Carbon emissions of an average employee in many developed countries are much higher than those of the richest 10% in developing countries such as Argentina, Brazil, India and the ASEAN region, according to a Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW) study released on Tuesday.
The emission divide between developed and developing countries is starker when compared to the poorest populations. The carbon emissions of an individual in the bottom 10% income bracket of Saudi Arabia, the US, or Australia are 6 to 15 times more than in the poorest decile of India, Brazil or the ASEAN region.
The study said there is an urgent need for developed countries and China to embrace sustainable lifestyles and vacate carbon space for developing countries.
It is based on data from the World Inequality Database and the World Bank—analysed per capita CO2 emissions for different income brackets across 14 countries, the EU and the ASEAN region spanning the developed and developing world. These major economies taken together represent approximately 81% of global emissions.
“The CEEW study clearly shows that not everyone is equally responsible for increasing global carbon emissions. The top 10 per cent in many developing countries emit less than the average per capita emissions in developed countries. This, once again, drives home the scientific basis for ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’, especially as COP28 [2023 UN Climate Change Conference] holds up a mirror to past pledges and broken promises. The findings make the need for accountability and long-term climate finance both imperative and immediate. We can no longer argue why emerging economies need carbon space, or cheap and convenient finance to power their sustainable futures,” said CEEW CEO Arunabha Ghosh.
“Moreover, there is no technological substitute for more conscious consumption. Developed countries must make sustainable consumption aspirational, just like India’s Mission LiFE [Lifestyle for Environment], which nudges individual action to catalyse global changes for people, prosperity and the planet.”
In February, the International Energy Agency (IEA) cited its modelling and said it shows adoption of changes proposed under LiFE can reduce annual global carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions by over 2 billion tonnes by 2030. It said the projected cut is about one-fifth of the emission reduction needed by 2030 to put the world on a pathway to net zero emissions.
LiFE seeks to mobilise individuals for climate-positive behaviour and to create an ecosystem to reinforce and enable environmentally friendly self-sustainable behaviours.
IEA said the modelling suggests the measures proposed under LiFE could also save consumers around $440 billion globally in 2030 or equal to around 5% of all spending on fuels across the global economy that year. It added the initiative could also help lower inequalities in energy consumption and emissions between countries.
