Why income inequality is bad for the climate

Jan 29, 2019

A homeless man sleeps on the street in Stockholm in this February 18, 2012 file photo. In a 15-year span, Sweden has seen the steepest increase in inequality of all countries in the developed world, with disparities rising at a pace four times that of the United States, albeit from a low level, according to OECD data. To match Feature SWEDEN-INEQUALITY/ REUTERS/Leif R Jansson/Scanpix Sweden (SWEDEN - Tags: BUSINESS SOCIETY POVERTY) THIS IMAGE HAS BEEN SUPPLIED BY A THIRD PARTY. IT IS DISTRIBUTED, EXACTLY AS RECEIVED BY REUTERS, AS A SERVICE TO CLIENTS. NO COMMERCIAL OR BOOK SALES. SWEDEN OUT. NO COMMERCIAL OR EDITORIAL SALES IN SWEDEN. NO THIRD PARTY SALES. NOT FOR USE BY REUTERS THIRD PARTY DISTRIBUTORS - GM1E83L1RVQ01

While overall prosperity has increased in recent decades, growth has not been just Image: REUTERS/Leif R Jansson/Scanpix

Karl-Petter Thorwaldsson

Deputy President, International Trade Union Confederation (ITUC)

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Data from OECD, “Divided we stand”/OECD Income Distribution and Poverty. Note: refers to adjusted disposable household income.

Data from Garbinti, Goupille-Lebret and Piketty (2017). Note: distribution of pre-tax national income among equal-split adults in France. The unit is the adult individual (20 and over; the income of a married couple is split in two).

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