Richer Europeans fuel environmental harm, poorer ones are locked into it

This Science-for-Policy brief examines how the consumption footprint of EU households varies across income groups. Drawing on novel microdata combining EU Household Budget Survey expenditure data with product-level impact factors from the JRC Consumption Footprint, the analysis covers 16 environmental impact categories and includes the footprint of imported goods. The richest 20% of EU households account for over 25% of the total consumption footprint — a quarter more than an equal distribution would imply — while the poorest 20% account for less than 15%. The gap is sharpest for mobility, where the richest generate around three times the footprint of the poorest. Even lower-income households exceed planetary boundaries, though they transgress fewer and by smaller margins. When consumption footprints are expressed in monetary terms, the richest 20% generate around 8 000 euro per household per year in unpaid environmental damage — nearly twice the 4 500 euro generated by the poorest. As a share of expenditure, however, this unpaid damage is proportionally larger for lower-income households. The brief argues that a fair green transition requires a dual policy approach: consumption shifts for affluent households, and systemic change — cleaner energy, sustainable food systems, accessible infrastructure — for lower-income ones.