ABSTRACT
This chapter shows that the richest in the US and the UK have an unequal ability to pollute. The first component of this is luxury consumption. Their lifestyles are high-carbon because they are based on highly polluting forms of transport such as flying. Status competition with their peers means the richest keep up this lifestyle to ensure they are recognised as a member of the elite. At key moments since 1990, the polluter elite have successfully blocked the acceleration of the low-carbon transition. The most recent and symbolic examples are President Donald Trump’s withdrawal from the Paris Agreement and the Conservative government’s legislation in 2015 to maximise oil and gas extraction in the UK. Policymakers could deliberately and immediately destabilise the polluter elite through targeted policies such as ending fossil fuel subsidies, introducing a carbon tax and phasing out fossil fuels.
