Not all emitters are equal. Top 10% in US, Canada, EU emit 2-8 times more than India's richest

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Key Points

Developedeconomies, including the United States, Canada, and Australia,called forincreased ambition and shared responsibility from emerging large emitter countries..

But the inequity in emissionsbetween developed and emerging economiesis glaring, shows astudyreleased last monthby the Council on Energy, Environment and Water (CEEW)onconsumption-driven current emissions.The richest 10 per cent in Saudi Arabia, United States, Canada, Australia, Japan, Russia, and the European Union emit 2-8 times more than the richest 10 per cent in India..

Thedisparityis starker when it comes to the poorest populations.An individual in the bottom 10 per cent income bracket of Saudi Arabia, the US, or Australiagenerates6 to 15 times morecarbon emissionsthan an individual in the poorest decile of India, Brazil, and most countries in the ASEAN region..

While the emission intensity for the top decile in most countries declined between 2008 and 2018, their absolute emissions increased as their incomesrose.This underscoresthe need, beyond energy transition and climate mitigation measures, to rally for sustainable lifestyles, especiallyamongthose who can clearly afford it...

Our study found that if the richest 10 per cent of developedeconomiesand China were to embrace sustainable lifestyles and reduce their emissions by half, they would be able to save more than 3.4 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide annually (based on 2019 data).This potential saving surpasses Indias total CO2 emissions for the same year by 40 per cent, highlighting the considerable impact of these actions on a global scale.Notably, even after this reduction, the richest in these countries would still emit nearlydoubletheir currentnationalaverage.. Further, a carbon tax on top emitters should be introduced to discourage highly carbon-intensive consumption patterns..

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