We know that greenhouse gases trap heat in the atmosphere. This makes the planet warmer, which has a negative effect on everything from seasonal weather patterns, to animal migration, from crop harvest to respiratory health. It is clear that human activities are responsible for almost all of the increase in greenhouse gases in the atmosphere over the last 150 years. In fact, the EPA’s 1990-2018 Inventory Report states that the largest source of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States is from burning fossil fuels, with transportation making up most of the carbon emissions at 28.2% – from gasoline and diesel fuel, and electricity was second with 26.9% – for coal and gas. (1)

A recent report by Oxfam and the Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) adds a new layer to this conversation about our carbon footprint and who is responsible. (2)

Confronting Carbon Inequality

From 1990 to 2015, a critical period in which annual emissions grew 60% and cumulative emissions doubled. (2)

• The richest 10% of the world’s population (c.630 million people) were responsible for 52% of the cumulative carbon emissions.
• The poorest 50% (c.3.1 billion people) were responsible for just 7% of cumulative emissions and used just 4% of the available carbon budget.
• The richest 1% (c.63 million people) alone were responsible for 15% of cumulative emissions, and 9% of the carbon budget – twice as much as the poorest half of the world’s population.

Over the past 20-30 years, the climate crisis has been fueled and our limited global carbon budget squandered in the service of increasing the consumption of the already affluent, rather than lifting people out of poverty. The two groups that suffer most from this injustice are those least responsible for the climate crisis. The poorer and marginalized people already struggling with climate impacts today. (2)

A Quarter Of U.S. Carbon Emissions Are Produced By Households

House size plays a huge role in determining its carbon footprint. The bigger the house, the more it takes to power appliances and to heat and cool. The simple fact is that low-income people generally live in smaller spaces. They consume less energy, and as a result, leave a smaller carbon footprint.

The U.S. has the highest per capita emissions of any country. The U.S. has also been dumping the largest amount of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. About a quarter of U.S. emissions are produced by households. (3) And the economic damages from climate change are projected to be large, with one 2017 study concluding the United States could lose 2.3 percent of its Gross Domestic Product for each degree Celsius increase in global warming. To put that into perspective, that would amount to more than $446 billion based on U.S. Gross Domestic Product of $19.39 trillion in 2017. (4)

There Is A Solution

But there’s hope. Wind and solar power industries are growing and their prices have dropped considerably. (5) And because of the 2015 Paris Agreement, many countries are working towards zero emissions for 2050.

For those people in the top 1%, to change their carbon footprint will require a re-assessment of priorities. And a commitment to thinking about the global community, rather than self. It is not an easy conversation, but a necessary one.