According to the study, it takes a low-income person 26 years to produce the same carbon dioxide that a rich person produces in a single yearFlying, driving luxury cars, owning several houses or buying imported goods are reasons why wealthier people generate higher carbon footprints The UK is not alone in having this gap between high and low income earners in terms of greenhouse gas emissions The data highlights the huge gaps between what has been dubbed ‘the elite polluter’, whose carbon-intensive lifestyles are fueling the climate crisis, and most people, even in developed countries, whose carbon footprints are much smaller, reports the British newspaper The Guardian. decades, the top 1% of UK earners have been responsible for the same amount of carbon dioxide emissions in a single year as the bottom 10% s win. It would take 26 years for a low-income person to produce as much carbon dioxide as the wealthiest do in a single year, according to Autonomy’s analysis of income data and greenhouse gas emissions between 1998 and 2018 in the UK. Autonomy, a data analysis software, found that people who earned €190,000 or more in 2018 in the UK were responsible for much higher greenhouse gas emissions than 30% of those people who earned 24,000 euros or less in the same year. The period to which this data refers ended in 2018, before the Covid-19 pandemic. The effects of taxing carbon emissions on the wealthiest Autonomy’s analysis also reveals that if the UK had started taxing carbon emissions carbon alone with 1% more to the highest income groups two decades ago, could have raised around 146 billion euros, which could have been used to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an equitable way; for example, through housing insulation for the poorest households. Peter Newell, a professor of international relations at the University of Sussex, who was not involved in the Autonomy report but has done a lot of work on the “polluting elite,” explained to The Guardian that the huge gap must be addressed. “’This new report on the benefits of taxing extreme carbon emitters is shocking,’ it says. “On the eve of an Egyptian climate summit, [Cop27] And in the face of an unprecedented cost-of-living crisis, it’s clear we’re not all in this together. Revenues raised from a carbon tax on the richest 1% of the population would have raised enough money to retrofit nearly 8 million homes, keeping us warm this winter and lowering fuel bills, while providing critical support for the renewable energy and would make us less dependent on Putin’s gas.” The revenue raised from a carbon tax on the richest 1% of the population would have raised enough money to modernize nearly 8 million homes (Peter Newell, professor of international relations University of Sussex) The UK is not alone in having this difference between high and low income people in terms of greenhouse gas emissions. Much research points to the existence of a “polluting elite” whose lifestyles bear little relation to those of most people. This applies to developed and developing countries as well, where the poorest tend to be responsible for a small amount of greenhouse gas emissions, while the richest have an impact comparable to that of the elite in rich countries. For example, in a year, less than half of the people in the UK take a flight. Yet 1% of these people are responsible for a fifth of overseas flights from the UK. The biggest polluters of the rich Flying, driving big luxury cars, owning multiple homes and traveling between them, eating a diet rich in meat and imported products, or buying more imported clothing and luxury goods, are reasons why the richest generate much higher carbon footprints. Poorer people tend to stay closer to home, in smaller houses and use public transport, while spending much less on luxury items and so-called “fast fashion.” According to Will Stronge, research director at Autonomy, “The sheer release of carbon emissions by the wealthiest in society in recent decades is staggering. Our analysis suggests that the most effective way for the government to tackle climate change would be to properly tax the wealthy, through a well-targeted carbon tax scheme.” Taxes on the most polluting activities could be targeted only at the wealthy and this would not increase the cost of living for the vast majority of people. They could also help close the huge gap in the UK’s public finances. However, the British government has preferred to reduce taxes on activities such as flying and driving, despite their environmental impact. A carbon taxAccording to Stronge, small actions carried out by the majority, such as turning off the lights to save energy, “do not they will make no difference as long as the government does not address the fact that it is the rich who are disproportionately responsible for the climate crisis.” According to Adrian Ramsay, leader of the Green Party, “Last year, the Green Party called on the UK to to show genuine global leadership by introducing a carbon tax at Cop26. As this report shows, such a tax could be a key lever in driving the transition to a cleaner, greener economy.”“But it is also fair that the top 1% of UK earners, who are disproportionately responsible for such a large amount of the UK’s greenhouse gas emissions, pay a wealth tax. A modest tax on the wealthiest 1% of households could raise around £80bn and be used to go a long way towards funding a national program to insulate homes, creating warmer, more comfortable homes and lowering bills forever. . Such a tax will particularly benefit the poorest 10% who are the least responsible for the UK’s carbon emissions.