The very rich, F. Scott Fitzgerald famously said, are different from you and me. Of course they are. They spend a lot more, pollute a lot more and contribute a lot more to global warming. Just how much more has recently been determined in a study published in Nature Climate Change.

According to the authors, the world’s wealthiest 10 percent are responsible for two-thirds of global warming since 1990 and the resulting increases in climate extremes such as heat waves and droughts. They contribute 6.5 times as much to global warming as the average person.

They are seven times as responsible for heat extremes and six times as responsible for Amazon droughts. Tropical regions such as the Amazon, Southeast Asia, and southern Africa—areas where people have contributed the least to global emissions—are especially subject to the most extreme events.

According to the study’s lead author Sarah Schöngart, “Our study shows that extreme climate impacts are not just the result of abstract global emissions, instead we can directly link them to our lifestyle and investment choices, which in turn are linked to wealth.”

The researchers traced emissions from different global income groups and assessed their contributions to specific climate extremes. Emissions from both personal consumption and investments were included in the study. They found that “If everyone had emitted like the bottom 50 percent of the global population, the world would have seen minimal additional warming since 1990.” By contrast, if everyone had emitted like the top one percent, the temperature increase would have been a catastrophic 6.7C.

Another study, conducted in the UK, suggested that the rich did at least compensate to some degree for their excess. For example, they are far more likely to adopt green technologies such as electric vehicles and heat pumps and to take advantage of government subsidies. They were also better informed, more concerned about climate change and more inclined to support stronger climate policies.

Nonetheless, they showed little interest in significantly changing their emissions-intensive lifestyles. They continue to consume heavily and overestimate the effects of actions such as recycling while underestimating actions such as flying and eating beef.

Study author Carl-Friedrich Schleussner states “Climate action that doesn’t address the outsize responsibilities of the wealthiest members of society, risks missing one of the most powerful levers we have to reduce future harm.” We all contribute to global warming, but the rich much more than the rest of us, so they should accept much more responsibility.

The study authors suggest the answer is to target their finances. They suggest further that such progressive polices could make climate action more acceptable generally. A wealth carbon tax is overdue.