The outsized carbon footprints of the super-rich

Abstract

Average figures for the country, regional, or class emissions of greenhouse gases can be deceiving because some people and groups have much larger carbon footprints than others. In this policy brief, we focus on the super-rich, the billionaires whose fortunes have increased by over US$1 trillion during the COVID-19 pandemic. We ask what effect these super-emitters have on the everyday behavior of average citizens and address emissions as a commons-management issue. Our research indicates that billionaires have carbon footprints that can be thousands of times higher than those of average citizens, even in the richest countries.