Quantifying generational and geographical inequality of climate change

Abstract

We relate greenhouse gas emissions and global warming experienced over a lifetime by individual birth cohorts, resolved by world regions. We reveal outstanding geographical inequality between high- and low-emission regions corresponding to the nations of the Global North and Global South, respectively. Additionally, we highlight the inequality different birth cohorts (generations) experience regarding the burden of recent and ongoing warming temperatures as a time-delayed consequence of past emissions. We achieve precise quantification of the number of birth cohorts and populations who see a difference between Shared Socioeconomic Pathways (SSPs), emphasizing the potential for action and the chances for improvement that exist under the different scenarios. The method is designed to realistically display inequality, as it is experienced by people while motivating action and change needed to achieve emission reduction to reduce climate change and generational and geographical inequality simultaneously.