‘Mega-consumers’ of food and energy cost environment $5.7tn a year, study finds
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#1
The wealthiest ten percent of the global population generates environmental damage amounting to $5.7 trillion annually, according to a landmark study.
根據一項具里程碑意義的研究，全球最富有的百分之十人口每年造成的環境破壞高達 5.7 兆美元。
#2
Published by researchers at the University of Oxford and the University of Leiden, the findings underscore how consumption patterns among mega-consumers have reached unprecedented levels.
這項由牛津大學和萊頓大學的研究人員所發表的發現，凸顯了超級消費者的消費模式如何達到了前所未有的水準。
#3
The environmental cost now surpasses the gross domestic product of every nation on Earth except the United States and China.
這項環境成本目前已超越了除了美國和中國以外，地球上每個國家的國內生產總值。
#4
These mega-consumers are disproportionately concentrated in the global north, with more than half the population of the United States falling into this category.
這些超大型消費者不成比例地集中在北半球，其中美國有一半以上的人口屬於這一類別。
#5
In the European Union, approximately forty to forty-five percent of the population qualifies as part of this high-consuming group.
在歐盟，大約有百分之四十至四十五的人口符合資格，被歸類為這個高消費群體的一部分。
#6
One researcher involved in the study described the damage tally as utterly extraordinary, emphasizing that the figure eclipses global funding gaps designated for tackling the climate and biodiversity crises.
參與該研究的一位研究人員將損害統計形容為極其驚人，並強調該數字使旨在應對氣候和生物多樣性危機的全球資金缺口顯得微不足道。
#7
The study identified food and energy as the two most destructive categories of consumption.
該項研究指出食品和能源是破壞性最強的兩大消費類別。
#8
Red meat consumption emerged as a primary driver of deforestation and biodiversity loss worldwide.
紅肉消費已成為全球森林砍伐和生物多樣性流失的主要驅動力。
#9
Energy expenditure, encompassing aviation, residential heating and cooling, and the burning of fossil fuels, constituted the other major contributor to climate damage.
能源支出——包括航空、住宅供暖與冷卻，以及化石燃料的燃燒——構成了氣候破壞的另一個主要因素。
#10
Were these consumption patterns to persist unchecked, the researchers cautioned, the cumulative toll on planetary ecosystems would prove irreversible.
研究人員警告，若這些消費模式持續不加控制，對地球生態系統造成的累積破壞將被證實是不可逆轉的。
#11
The monetary figure was derived from estimates of the impacts of climate disruption, biodiversity loss, nutrient pollution, and freshwater depletion.
該貨幣數字是根據對氣候破壞、生物多樣性流失、營養鹽污染和淡水枯竭的影響估算得出的。
#12
On an individual basis, the average annual environmental damage bill for someone in the global top ten percent ranged from $2,300 to $7,500.
以個人為單位計算，全球前百分之十富裕人口中，每人每年平均造成的環境破壞帳單金額落在 2,300 美元至 7,500 美元之間。
#13
For those residing in the United States, however, the figure soared to between $19,000 and $63,000 per person annually.
然而，對於居住在美國的人來說，該數字飆升至每人每年 19,000 美元至 63,000 美元之間。
#14
Not only do wealthy nations bear the greatest responsibility, but emerging economies are rapidly closing the gap as well.
富裕國家不僅承擔著最大的責任，新興經濟體也正在迅速縮小差距。
#15
Notably, the average environmental cost attributed to China's top ten percent has already overtaken that of Germany's wealthiest consumers.
值得注意的是，歸因於中國前百分之十人口的平均環境成本，已經超越了德國最富裕消費者的環境成本。