A finite amount of carbon can be added to the atmosphere if we want to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. We need to ensure that carbon is used for the best.

Carbon dioxide emissions rose by 60% from 1990 to 2015, but the increase in emissions from the richest 1%** was 3 times greater than the increase in emissions from the poorest half. Rampant overconsumption and the rich world’s addiction to high-carbon transport are exhausting the world’s carbon budget says the report.

The global carbon budget has been squandered to expand the consumption of the already rich, rather than to improve the lives of billions … A finite amount of carbon can be added to the atmosphere if we want to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. We need to ensure that carbon is used for the best.

**The richest 1% are people earning more than about $100,000.

Read more in the Guardian on-line of 21st September at bit.ly/364eTLm