The 1% Are The Biggest Contributors To Carbon Emission, Study Says

When people say that the billionaire class is contributing to the rise of climate change, this is mainly in reference to Big Oil, fracking, and coal. The blame doesn’t really pertain to the wealthiest people on an individual basis. Now, a study is suggesting that this is exactly the case since carbon emission appears to be highest in places where members of the one percent are gathered in high numbers.

The study was conducted by two researchers over at Boston College, Phys.org reports. According to their findings, it would seem that areas, where the wealthiest people are concentrated, have the highest state-level carbon emissions when compared to other, less affluent locations. The study looked at the data of emissions recorded from 1997 to 2012 and identified how much the wealthy added to the carbon emissions in 10 states.

Among the states that are on the list include Texas, where members of the 10 percent added up to 934,174 metric tons of carbon in the air. Tenth on the list is Michigan, which can credit up to 212,560 metric tons of carbon to its own wealthy populace.

This isn’t the first study to find a connection between income inequality and carbon emissions. The study by Andrew Jorgenson and Juliet Schor, a pair of sociologists simply draws the conclusion that imbalance in wealth has a huge impact on the kind of carbon emission that are produced. The recently published paper confirms what the world already knows.

On the other hand, this also yields the positive result of states starting to become more active in curbing carbon emissions. California, which is number two on the list, is one of the most enthusiastic in this regard.

"We think it is safe to say, in terms of environmental policy and action, it is going to be much more active at the state level than the federal level," Jorgenson said. "Given the uncertainty of the regulatory environment at the federal level, states like California are saying they will not move away from their policies even if the federal agenda on climate change makes an 180-degree turn from the prior administration."