The rich are to blame: scientists called the main cause of global warming

Wealthy people have the main share of responsibility for the climate crisis, a study by the British University of Leeds, affecting 86 countries, showed. Writes about it with the BBC.

Photo: Shutterstock

Scientists have found that in all of these countries, a tenth of the highest-income population consumes about 20 times more energy than a tenth of the lowest-income population.

This is mainly because the poorest people use transport less and cannot afford their own cars.

The study showed that the richer people are, the more energy they consume, and this dependence is in all the countries examined.

The authors of the report also warned that if governments do not fundamentally change their policies, energy consumption will double by 2050 compared to 2011.

Energy and transport

Using the data of the European Union and the World Bank, scientists looked at what groups of people with different incomes spend money.

On the subject: By 2100, half of the world's beaches will disappear due to climate change

It turned out that in the “transport” category, more than half of the energy is consumed by the tenth of people with the highest incomes. This is in line with another earlier study which found that in Britain, 70% of all air travel is carried out by 15% of the population.

Super-rich fly the longest, while 57% of the British population never fly abroad at all.

A study published in the journal Nature Energy showed that when cooking and heating rooms, the gap in energy consumption among groups with different incomes was not so strong. But even in this category, about 10% of the richest consumers account for about a third of all energy used. Most likely, this is due to the size of their houses.

Solutions?

“How can we change energy inequalities so that everyone can live with dignity, while protecting the climate and ecosystems?” asked Professor Julia Steinberger, leader of the study at the University of Leeds.

According to the authors of the project, governments can reduce the demand for travel by improving the operation of public transport, raising taxes on larger cars and tariffs for passengers flying more often than others.

Another way, scientists say, is to accelerate the transition to electric cars, although previous studies have shown that the demand for them still needs to be reduced, otherwise you need too many resources for the production and delivery of electricity.

Which countries consume a lot of energy?

Researchers also compared energy consumption levels in different countries.

It turns out that a fifth of Britons are among the five percent of the world's population who consume the most energy. Along with them are 40 percent of Germans and the entire population of Luxembourg.

On the subject: How accurate were climate change predictions made 20 years ago

Only two percent of the people in China and 0,02% of the people of India are among the five percent of the world's major energy consumers.

At the same time, the poorest part of the British consumes about five times more energy than representatives of the billion poorest people in India.

Usual life?

This study should influence future climate negotiations at the UN, where the issue of social inequality always provokes heated debate.

In the United States, libertarian politicians advocate climate change as a harbinger of global socialism.

Professor Kevin Anderson of Manchester, who did not participate in the study, believes that it should make most ordinary people think.

"This study tells us relatively well-off people something we don't want to hear," Anderson said.

On the subject: Impossible to stop: irreversible climate change began on Earth

“When we - politicians, businessmen, scientists - say that high taxes on flights will not be popular, we mean that we ourselves do not want to fly less. It's the same with our cars, with our houses. We have convinced ourselves that we are leading an ordinary, normal life, but the numbers show something completely different,” the scientist notes.

According to the study, global energy consumption for transport alone could increase by a third by 2050, and if the transport continues to run on fossil fuels, this will be a disaster for the climate, scientists conclude.

To reduce the consumption of different types of energy, they propose different measures at the government level. Drivers of large cars - impose higher taxes, and modify their homes with energy-saving technologies.

Read also on ForumDaily:

12 things that will be banned or already banned in 2020

For 70 years, the oceans warmed up to an explosion temperature of 3 billion atomic bombs

DNA Banks and Doomsday Vault: How Scientists Prepare for the End of the World

The 12 Most Influential Startups of the Decade That Changed the World

“Our winters are not like they used to be”: what happens to the weather in the USA, and where does the fish

Do you want more important and interesting news about life in the USA and immigration to America? — support us donate! Also subscribe to our page Facebook. Select the “Priority in display” option and read us first. Also, don't forget to subscribe to our РєР ° РЅР ° Р »РІ Telegram  and Instagram- there is a lot of interesting things there. And join thousands of readers ForumDaily New York — there you will find a lot of interesting and positive information about life in the metropolis.