Lorem ipsum dolor sit amet, consectetur adipiscing elit. Curabitur eleifend tortor nec augue pretium
The UK’s top earners are willing to adopt green technologies such as heat pumps and electric vehicles, yet they remain unwilling to compromise their lifestyles to cut emissions.
That is according to a new study by the University of Bath, which found that the highest-income households produce three times the emissions of the poorest, but also suggests they may hold the key to accelerating climate action.
Half of households earning more than £200k bought an electric vehicle in 2022 – compared with just 8% of middle-income and 2% of low-income households – and are more likely to install heat pumps and take advantage of government subsidies.
Furthermore, 81% of wealthy individuals surveyed said that “urgent” climate action is needed, compared with 68% of others, and are more likely to understand terms like net zero and support stronger climate policies.
The study also found that 42% of wealthy individuals believe they can influence businesses through their purchasing power – compared with 12% of those on lower incomes – and 60% hold managerial positions, giving them the ability to implement corporate sustainability initiatives.
However, they consume significantly more across food, transport and shopping – especially when it comes to frequent flying and luxury goods – with many underestimating the impact of flying and beef consumption and overestimating smaller actions like recycling.
“It’s crucial that policymakers focus on making sustainable choices more accessible and appealing for everyone,” said Dr Sam Hampton from the University of Bath’s Department of Psychology. “The wealthiest individuals have a unique opportunity to lead the way. With the right incentives, they could become key players in driving the shift towards a greener, more sustainable future.”
A study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) has found that the net economic cost of climate inaction could be 11%-27% of cumulative global GDP by 2100.
That is equivalent to three times the world’s healthcare spending, or eight times the amount needed to lift everyone out of poverty.
The study also suggests that investing 1%-2% of GDP on climate mitigation could limit global warming to 2°C, reducing economic damages to 2%-4%.
For this to happen, mitigation investments must increase ninefold by 2050, which could return five to 14 times the original investment, the researchers found.
The timing of climate investments is the challenge, with 60% needing to come within the next 25 years, as 95% of the economic damage from inaction would occur after that point.
“The economic case for climate action is clear, yet not broadly known and understood,” said Annika Zawadzki, BCG managing director and partner. “Investment in both mitigation and adaptation could bring a return of around tenfold by 2100.”
Environmental charity Greenpeace UK has announced new race and ethnicity representation goals, committing to match the diversity of London at every level of the organisation.
It’s aiming for 38.3% of its staff to identify as People of Colour (PoC) by 2030, and to close its ethnicity pay gap – currently at 5.6% – as it has done with its gender pay gap.
Greenpeace UK said it will conduct a situational analysis across all departments to understand barriers to attraction, recruitment, retention and progression.
This comes after The RACE Report revealed that just 4.5% of staff at environmental charities identify as PoC and other racially or ethnically minoritised groups, compared with 16% across all sectors.
“We cannot win on protecting our climate and biodiversity without an embedded understanding of how they intertwine with the diversity of human societies,” said co-executive director of Greenpeace UK, Areeba Hamid. “These goals quantify our commitment to diversity in a way that demands and enables concrete, measurable progress.”
Chris Seekings is the Deputy Editor of IEMA’s Transform magazine, which is published biomonthly for IEMA members. Chris’s role involves writing sustainability-related news, features and interviews, as well as helping to plan and manage the magazine’s other day-to-day activities.
