Sorry, yes I don't understand your point!
reducing waste, reducing consumption, being vegetarian (reducing water use and reducing soil area required) = reducing carbon footprint. So how is carbon footprint reduction going in the wrong direction? As to wait for the global system based on "rich trying to get richer" to be taken down before 2050 I would not bet on it.
If pollution are accounted for in all activities, it's fine, someone can be richer, there will just be nowhere to spend it on as things will get too expensive, so not worth it. So it becomes less of an incentive to gather money. Yes, this approach only works if every country has the same regulations, not going to happen soon either, but any country can become a leader in this field and make their population proud
Obviously this is only my personal opinion, I am not an economic researcher, not been studying human psychology etc
And regarding the low-income, using the definition you give, I meant middle class indeed, not low income ๐