The Relationship Between Climate Change and Economic Inequality

Abstract

The impact of climate change is heterogeneous in its global and local impacts. Although everyone is in some way affected by changes in the climate, the impact it has on each economy can be very different, both unfavorable and counterproductive. For example, it can have different consequences for those affected by variations in the scarcity of resources, or it can favor a more or less sector or industry, as well as economic agents of a particular endowment, as in the case of the ‘green jobs’. There are long-term changes in temperature and persevering increases in the average sea. Currently, the majority of the planet’s population is settled in places on the shores; a large part of the economy and economic activity is also concentrated near the seashore. It can also amplify the effect of certain disasters and/or natural phenomena; by the way, it is favored by the groupings and geographical concentration, causing, among other things, damages in crops, excessive loss of labor, entire cities and social. It also affects the population through its health and magnifies the worst effects of living conditions already poor. The EKC hypothesis is still mixed. Although its appeal is easy to imagine as an inverted U-shape, sometimes noisy and controversial results are obtained. It’s also been recognized that not all types of pollutants, nor all polluting industries, behave in this way. Indeed, contemporary debates about industrialization and sustainable economic growth also remain relevant when it comes to understanding the dynamics of industrialization and its relationship with the environment. This justifies the analysis of the relationship between GDP and emissions, considering not only the possibility of a non-linear behavior, but also the lagged effect of income on emissions. Little is known about how climate change, like other global environmental problems, affects inequality, and better understanding may be important in helping to mitigate those effects. Climate change can affect inequality both through the income side and through the expenditure side, although the former may be more important. Movements in climate change affect and will more disrupt countries dependent on agriculture, such as those in East Asia and sub-Saharan Africa. Because agriculture provides livelihood for a large percentage of the poor in these countries, the spread of climate change can hurt them greatly.

Keywords climate change, economic inequality, resource scarcity, green jobs, environmental impact, agricultural dependence, health effects, sustainable growth