Socialist vision to save the world from global warming by paying everyone 5,000 euros a month, halving working hours and telling them not to eat red meat is unveiled by academics

Published: 10:17, 4 June 2026 | Updated: 10:19, 4 June 2026 A vision to tackle global warming with socialism by halving working hours and not eating red meat has been revealed by academics. A report by the World Inequality Lab (WIL) aims to be radical in its approach to fixing a world headed towards a climate breakdown and further economic fragility. The review proposes substantial wealth taxes on billionaires, reductions in working hours, a change in consumption habits like diet and a greater priority on education and health. It also concluded that neither decarbonisation or sufficiency can be financed and politically sustained without a drastic reduction in inequality of wealth and power.  The plan could see the majority of the population earn an extra €5,000 (£4,324) a month by the end of the century - with the exception of the mega rich.  If these actions were implemented, this could lead to 89 per cent of the population having their incomes doubled by 2100, while global heating would be kept below 2C above the preindustrial average. The academics claim their vision aims to combat the future of increased fossil fuels and inequality in a world ruled by nationalists and billionaires. 'The ideology, which we see with Trump and all the little Trumps that we have all across Europe and all across the world is simply not going to deliver,' said Thomas Piketty, co-director of the WIL and professor at the Paris School of Economics. A vision to tackle global warming with socialism by halving working hours and not eating red meat has been revealed by academics (pictured: Greenland ice caps retreating) Pictured: Thomas Piketty, co-director of the WIL and professor at the Paris School of Economics 'At the end of the day we'll have to come to this kind of cooperative redistribution of resources and power because the alternative will simply lead to disastrous outcomes both on the environment, on the climate, but also on social grounds.'   The authors want to halve working time from 2,100 hours a year to 1,000 hours - equivalent to a two-and-a-half-day working week. People would ideally eat less red meat as the production of it is the leading driver of deforestation globally. The super wealthy would be significantly taxed because the researchers see them as the most responsible for the climate crisis due to their priority of profit over sustainability.  Global wealth by billionaires would drop from six per cent to 0.05 per cent, while the poorest 50 per cent would see their share increase from two per cent to 30%. The academics also wish to double education spending to €8,400 (£7,250) a person and healthcare spending to €14,400 (£12,453).  No comments have so far been submitted. Why not be the first to send us your thoughts, or debate this issue live on our message boards. By posting your comment you agree to our house rules. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual. Do you want to automatically post your MailOnline comments to your Facebook Timeline? Your comment will be posted to MailOnline as usual We will automatically post your comment and a link to the news story to your Facebook timeline at the same time it is posted on MailOnline. To do this we will link your MailOnline account with your Facebook account. We’ll ask you to confirm this for your first post to Facebook. You can choose on each post whether you would like it to be posted to Facebook. Your details from Facebook will be used to provide you with tailored content, marketing and ads in line with our Privacy Policy.