News release

From: Springer Nature

Top 10% of spenders responsible for trillions of dollars of environmental damage annually

The world’s highest 10% of spenders are responsible for environmental damage estimated to be worth US $1.7–5.7 trillion (at 2017 values) each year, according to research in Communications Sustainability. The authors report that even their lowest estimation exceeds the combined funding required to both halt biodiversity decline and meet the UN’s climate funding targets.

Previous research has shown that the highest spending individuals — broadly corresponding to the wealthiest individuals — are responsible for a disproportionately large share of environmental damage. However, this share has not yet been monetarily quantified.

Inge Schrijver, Rutger Hoekstra, and Paul Behrens estimated the cost to the environment attributed to the actions of the top 10% of spenders, both globally and for the wealthiest country on each continent. They assigned monetary values, taken from the Environmental Prices Handbook and calculated in 2017 US dollars (the most recent available data), to different types of environmental damage. The authors found that globally, top spenders are responsible for estimated annual costs of between $2,300–7,500 per person — equivalent to $1.7–5.7 trillion at the global scale. In the United States, the top 10% of spenders are responsible for substantially higher costs, estimated at $19,000–63,000 per person, equivalent to 6–20% of the average income for this group. However, in Egypt estimated damages were $266–852 per person, demonstrating the uneven global distribution of environmental damage.

The authors calculate that all estimated damage bills surpass the combined funding needed to both meet the 2035 climate funding target agreed at COP 30 in 2025 ($993 billion) and cover the estimated additional funding required to halt biodiversity decline by 2030 ($657 billion). They note that, across all assessed consumer groups, biodiversity loss and carbon dioxide emissions are the overall largest contributors to the calculated damages bill, cumulatively accounting for 83–93% of the total.

The authors therefore argue that carefully planned targeting of the highest spenders, at both a country and global level, could reduce environmental harm and societal inequality, encourage more sustainable behaviour, and generate substantial funds for sustainability efforts. However, there is still uncertainty in the financial estimates presented, particularly the valuation of biodiversity loss, caution the authors. They also note that only the spending of individuals is assessed, while previous research has suggested that the wealthiest 10% also generate substantial emissions from investments.