The world's top 10% income earners are responsible for at least 25% and up to 43% of our environmental impact. ... While technological improvements have helped to reduce emissions and other environmental impacts, the worldwide growth in affluence has consistently outpaced these gains, driving all the impacts back up.

What effect does affluence have on the environment?

Increased population increases humans' environmental impact in many ways, which include but are not limited to: Increased land use - Results in habitat loss for other species. Increased resource use - Results in changes in land cover. Increased pollution - Can cause sickness and damages ecosystems.

How affluence can have both harmful and beneficial environmental effects?

Summarize the potentially harmful and beneficial environmental effects of affluence. Wealth allows people to obtain resources they need from anywhere in the world without seeing the harmful environmental impacts of their high-consumption, high-waste lifestyles.