Climate Change vs Economic Inequality

A case study on inequality

In France, 2018, people took to the streets to protest against taxes on petroleum gas
The argument was this was designed to hurt the poor
Wealthy Parisians tend to catch the metro train to work
Poor people tend to drive

Eco-friendliness is a Luxury

Many poor people can’t afford eco-friendly options
An example is electric cars - they’re more expensive to buy, so people choose to go for affordable, less eco-friendly cars
At the same time, poor people tend to pay the price for climate change
Developing countries near the equator (such as India) will be affected the most
Countries in the north of Europe won’t be affected too much by a small increase in temperature
People in poorer countries don’t have the resources to deal with climate change
For example, 5% of Indian households have air conditioning, compared with 87% in the United States

To slow climate change, our energy consumption has to be cut. But this will be at the expense of the poor

Rich countries are trying to take action to reduce emissions
Developing countries don’t have the resources: redistribution of wealth is needed
The wealthiest countries would only need to give up a fraction of their GDP to finance cleaner-energy sources for poorer countries - for example, air conditioners that don’t produce HFC gases

To conclude, rich countries must lead the way against climate change, but to do so, issues around inequality must be addressed too.