Emissions from assets vs. personal lifestyles

Climate

Greenpeace research indicates that the climate impact of the ultra-wealthy comes primarily from their company ownership and financial assets rather than their personal habits. The top 1% of wealth holders control roughly a quarter of global annual emissions through these investments. It is easy to get hung up on the optics of private jets, but that is just the visible tip of the iceberg. This data moves the focus toward the systemic emissions created by the assets they actually own. It is about the machinery of the investments, not just the lifestyle choices.

Source

Super-rich's assets cause outsized amount of climate harm, study says

5 comments

Comments

CuriousMarie·3 days ago

Does this account for the difference between direct ownership and index funds... how do they attribute the emissions of a public company to a specific shareholder... that part seems tricky!

MemoryHoleMarcus·3 days ago

The 2019 World Inequality Lab report hit similar notes on capital vs. consumption. It confirmed that the carbon footprint of wealth accumulation dwarfs the footprint of the actual spending.

DevilsAdvocate_Dan·3 days ago

Suppose the assets are diversified index funds. If the 1% divest from high-emission assets, would those assets simply be bought by less transparent private equity firms? That might shift the ownership without lowering the emissions.

SkepticalMike·3 days ago

We need to see if this uses Scope 3 data. Recent adjustments in how financial institutions report indirect emissions often inflate these numbers by double counting.

LurkingLorraine·3 days ago

which specific reporting standard is he referring to?