![]() ![]() Airlines rocked by the COVID-19 pandemic have received bailouts, while kerosene tax exemptions effectively subsidise flying, making it relatively cheap compared to other transport options. Air travel is very unequally distributed across the population, while it is also very carbon intensive.īut air travel largely isn’t the focus of climate policies. Regular flights are responsible for 41% of the carbon footprint of the top 1% of emitters, and almost all flights taken in the EU are by the top 10% of polluters. What do the top emitters consume that produces so much waste? One of the biggest culprits in our analysis is air travel. These stark differences in carbon footprints are rooted in the things people buy and consume. Meanwhile, the top 10% of polluters in the EU account for 27% of the total EU carbon footprint, a greater contribution than that of the bottom 50%. Their annual net income is around €40,000 per person on average. So who are these top emitters? We know they’re relatively wealthy, though perhaps not private-jet wealthy. Consumption patterns of the top polluters On average, people in this group emit greenhouse gases equivalent to 55 tonnes of CO₂ per person per year. Households in the top 1% of polluters in the EU have carbon footprints that are 22 times larger than the safe limit of 2.5 tonnes. In the EU, the average carbon footprint is equivalent to about eight tonnes of CO₂ per person, which must fall to about a third of that level over the next decade.īut some people place even greater pressure on the environment. Scientists aren’t certain exactly how much fossil fuel we can use and still remain below 1.5☌ – that is, how big the world’s remaining carbon budget is – but it’s clear the vast majority of EU citizens are using far more than their fair share. ![]() But we recently analysed more than 275,000 household budget surveys from 26 countries for an academic study, and we found that only about 5% of EU households live within these limits. To keep global warming below 1.5☌, we need to reduce greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 2.5 tonnes of CO₂ per person per year by 2030. ![]()
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