Inequality and Climate Change

This chapter highlights the various ways in which inequality is interwoven with the climate emergency. It discusses how social inequalities shape and are shaped by uneven impacts of climate change and mitigation policies. First, the uneven distribution of vulnerability to climate change across the globe is explored. Climate change tends to hit first and hardest those who are disadvantaged in various ways, for instance, people who live on (very) low incomes. Subsequently, the large inequalities in the contribution to greenhouse gas emissions that exist both within and between countries are highlighted. People on high incomes have contributed the most to greenhouse gas emissions in the past and continue to contribute more to climate change than the poor. Next, the chapter discusses inequalities in the capacity to engage in climate mitigation and climate adaptation. Richer countries and households tend to have higher capacity for both climate mitigation and climate adaptation, though they may feel less urgency to take adequate action as they are less affected by climate change than poorer countries and households. Finally, the distributive impacts of climate change policies are discussed. Many climate change policies have an uneven impact on the population. While carefully designed policy packages may reduce inequalities in living standards and living conditions, unbalanced climate policies tend to increase inequality. The social aspects that pervade the climate issue bring fundamental imbalances into sharp focus. This places the justice dimension at the center of the debate on the need for system change. This chapter argues that the recognition of the political and social inequalities embodied in the climate issue helps to achieve a more effective and socially just approach to climate change, both globally and within (supra-)national, regional, and local societies.