Text written in Basque and translated automatically by Elia without any subsequent editing. SEE ORIGINAL

The economic cost of the environmental damage caused by the rich has been estimated at $1.7-5.7 trillion per year

It is known that 10% of the richest inhabitants of the countries with the highest CO2 emissions are directly responsible for half of the damage caused by climate change. But now they have calculated the economic cost of the environmental damage they cause to humanity, each of them $2,300 to $7,500 a year. Of all, $1.7-5.7 trillion. This group includes, on average, citizens with annual income higher than 45,000 €.

Scientists have estimated that this total amount could overfinance the main global environmental objectives set for 2030, but far from being met today: biodiversity conservation and climate change mitigation.

It has once again become clear that the responsibility for having crossed several planetary boundaries rests, above all, with the richest countries. And, consequently, the very objectives of sustainability and mitigation of climate change have been built on structural social and economic inequalities. In short, the problem caused by the rich becomes the responsibility of all citizens.

“We need to have an urgent debate: if there are no limits, the richest people consume disproportionately.”

Scientists add that the countries with the lowest GDP are often those with the highest natural wealth, so they have to make even greater economic efforts to conserve and protect these ecosystems.

An urgent debate must be put on the table: if no limits are set, the richest people consume disproportionately. And the trend shows that they have increasingly disproportionate consumption habits. Another concern raised by the researchers is that these rich people influence the habits of life of all, since the non-rich people take their way of life as a model and as a goal.