Richest 10% caused two thirds of global warming

'We link carbon footprints of rich individuals directly to climate impacts'

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The world's wealthiest 10 per cent of individuals are responsible for two thirds of global warming since 1990, researchers said Tuesday.

How the rich consume and invest has substantially increased the risk of deadly heatwaves and drought, they reported in the first study to quantify the impact of concentrated private wealth on extreme climate events.

"We link the carbon footprints of the wealthiest individuals directly to real-world climate impacts," lead author Sarah Schoengart, a scientist at ETH Zurich, told AFP.

Notable shift