In addition to owning enormous houses and private jets. The wealthiest Americans also contribute significantly to global pollution through their investments. In fossil fuel-producing businesses.
According to a recent study that was just published in the journal PLOS Climate, the richest 10% of Americans. Are responsible for almost half of the planet-warming pollution in the US. The study urged governments to stop taxes on people’s purchases. That are high in carbon and instead concentrate on taxing investments that contribute to climate change.
“Global warming can seem like this enormous, overpowering, intangible phenomenon that is happening to the earth, and you may feel powerless to stop it. Jared Starr, a sustainability scientist at the University of Massachusetts Amherst and one. The report’s authors, said: “You kind of know that you’re contributing to it in some manner, but it’s really not clear or quantifiable.
By looking beyond what people eat, this study contributes to the development of a broader image of personal accountability.
The researchers did this by establishing a link between financial transactions and carbon pollution using extensive information spanning 30 years.
Pollution
They examined the greenhouse gas emissions brought on by businesses’ direct activities as well as those pertaining to the climate impacts of businesses farther down the supply chain. For instance, the majority of an oil company’s emissions are brought on by its customers burning the oil it collects.
With the help of population survey data that revealed the industries people work for as well as their income. From wages and investments, the researchers were able to link the carbon footprint. That was generated for every dollar of economic activity in the US to homes.
They discovere that 40% of the US’s human-cause, climate-warming pollution was produce by the wealthiest 10% of families, or those earning more than around $178,000 annually. Only households earning more than $550,000 in the top 1% were responsible for 15% to 17% of this pollution.
