This week brought about a number of positive news stories. A group of British millionaires urged the government to introduce a wealth tax to combat the nation’s deteriorating public services and rising tax burden. The activist group Patriotic Millionaires projected calls for a wealth tax onto the Treasury building in London as a way to raise £22 billion annually for government funds. Expects speculated that a 2% tax on those with assets of more than £10 million would be the solution. According to a YouGov poll, three-quarters of the population supports the initiative.
In contrast, the government’s autumn statement did not introduce such a tax, though the minimum wage was raised to £11.44, a rise of £1, which will take effect in April 2022. An Oxfam investigation found that the richest 1% of humanity emitted more emissions than the poorest 66% in 2019. While this might not seem like good news, it represents progress towards identifying class inequality as one of the primary causes of the climate crisis, according to prominent French economist Thomas Piketty. He suggested a “progressive carbon tax” and a ban on private jets to address the severe environmental challenges.
The world is on track to heat up by more than 3C without decisive climate action, but Australian scientists had some good news to share. They show that plants could absorb more carbon dioxide emissions than previously predicted. It had been uncertain how much CO2 uptake was possible by plants in the future, but more complex modeling accounted for the three primary physiological processes associated with photosynthesis. The study found that it was possible to increase global vegetation carbon uptake more than existing models could.
According to Stanford University’s analysis of scientific papers, the gender gap in science is shrinking. Among the most cited 5.8 million authors in all scientific fields, men outpaced women 3.93 times among those who began publishing before 1992 but only 1.36 times among authors who began publishing after 2011. The report documented significant progress over time in closing the gender gap, but most scientific disciplines still have substantial room for continuing improvements. The lack of female representation poses a significant problem, with the UN noting that gender inequality is holding back solutions in areas such as the climate crisis, health, and more
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