Inheritance Pattern – The Poetry of Science

It begins
where the ledger-skin
thins and settles
unasked,
into fields that never
drew down ink.
In the far rooms,
where figures coil
into stock-speak,
a kind of harvest
spills
without touch,
without ground.
Still
the weight travels –
a golden shadow
folded into
every cracked
and broken season.

This poem is inspired by recent research, which has found that the richest 1% of people caused 20 times more warming than the global average since 1990.

Climate change continues to expose deep injustices, as those who have contributed the least to the crisis often suffer its harshest consequences. This is not only a matter of inequality between countries, where poorer nations face escalating climate extremes, but also within them, where wealthier individuals tend to hold greater responsibility for emissions yet remain insulated from the worst effects. Despite growing recognition of these patterns, there has been limited evidence directly connecting the lifestyles and investments of the richest population groups to specific climate impacts felt around the world.

This research helps close that gap. By examining global greenhouse gas emissions linked to consumption and investments between 1990 and 2020, the study shows that the wealthiest 10% of people are responsible for two-thirds of the warming we see today, while the top 1% account for one-fifth – making their individual contributions far higher than the global average. The analysis also reveals how these emissions have fuelled extreme weather events, with the richest groups driving steep increases in deadly heatwaves and droughts, particularly in vulnerable regions such as the Amazon and parts of Africa and Asia. By quantifying this connection, the research offers valuable evidence to strengthen debates around climate justice and the urgent need to address inequalities in both responsibility and vulnerability.