OSC Scientific Seminar 2020-2021

Friday, 18th December 2020, 11:30 am / 1 pm (Zoom videoconference)

Carbon and inequality in the long run (1820-2020)

Lucas Chancel

Co-Director, World Inequality Lab
Affiliate Professor, Sciences Po
Associate Researcher, Paris School of Economics & Iddri

Building on a newly assembled set of carbon and energy accounts based on historical records, input-output tables and distributional statistics, this presentation focuses on the long term carbon footprint of nations since the early 19th century. Among rich countries, we observe a diversity of historical energy transition pathways and resulting carbon footprints, suggesting a strong role played by political economy vs. purely endowment and efficiency factors.

Focusing on the global inequality of emissions over the past fifty years, estimates point to a high level of concentration of pollution among top global emitters and to the importance of emissions embodied in asset ownership, suggesting that climate policies focusing on carbon investors, not only carbon consumers, could be key to accelerate decarbonization.

Registration is mandatory to join the ZOOM meeting

Suggested readings
"Carbon and inequality: From Kyoto to Paris Trends in the global inequality of carbon emissions (1998-2013) & prospects for an equitable adaptation fund World Inequality Lab", Lucas Chancel & Thomas Piketty, WID.world Working Paper, n° 2015/7.