While much of the academic and policy discussion has revolved around SSP1 (sustainability) and SSP2 (middle of the road), SSP4 has received disproportionately little attention in both research literature and official climate discussions. Despite its relative obscurity, SSP4 outlines one of the most plausible pathways to high climate mitigation — on par with SSP1 — while simultaneously envisioning an era of increasing inequality.

The accelerating embrace of SSP4 — intentional or otherwise — reflects a world where elites secure their future in fortress enclaves while the majority grapple with worsening inequality, climate disruption, and eroding democratic norms. Behind the veneer of occasional sustainability pledges lies a growing apparatus of private security, AI-driven surveillance, and monopolized access to critical resources, all guarded by oligarchic governance structures. In this scenario, climate action is no longer a collective human endeavor; it is an exclusive contract between the ultra-wealthy and the technologies they command.