Overlaying climate hazard data with multidimensional poverty data for the first time reveals how the climate crisis is reshaping global poverty.
“Poverty is no longer a separate socioeconomic issue. Instead, poverty is exacerbated and intertwined with the increasingly dramatic effects of the climate emergency,” said UNDP Acting Administrator Haoliang Xu. UN News.
Millions of people face multiple climate crises
High temperatures, air pollution, floods and droughts are the most widespread hazards affecting the world’s poor, who often face multiple environmental challenges at the same time.
Globally, 1.1 billion people live in multidimensional poverty – covering health, education and living standards – and 887 million are directly exposed to at least one climate hazard.
A staggering 651 million suffer from two or more, while 309 million live in regions facing three or four climate crises simultaneously.
Geographic hotspots
South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa are home to the largest number of poor people living in regions affected by climate hazards, at 380 million and 344 million respectively.
In South Asia, virtually all people living in poverty (99.1 percent) face one or more climate crises. The region also leads the world in the number of people facing two or more threats, with 351 million people, 91.6 percent.
“Middle-income countries are a hidden epicenter of multidimensional poverty, home to almost two-thirds of all poor people. And this is also where the climate crisis and poverty are converging remarkably,” said Sabina Alkire, director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. UN News.
It is estimated that approximately 548 million poor people in lower-middle-income countries are exposed to at least one climate hazard, and more than 470 million face two or more.
The report further reveals that countries with the highest current levels of multidimensional poverty are expected to experience the largest temperature increases by the end of the century.
‘Hope and cooperation’
The authors stressed the need for global action now.
“From our point of view at UNDP, addressing such complex and interrelated issues requires holistic and cross-sectoral solutions that are adequately funded and urgently implemented,” said Mr. Xu.
“Looking ahead to COP30, we carry a message of hope and cooperation. We know what works and what we can continue to support populations and countries in need.”