The Mismatch between Anthropogenic C[O.sub.2] Emissions and Their Consequences for Human Zinc and Protein Sufficiency Highlights Important Environmental Justice Issues

The impacts of climate change are not equally distributed globally. We examined the global distribution of C[O.sub.2] emissions and the ensuing distribution of increases in the risk of zinc and protein deficiency resulting from elevated atmospheric C[O.sub.2] concentrations. We estimated cumulative per capita (2011-2050) C[O.sub.2] emissions for 146 countries using existing measurement data and by apportioning regional emissions projections. We tested the relationship between cumulative per capita C[O.sub.2] emissions and the risk of additional zinc and protein deficiency at the population-level and country-level. At the population-level (i.e., population-weighted), we observed a significant inverse association between C[O.sub.2] emissions and the percentage of the population placed at additional risk of zinc (p-value: