"Those who have more means to reduce dangerous greenhouse gas emissions also have a greater responsibility to do so", says Johan Rockström, Stockholm Resilience Centre researcher. In a new study, researchers of the Stockholm Resilience reaffirm the need for a fairer global redistribution of resources for a stable planet. The study asks this key question: "What would be the additional pressures on the Earth system if adequate minimum access to food, water, energy and infrastructure was achieved?" The authors looked beyond the international poverty line, and instead defined ‘just access’ as minimum per capita requirements that would allow people to lead a dignified life free from poverty. Their analysis showed an increase of pressure on the Earth’s natural systems, raising greenhouse gas emissions by 26% whilst raising water and land use, and nutrient pollution by 2-5%. But what came out as key learning is that pressures, arising from the poorest third of humanity achieving adequate resource access, equalled the pressures caused by the wealthiest 1-4%. A fair global redistribution of resources appears as a key solution for planetary stability. “It is the wealthy who appropriate the bulk of the Earth’s resources, not the poor,” says lead author, Crelis Rammelt from the University of Amsterdam and Earth Commission. Read the study 👇 https://www.stockholmresilience.org/research/research-news/2022-11-10-fair-global-redistribution-of-resources-is-key-for-planetary-stability.html