Over 100 million people living in the world will fall into extreme poverty by 2030 if urgent steps are not taken to check the devastating effects of climate change, the World Bank has said.
In a report titled ‘Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty,’ which was released in Washington on Tuesday, the bank said out of the number under the threat of extreme poverty, 43 million people were in Nigeria and other neighbouring countries.
The report said, “Sub-Saharan Africa is by far the region most vulnerable to climate change. Without climate-informed development, 43 million more people – most of them in Ethiopia, Nigeria, Tanzania, Angola and Uganda – could fall into extreme poverty by 2030, largely as a result of lower crop yields and higher food prices, and the health impacts of climate change.
“The poorest people are more exposed than the average population to climate-related shocks such as floods, droughts, and heat waves, and they lose much more of their wealth when they are hit.
“In the 52 countries where data was available, 85 per cent of the population live in countries where poor people are more exposed to drought than the average. Poor people are also more exposed to higher temperatures and live in countries where food production is expected to decrease because of climate change.”
The report said climate change was already preventing people from escaping poverty, and without rapid, inclusive and climate-smart development, together with emissions-reductions efforts that protect the poor; there could be more than 100 million additional people in poverty by 2030.
It added that poor people were already at high risk from climate-related shocks, including crop failures from reduced rainfall, spikes in food prices after extreme weather events, and increased incidence of diseases after heat waves and floods.
It said such shocks could wipe out hard-won gains leading to irreversible losses, driving people back into poverty, particularly in Africa and South Asia.
Speaking on the report, World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim, said, “This report sends a clear message that ending poverty will not be possible unless we take strong action to reduce the threat of climate change on poor people and dramatically reduce harmful emissions.
The report, released a month before negotiators gather in Paris for international climate talks, also showed how ending poverty and fighting climate change can be more effectively achieved if addressed together.
It said agriculture would be the main driver of any increase in poverty, adding that modelling studies suggested that climate change could result in global crop yield losses as large as five per cent by 2030 and 30 per cent by 2080.
The impact of climate change on food prices in Africa could be as high as 12 per cent in 2030 and 70 per cent by 2080 – a crippling blow to those nations where food consumption of the poorest households amounts to over 60 per cent of total spending, the report said.
In focusing on impacts through agriculture, natural disasters and health, the report called for development efforts that improve the resilience of poor people, such as strengthening social safety nets and universal health coverage, along with climate-specific measures to help cope with a changing climate, such as upgraded flood defences, early warning systems and climate-resistant crops.
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