The richest 10% of the world’s population are driving nearly half of global carbon emissions – and their pollution is directly linked to rising climate extremes in the most vulnerable parts of the world.
That’s the sobering conclusion from a new peer-reviewed study published in Nature, which warns that affluent lifestyles are accelerating deadly climate disasters like heatwaves, floods and droughts.
Researchers found that just 10% of people – those living in high-income households – are responsible for 48% of global emissions.
Meanwhile, the poorest half of the planet contributes just 10% to the problem but is being hit hardest by the fallout.
Using high-resolution climate models and global income data, the study maps how emissions from richer groups – particularly in North America, Europe and high-income parts of Asia – are increasing the severity of climate extremes in places like the Amazon basin, Southeast Africa and South Asia.
The paper calculates that emissions from the top 10% have already caused 0.7°C of additional warming in tropical regions, with the frequency of extreme heat events in those areas rising by more than 30% as a direct result.
Africa and South Asia are the very regions where people contribute the least to climate change but are already among the most exposed.
Co-author Dr Carl-Friedrich Schleussner said: “This is a question of justice. High-income individuals are most responsible for the warming we experience and the consequences it has. Yet it is low-income populations who suffer most.”
The findings come amid growing calls for climate policy to target the ultra-rich through carbon taxes, frequent flyer levies or bans on high-emission luxury goods.
The study calls for progressive climate policies, including carbon taxes based on consumption, international transfers to support adaptation in low-income countries and stronger commitments to reducing luxury emissions like private jets and oversized homes.
As the gap between those causing the problem and those paying the price grows wider, this research could put pressure on governments to rethink who should bear the brunt of climate responsibility – and how to make it fairer.
The path to climate stability, they argue, means holding the biggest polluters to account.
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