [https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/richest-1-emit-much-planet-heating-pollution-two-thirds-humanity](https://www.oxfam.org/en/press-releases/richest-1-emit-much-planet-heating-pollution-two-thirds-humanity)
   [https://greenly.earth/en-us/blog/company-guide/the-wealth-factor-the-role-of-rich-people-in-climate-change](https://greenly.earth/en-us/blog/company-guide/the-wealth-factor-the-role-of-rich-people-in-climate-change)

3. Can we change it from “planetary decline” to something more accurate? The planet is not declining. It is crashing. If the planet were a disc drive we’d say we are experiencing a head crash.

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