Study: Top 10% Consumers Cost Earth $5.7 Trillion in Damage Annually

Study: Top 10% Consumers Cost Earth $5.7T7 Trillion in Damage Annually

Published 6 days ago

Study: Top 10% Consumers Cost Earth $5.7 Trillion in Damage Annually

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Above: **Watermarked Getty Image. Kindly Replace** Dark storm clouds hover over the city of Los Angeles during a break between storms, as seen from the San Gabriel Mountains, on Feb. 19, 2025. Image credit: David McNew/Getty Images

The Spin

The richest 10% of consumers are driving climate destruction while the world's poorest bear the consequences — that's not just unfair, it's a moral catastrophe. Millionaires alone are on track to burn 72% of the remaining 1.5C carbon budget, and wealthy nations have repeatedly broken their climate finance pledges. The global North owes a debt to the South, and half-measures won't cut it.

Jason Hickel on X Los Angeles Times

Blaming developed nations for nearly all of climate change is a myth — Annex II countries account for just 37-41% of cumulative emissions since 1850, far below what most people assume. Degrowth schemes pitched as climate justice have a track record of crushing the poor, while actual economic growth pulled 800 million people out of extreme poverty. Scapegoating the wealthy won't solve the climate — broad, honest accountability will.

Pedro Santa Clara on X Center for Global Development