Quantifying generational and geographical inequality of climate change

Area of Science:

• Climate science
• Environmental sociology
• Demography

Background:

• Greenhouse gas emissions drive global warming, creating unequal burdens across populations.
• Historical emissions have led to significant geographical and generational disparities in experienced warming.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify lifetime global warming exposure for individual birth cohorts by world region.
• To reveal and analyze geographical and generational inequalities in climate change impacts.
• To assess the influence of different Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs) on these inequalities.

Main Methods:

• Linking individual birth cohort emissions and experienced warming globally.
• Resolving climate impacts by world regions and demographic cohorts.
• Quantifying population differences across various socioeconomic pathways (SSPs).

Main Results:

• Significant geographical inequality exists between high-emission (Global North) and low-emission (Global South) regions.
• Generational inequality is evident, with later cohorts experiencing delayed warming consequences from past emissions.
• Precise quantification of populations affected differently by various climate scenarios (SSPs) is achieved.

Conclusions:

• The study provides a realistic display of experienced climate inequality.
• Findings emphasize the potential for mitigation and adaptation actions within different SSPs.
• The research motivates emission reductions to address climate change and reduce intergenerational and geographical disparities.