The UK’s 100 richest families are being urged to commit £1bn over the next five years to tackle the climate emergency and halt the destruction of the natural world, as the world prepares for a big push on environmental issues at the G7 summit. At present, only about 4% of the money from UK philanthropic trusts and foundations goes to environmental causes, including climate change. Yet the human systems we have collectively established – economic, industrial, even political – are changing our climate, endangering our fellow species, and diminishing our health and wellbeing. For instance, from 1990 to 2015, emissions from the poorer half of the EU population fell by a quarter, while those of the richest 10% increased. “It is better to spend money on this [climate philanthropy] than on private jets or yachts, but it’s not tenable to carry on with an extremely high-carbon lifestyle.

Source: The Guardian June 05, 2021 06:56 UTC