Unfairness in the causes and risks of climate change

Most people facing the highest risks from climate change are not those who are most responsible for causing it. This can be seen in three aspects:

• Individuals and households: It is the high-consumption lifestyles of wealthy people that drive climate change. It is low-income groups in low- and middle-income nations, with negligible contributions to climate change, that are most at risk from its impacts. The differentials in greenhouse gas emissions per person can be very large – most low-income urban dwellers have very low consumption levels for fossil fuels and for energy-intensive food, and have very few capital goods.

• Nations: Most greenhouse gases have been emitted within the wealthiest nations, but low- and middle-income nations will bear most of the costs. Cotonou and Dhaka are at high risk from sea level rise and storm surges, yet the per capita contributions of their nations to greenhouse gases is one eightieth that of the USA.

• Cities: Larger companies and corporations can quite easily move their offices and production facilities away from cities at risk. These corporations are adept at shifting production to locations where profits are maximised, and they can factor in risks from climate change. But most city dwellers cannot easily move because their homes, assets and livelihoods are tied to the city.

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