Implications of inequality reduction for carbon emissions: conceptual and empirical analysis of the carbon footprints from consumer survey profiles for the EU countries
Researcher:
Cazcarro Castellano, Ignacio
Congress:
XIV International Conference of the European Society for Ecological Economics
Participation type:
Comunicación oral
Other authors:
Ignacio Cazcarro, Manuel Tomás, Iñaki Arto
Year:
2022
Location:
Pisa, Italia
The need of reducing poverty is widely recognized, e.g. with the United Nations SDGs (1), but also the reduction of inequalities within and among countries (e.g. SDG 10). The main point of the article (which is not new, but rarely emphasized in studies on inequality and emissions, many of which actually seem to imply the opposite) is that reducing inequality via income (and wealth) redistribution, without changing consumption habits, very likely will reduce emissions, but the opposite. This fact should be more bear in mind, since the desired avoidance of increased global temperature, dangerous effects of climate change, etc. should also consider the likely effects of the necessary accomplishment of improving the income and welfare of the poor. All these aspects are shown both conceptually and empirically, making use of the income and expenditure microdata statistics of the European Union, discussing the implications for the EU, but also globally.
The need of reducing poverty is widely recognized, e.g. with the United Nations SDGs (1), but also the reduction of inequalities within and among countries (e.g. SDG 10). The main point of the article (which is not new, but rarely emphasized in studies on inequality and emissions, many of which actually seem to imply the opposite) is that reducing inequality via income (and wealth) redistribution, without changing consumption habits, very likely will reduce emissions, but the opposite. This fact should be more bear in mind, since the desired avoidance of increased global temperature, dangerous effects of climate change, etc. should also consider the likely effects of the necessary accomplishment of improving the income and welfare of the poor. All these aspects are shown both conceptually and empirically, making use of the income and expenditure microdata statistics of the European Union, discussing the implications for the EU, but also globally.