IDEAS home Printed from https://ideas.repec.org/a/plo/pclm00/0000190.html
   My bibliography  Save this article

Income-based U.S. household carbon footprints (1990–2019) offer new insights on emissions inequality and climate finance

Author

Listed:
  • Jared Starr
  • Craig Nicolson
  • Michael Ash
  • Ezra M Markowitz
  • Daniel Moran

Abstract

Current policies to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and increase adaptation and mitigation funding are insufficient to limit global temperature rise to 1.5°C. It is clear that further action is needed to avoid the worst impacts of climate change and achieve a just climate future. Here, we offer a new perspective on emissions responsibility and climate finance by conducting an environmentally extended input output analysis that links 30 years (1990–2019) of United States (U.S.) household-level income data to the emissions generated in creating that income. To do this we draw on over 2.8 billion inter-sectoral transfers from the Eora MRIO database to calculate both supplier- and producer-based GHG emissions intensities and connect these with detailed income and demographic data for over 5 million U.S. individuals in the IPUMS Current Population Survey. We find significant and growing emissions inequality that cuts across economic and racial lines. In 2019, fully 40% of total U.S. emissions were associated with income flows to the highest earning 10% of households. Among the highest earning 1% of households (whose income is linked to 15–17% of national emissions) investment holdings account for 38–43% of their emissions. Even when allowing for a considerable range of investment strategies, passive income accruing to this group is a major factor shaping the U.S. emissions distribution. Results suggest an alternative income or shareholder-based carbon tax, focused on investments, may have equity advantages over traditional consumer-facing cap-and-trade or carbon tax options and be a useful policy tool to encourage decarbonization while raising revenue for climate finance.

Suggested Citation

  • Jared Starr & Craig Nicolson & Michael Ash & Ezra M Markowitz & Daniel Moran, 2023. "Income-based U.S. household carbon footprints (1990–2019) offer new insights on emissions inequality and climate finance," PLOS Climate, Public Library of Science, vol. 2(8), pages 1-24, August.
  • Handle: RePEc:plo:pclm00:0000190
    DOI: 10.1371/journal.pclm.0000190
    as

    Download full text from publisher

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/climate/article?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000190
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://journals.plos.org/climate/article/file?id=10.1371/journal.pclm.0000190&type=printable
    Download Restriction: no

    File URL: https://libkey.io/10.1371/journal.pclm.0000190?utm_source=ideas
    LibKey link: if access is restricted and if your library uses this service, LibKey will redirect you to where you can use your library subscription to access this item
    ---><---

    References listed on IDEAS

    as
    1. Lucas Chancel, 2022. "Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019," PSE-Ecole d'économie de Paris (Postprint) halshs-04157767, HAL.
    2. Bicknell, Kathryn B. & Ball, Richard J. & Cullen, Ross & Bigsby, Hugh R., 1998. "New methodology for the ecological footprint with an application to the New Zealand economy," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 27(2), pages 149-160, November.
    3. Antonin Pottier & Gaëlle Le Treut, 2023. "Quantifying GHG emissions enabled by capital and labor: Economic and gender inequalities in France," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(2), pages 624-636, April.
    4. Boyce, James K., 2018. "Carbon Pricing: Effectiveness and Equity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 150(C), pages 52-61.
    5. Lenzen, Manfred, 1998. "Energy and greenhouse gas cost of living for Australia during 1993/94," Energy, Elsevier, vol. 23(6), pages 497-516.
    6. Pottier, Antonin, 2022. "Expenditure elasticity and income elasticity of GHG emissions: A survey of literature on household carbon footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    7. Zhang, Zengkai & Zhang, ZhongXiang & Zhu, Kunfu, 2020. "Allocating carbon responsibility: The role of spatial production fragmentation," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 87(C).
    8. Zengkai Zhang & Dabo Guan & Ran Wang & Jing Meng & Heran Zheng & Kunfu Zhu & Huibin Du, 2020. "Embodied carbon emissions in the supply chains of multinational enterprises," Nature Climate Change, Nature, vol. 10(12), pages 1096-1101, December.
    9. S. Nazrul Islam & John Winkel, 2017. "Climate Change and Social Inequality," Working Papers 152, United Nations, Department of Economics and Social Affairs.
    10. Zhang, Youguo, 2013. "The responsibility for carbon emissions and carbon efficiency at the sectoral level: Evidence from China," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 40(C), pages 967-975.
    11. Sager, Lutz, 2019. "Income inequality and carbon consumption: Evidence from Environmental Engel curves," Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 84(S1).
    12. Lucas Chancel, 2022. "Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019," Nature Sustainability, Nature, vol. 5(11), pages 931-938, November.
    13. Zengkai Zhang & Jiaoyan Li & Dabo Guan, 2023. "Value chain carbon footprints of Chinese listed companies," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 14(1), pages 1-9, December.
    14. Geoffrey Heal & Wolfram Schlenker, 2019. "Coase, Hotelling and Pigou: The Incidence of a Carbon Tax and CO₂ Emissions," NBER Working Papers 26086, National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc.
    15. Lucas Chancel, 2022. "Global carbon inequality over 1990–2019," Post-Print halshs-04157767, HAL.
    16. Daniel Moran & Richard Wood & Edgar Hertwich & Kim Mattson & Joao F. D. Rodriguez & Karin Schanes & John Barrett, 2020. "Quantifying the potential for consumer-oriented policy to reduce European and foreign carbon emissions," Climate Policy, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 20(S1), pages 28-38, April.
    17. Manfred Lenzen & Daniel Moran & Keiichiro Kanemoto & Arne Geschke, 2013. "Building Eora: A Global Multi-Region Input-Output Database At High Country And Sector Resolution," Economic Systems Research, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 25(1), pages 20-49, March.
    18. Weber, Christopher L. & Matthews, H. Scott, 2008. "Quantifying the global and distributional aspects of American household carbon footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 66(2-3), pages 379-391, June.
    19. Zhang, Youguo, 2015. "Provincial responsibility for carbon emissions in China under different principles," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 86(C), pages 142-153.
    20. Robin Leichenko & Julie A. Silva, 2014. "Climate change and poverty: vulnerability, impacts, and alleviation strategies," Wiley Interdisciplinary Reviews: Climate Change, John Wiley & Sons, vol. 5(4), pages 539-556, July.
    Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)

    Most related items

    These are the items that most often cite the same works as this one and are cited by the same works as this one.
    1. Starr, Jared & Nicolson, Craig & Ash, Michael & Markowitz, Ezra M. & Moran, Daniel, 2023. "Assessing U.S. consumers' carbon footprints reveals outsized impact of the top 1%," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 205(C).
    2. André, Mathias & Bourgeois, Alexandre & Combet, Emmanuel & Lequien, Matthieu & Pottier, Antonin, 2024. "Challenges in measuring the distribution of carbon footprints: The role of product and price heterogeneity," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 220(C).
    3. repec:ssa:lemwps:2025/04 is not listed on IDEAS
    4. Lévay, Petra Zsuzsa & Goedemé, Tim & Verbist, Gerlinde, 2023. "Income and expenditure elasticity of household carbon footprints. Some methodological considerations," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 212(C).
    5. Tobias Angel & Alexandre Berthe & Valeria Costantini & Mariagrazia D’Angeli, 2024. "How the nature of inequality reduction matters for CO2 emissions," Working Papers 2024.14, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    6. Antonin Pottier & Gaëlle Le Treut, 2023. "Quantifying GHG emissions enabled by capital and labor: Economic and gender inequalities in France," Journal of Industrial Ecology, Yale University, vol. 27(2), pages 624-636, April.
    7. Córcoles, Carmen & López, Luis Antonio & Osorio, Pilar & Zafrilla, Jorge, 2024. "The carbon footprint of the empty Castilla-La Mancha," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 184(C).
    8. Gao, Xue & Chen, Xuan & Liu, Lan-Cui, 2024. "Exploring the determinants of the evolution of urban and rural household carbon footprints inequality in China," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 185(C).
    9. Dong, Kangyin & Zhao, Congyu & Nepal, Rabindra & Zander, Kerstin K., 2025. "Are natural disasters stumbling blocks to carbon inequality mitigation? A global perspective," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 227(C).
    10. Pottier, Antonin, 2022. "Expenditure elasticity and income elasticity of GHG emissions: A survey of literature on household carbon footprint," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    11. Yannic Rehm & Lucas Chancel, 2022. "Measuring the Carbon Content of Wealth Evidence from France and Germany," PSE Working Papers halshs-03828939, HAL.
    12. Ivanova, Diana & Wieland, Hanspeter, 2023. "Tracing carbon footprints to intermediate industries in the United Kingdom," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 214(C).
    13. Pottier, Antonin & Combet, Emmanuel & Cayla, Jean-Michel & de Lauretis, Simona & Nadaud, Franck, 2021. "Who emits CO2 ? Landscape of ecological inequalities in France from a critical perspective," FEEM Working Papers 311053, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM).
    14. Francisco Estrada & Veronica Lupi & W. J. Wouter Botzen & Richard S. J. Tol, 2025. "Urban and non-urban contributions to the social cost of carbon," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-11, December.
    15. Malerba, Daniele & Roscioli, Federico & Gaentzsch, Anja & Ward, Hauke, 2024. "Changing carbon footprints and the consequent impacts of carbon taxes and cash transfers on poverty and inequality across years: A Peruvian case study," Energy Policy, Elsevier, vol. 192(C).
    16. Missbach, Leonard & Steckel, Jan Christoph, 2024. "Distributional impacts of climate policy and effective compensation: Evidence from 88 countries," EconStor Preprints 296491, ZBW - Leibniz Information Centre for Economics.
    17. Haimeng Liu & Liwei Wang & Jinzhou Wang & Hangtian Ming & Xuankuang Wu & Gang Xu & Shengwu Zhang, 2024. "Multidimensional spatial inequality in China and its relationship with economic growth," Palgrave Communications, Palgrave Macmillan, vol. 11(1), pages 1-13, December.
    18. Yuru Guan & Yuli Shan & Ye Hang & Qingyun Nie & Yu Liu & Klaus Hubacek, 2025. "Unlocking global carbon reduction potential by embracing low-carbon lifestyles," Nature Communications, Nature, vol. 16(1), pages 1-16, December.
    19. Federica Cappelli, 2024. "Unequal contributions to CO2 emissions along the income distribution within and between countries," Working Papers 2024.06, Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei.
    20. Wang, P.P. & Huang, G.H. & Li, Y.P. & Luo, B. & Li, Y.F., 2025. "Unveiling China's household CO2 emissions with disaggregated energy sectors: An affinity-propagation multi-regional input-output model," Renewable Energy, Elsevier, vol. 238(C).
    21. Škare, Marinko & Gavurova, Beata & Porada-Rochon, Malgorzata, 2024. "Digitalization and carbon footprint: Building a path to a sustainable economic growth," Technological Forecasting and Social Change, Elsevier, vol. 199(C).

    More about this item

    Statistics

    Access and download statistics

    Corrections

    All material on this site has been provided by the respective publishers and authors. You can help correct errors and omissions. When requesting a correction, please mention this item's handle: RePEc:plo:pclm00:0000190. See general information about how to correct material in RePEc.

    If you have authored this item and are not yet registered with RePEc, we encourage you to do it here. This allows to link your profile to this item. It also allows you to accept potential citations to this item that we are uncertain about.

    If CitEc recognized a bibliographic reference but did not link an item in RePEc to it, you can help with this form .

    If you know of missing items citing this one, you can help us creating those links by adding the relevant references in the same way as above, for each refering item. If you are a registered author of this item, you may also want to check the "citations" tab in your RePEc Author Service profile, as there may be some citations waiting for confirmation.

    For technical questions regarding this item, or to correct its authors, title, abstract, bibliographic or download information, contact: climate (email available below). General contact details of provider: https://journals.plos.org/climate .

    Please note that corrections may take a couple of weeks to filter through the various RePEc services.

    IDEAS is a RePEc service. RePEc uses bibliographic data supplied by the respective publishers.