World Inequality Lab Maps Path to 1.8C Warming and Doubled Incomes for 89%
Updated
Updated · The Guardian · Jun 4
World Inequality Lab Maps Path to 1.8C Warming and Doubled Incomes for 89%
3 articles · Updated · The Guardian · Jun 4
Summary
A new World Inequality Lab report says living standards can rise while global heating stays below 2C, projecting 89% of people would see incomes double by 2100 under its proposed policy mix.
The plan centers on steep redistribution and lower material consumption: taxing billionaires, cutting average work time from 2,100 to 1,000 hours a year, reducing red-meat consumption and shifting investment toward education and health.
Under its most ambitious scenario, redirected capital would fully decarbonize and electrify energy by 2050, holding end-century warming to 1.8C versus 4C-4.5C under slower decarbonization and rising material demand.
The report also sketches new global institutions, including a justice fund and a world sovereign fund, to lift education and healthcare spending to 38% of world GDP from 13% today.
Authors led by Thomas Piketty argue the main barrier is political rather than technical, casting the blueprint as an alternative to nationalist, fossil-fuel-heavy and high-inequality visions of the future.
How could radical wealth taxes avoid triggering a global economic collapse?
Could a two-and-a-half-day work week really double incomes for the world's poorest?
In an era of rising nationalism, is a global justice fund a realistic proposal or a utopian dream?
The Global Justice Report 2026: How 89% Could Double Their Incomes by 2100 Within Planetary Limits
Overview
The World Inequality Lab's Global Justice Report, released on June 4, 2026, offers a comprehensive and quantified roadmap to address the urgent 'polycrisis' of climate breakdown, rising inequality, and political extremism. The report sets out a bold plan to dramatically reduce global inequality while respecting planetary boundaries and ensuring a habitable future for all. If its proposals are implemented, 89% of the world's population could see their incomes double by 2100. This vision presents a positive and feasible alternative to current techno-authoritarian and nationalist-populist approaches, aiming for a just and sustainable world.