Wealthy people are the cause of a huge amount of global warming but are also the ones with the most ability — and responsibility — to fight climate change, MSU sociology's Tom Dietz and others have reported in a new paper for the journal Nature Energy.
 
“The global affluent, the richest 10%, the richest 1%, are responsible for most of the pollution that is changing the climate and the biosphere. They have the responsibility, and also have some of the opportunity, to bring about the change we need,” said Dietz, University Distinguished Professor of Sociology.
 
The new research, released Sept. 30, identifies how people of high socioeconomic status have a disproportionate impact on global greenhouse gas emissions — and therefore an outsized responsibility to facilitate the progress in climate change mitigation.

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