Understanding the nexus between climate inequality and income inequality: a literature review

Abstract

It is projected that climate change, which is seen as the most important threat on a global scale after the Covid-19 pandemic, will not affect all countries to the same degree, just like all crises. The expectation that low-income individuals and underdeveloped countries which contributes the least to the climate change will suffer the most from the climate change crisis has led to the introduction of the concept of "climate inequality" into the literature. In a recent report published by the World Bank, it was stated that between 68 and 135 million people will be impoverished due to climate change. The climate inequality report published in 2023 also shows that the effects of climate change will have quite unfair outcomes both between countries and within the country. Therefore, income inequalities, which have started to improve among countries with the effect of economic growth in the last decades, are expected to reverse with climate change. This expectation has prompted researchers to empirically investigate the relationship between climate change and income inequality. The aim of this study is to reveal the literature gap in this field by examining the studies investigating the relationship between climate inequality and income inequality. The findings of the study is expected to provide an important roadmap for researchers.