“Which is precisely why, when climate change deniers claim that global warming is a plot to redistribute wealth, it’s not (only) because they are paranoid. It’s also because they are paying attention” (Klein 2014: 93).
In the chapter “Hot Money” of her book This Changes Everything: Capitalism vs. the Climate, Klein lays out the necessity of changing the way we measure a country’s success (currently, GDP) and reducing consumption (a component used to measure GDP) in the wealthiest of countries in order to reduce emissions. “Consuming less, however, means changing how much energy we actually use: how often we drive, how often we fly, whether our food has to be flown to get to us, whether the goods we buy are built to last or to be replaced in two years, how large our homes are” (Klein 2014: 90). But she points out that this shouldn’t be the sole responsibility of the consumer (“urbanites who like going to farmers’ markets on Saturday afternoons and wearing up-cycled clothing” (Klein 2014: 91)), but that there need to be policies in place that support fair low-carbon alternatives to our current high-carbon activities. And this doesn’t mean drive an electric car, this means take the bus or bike instead.
She points out that this is the top most well-off 20% of our society who need to be making these changes, as they are the ones who emit the most carbon. “We would need to return to a lifestyle similar to the one we had in the 1970’s,” she writes, showing that it is not a complete backwards jump into the Stone Age as some climate change deniers argue.
The concept of wealth redistribution has been trending recently (at least in my mind and world!). For a comprehensive look at wealth and income inequality in the U.S., take a look at the Pew Research Centers’s data. If you don’t have time to look, some of the headers for this page are: “The wealth divide among upper-income families and middle- and lower-income families is sharp and rising,” “The richest are getting richer faster,” and “Income inequality in the U.S has increased since 1980 and is greater than in peer countries.”
Much of Klein’s book outlines reasons why today’s economic system is harming the natural world and causing climate change (hence the name Capitalism vs. the Climate). Even though the book is 7 years old at this point, many of the arguments are still relevant and I highly suggest reading it if you have any interest in the existential threat that is climate change (or even if you don’t, it’s a good book to read no matter your interests).
The Edited Jottings of an Amateur Anthropologist 