Academics propose global plan for equality and climate survival
11 reported
A report by the World Inequality Lab (WIL) outlines a vision for raising living standards, reducing inequality, and keeping global heating within 2C. The Global Justice Report, published on Thursday, proposes wealth taxes on billionaires, reduced working hours, dietary changes, and shifting investment from industry to education and health. The authors state that if these measures are taken, incomes for 89% of the world’s population would double by 2100 and global heating would stay below 2C. The report is the product of 45 authors based on databases compiled by more than 200 researchers. It aims to overcome shortcomings of mainstream approaches to the polycrisis, including traditional leftist parties, economic degrowth proposals, and lack of social impact studies by the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The report will be unveiled at the World Inequality Conference from 4-6 June in Paris.
What’s reported
The report by the World Inequality Lab (WIL) aims to navigate the polycrisis pushing the world toward climate breakdown, political extremism, and economic and social tension.
Policy proposals include hefty wealth taxes on billionaires, sharp reductions in working hours, dietary changes, and shifting investment from materially intense sectors to education and health.
If measures are taken, incomes of 89% of the world’s population would double by 2100 and global heating would be kept below 2C above preindustrial average.
The report envisages three steps: halving average working time from 2,100 hours a year to 1,000 hours; encouraging less red meat consumption; and refocusing the economy toward low-consumption activities by more than doubling education spending to €8,400 a person and healthcare spending to €14,400.
Under the plan, average per capita gross national income across the world would be €5,000 a month by 2100.
The share of global wealth held by billionaires (0.001% of world population) would fall from 6% to 0.05%, while the bottom 50% would see their share increase from 2% to 30%.
The report takes three mid-century scenarios for decarbonisation from the International Energy Agency and projects them to 2100.
Under its most ambitious plan, capital would be redirected from the world’s wealthiest individuals and invested in wind, solar, and other renewables to accelerate complete decarbonisation and electrification of energy supplies by 2050.
This is projected to keep global temperature rises to 1.8C by 2100, compared to 4C to 4.5C under slow decarbonisation scenarios.
Key practical steps include creation of a global justice fund to finance the energy transition and increase education and healthcare spending to 38% of world GDP, up from 13% today.
The report concludes: “A habitable, equal 21st century is materially possible.”
Key figures
Thomas Piketty, co-director of the World Inequality Lab and professor at the Paris School of Economics
Cornelia Mohren, co-author and environmental coordinator at the WIL
Jason Hickel, professor at the Autonomous University of Barcelona and visiting senior fellow at LSE
Ha-Joon Chang, Jean Drèze, Jayati Ghosh, Mariana Mazzucato, Branko Milanović, Lea Ypi, Gabriel Zucman (speakers at the World Inequality Conference)
Sources: The Guardian
