The Divide: A Brief Guide to Global Inequality and its Solutions

by Jason Hickel

From the start of the Industrial Revolution until today, humans have released a total of 588 billion tons of CO2 into the atmosphere. Rich industrial economies are responsible for about 70 per cent of this, although measurements vary slightly: the number is much higher if you count only industrial emissions, but slightly lower if you include non-industrial emissions, such as from deforestation.44 Yet, according to data from the Climate Vulnerability Monitor, developed nations bear only 12 per cent of the total costs of climate change.45 Developing countries, by contrast, have to bear 82 per cent of the total costs, which in 2010 meant $571 billion in losses due to drought, floods, landslides, storms and wildfires. The Monitor predicts that as these costs