Distribution matters: Meeting human needs at sustainable carbon consumption

Abstract: To avoid irreversible damage to the climate system and biosphere, the majority of the world’s countries must reduce rates of resource throughput. However, the socio-economic conditions for satisfying basic human needs at low resource use have received scant empirical attention. I apply cross-country panel analysis and dynamic linear modelling to explore how different dimensions of inequality affect countries’ abilities to deliver a good life for all at sustainable levels of carbon consumption. My results suggest that inequalities reduce socio-ecological performance, with income inequality reducing the proportion of carbon channelled into meeting basic needs and wealth inequality increasing the carbon-intensity of expenditure. Overall, this study highlights the importance of reducing inequalities in a resource-constrained world. Social media summary. Income inequality raises the carbon cost of meeting basic human needs at the national and global scales.