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Climate change is going to inevitably change the way we all live – from alterations in our daily attire to accommodate the weather, to the destruction of our homes from natural disasters like wildfires, increased eco-anxiety, and even creating a shift for the worst when it comes to inequality.
Seeing as natural disasters induced by climate change continue to spur ongoing issues such as difficulty in filing for taxes, obtaining viable health insurance, and struggles to pay repairment costs – it’s safe to presume that as climate change gets worse, so will inequality.
In this article, we’ll provide an overview of inequality, how climate change will continue to impact inequality, and what we can do to prevent inequality from getting out of hand moving forward.
Inequality refers to the way in which resources are distributed across a population, such as by economic or social class – seeing when one population is denied access to financial resources over another due to their socioeconomic status.
There are different types of inequality, such as:
👉 Inequality often stands in the way of people being hired for jobs, accepted for scholarships, or participating in other various activities that they are qualified for due to factors outside of their control.
Unfortunately, inequality still exists in our society – but the difference between today and a hundred years ago is that we are actively aware of this sensitive predicament and are making an effort to combat the negative effects of inequality that many still suffer from today.
For instance, many companies have chosen to implement DEI values into their workplace – or diversity, equity, and inclusion. This practice works to help people who come from various ethnic backgrounds feel heard and supported throughout their time at the designated company.
DEI works in three ways:
👉 In addition to efforts such as DEI, many colleges and universities have made an effort to provide special scholarships for those who many experience inequality – such as for families with low-incomes or students stemming from minority groups.
However, despite all of these efforts to mitigate the effects of inequality – there is still one major hurdle that the world is struggling to effectively avoid from impacting inequality, and that’s climate change.
Climate change has and will continue to impact inequality. This is because the most catastrophic consequences elicited by climate change often have a drastically different impact on the individual or group depending on their ability to acquire resources – both financial or material wise.
For example, imagine there is a massive hurricane in the Miami area (a large metropolitan area with large discrepancies in socioeconomic status and income) – which leaves almost all businesses and homes completely destroyed.
While wealthy areas of Miami such as Coral Gabels, Aventura, and Miami beach are not prone to the effects of climate change or possible sinking of the entire city – they are more able to deal with reparation costs and ultimately get back to business as usual. On the other hand, neighborhoods such as Little Haiti could struggle to rebuild their homes and re-open their business – threatening the future vitality and even survival of those neighborhoods.
This is because without the financial resources to restock their stores or even seek temporary shelter, people, residences, and businesses alike will suffer to adhere to many daily necessities – such as acquiring food or keeping up with compulsory requirements such as filing for their taxes.
👉 In a similar way to how hard times reveal people’s true character and grit, the effects of climate change will continue to illustrate which areas are prone to suffer from inequality.
As a result, it’s probable that your time at the prom won’t feel as carefree in comparison to your peers who can afford all the bells and whistles. The same goes for low-income or developing communities who are unable to meet the new demands of recovering from natural disasters.
Unbeknownst to most people, climate change has already demonstrated its ability to impact inequality – seeing as studies have already shown that people who are socially or economically disadvantaged struggle from the effects of climate change more than someone who isn’t socioeconomically challenged.
One of the most recent examples is with the wildfires that occurred this past summer in Hawaii. Think about it: those indigenous to the historic neighborhoods in Maui that suffered the worst of the wildfire are left without community or the resources to relocate elsewhere. On the other hand, wealthy expats with no personal ties to the country were able to up and leave with ease – and simply start over elsewhere.
👉 Needless to say, if Hawaii were not a part of the United States – handling the $5.52 billion reparation costs to rebuild Maui would prove more difficult.
Another well-known example is with India, a country that is simultaneously struggling with extreme poverty – creating a perfect recipe for inequality. This is because a country with such a large population and varying levels of socioeconomic status threatens food and water supplies, disrupted services, and can even cause damage to infrastructure – something that will prove deleterious to communities in the country that can’t pay to improve these necessities.
👉 Did you know that people living in lower income countries are up to five times more likely to be left without shelter after natural disasters as opposed to those living in higher income countries?
However, what is most alarming is that more than 85% of the world is composed of developing countries – or regions of the world that are not able to handle the inequality brought about by climate change.
Climate change has and can continue to exacerbate inequality, but the good news is that this doesn’t need to be the case – there are policies we can implement to curb the effects climate change will have on inequality.
Here are just a few ways we could work together to prohibit climate change from impacting inequality more than it already has:
The bottom line is, it is inevitable that climate change will continue to increase inequality – but the drastic effects can be curbed if we take more serious effort to implement some of the recommendations listed above. However, it is most important that we fight against climate change not only to decrease the chances of exacerbated inequality – but for the sake of our planet.
If reading this article about climate change and if it will increase inequality has made you interested in reducing your carbon emissions to further fight against climate change – Greenly can help you!
It can be difficult to understand how climate change will have an impact on your business specifically, but don’t worry – Greenly is here to help! Click here to book a demo and get personalised expertise on how you can start to reduce your own emissions and decrease your environmental impact.
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