8 November 2015: In advance of the Paris Climate Change Conference, the World Bank has published a report, titled ‘Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty,’ which finds that poverty reduction and the fight against climate change can be more effectively achieved if addressed in tandem. It indicates that climate change poses “an acute threat” to poorer people, and has the potential to push more than 100 million people back into poverty by 2030, mostly in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia.

However, the report also concludes that this need not be the case if: poverty reduction and development work are prioritized, while integrating and taking into account climate change; targeted action is taken to help people cope with climate shocks, such as developing early warning systems and flood protection, and introducing heat-resistant crops; and emission reduction efforts to protect the poor are accelerated.

The report underscores that: poor people are already at risk from climate-related shocks, including crop failures from reduced rainfall, food prices spikes after extreme weather events, and increased incidence of diseases following heat waves and floods. Focusing on agriculture, natural disasters and health, the report calls for development efforts that improve the resilience of the poor, such as strengthening social safety nets.

The report calls for designing mitigation efforts to ensure the poor are not burdened. For example, it suggests that savings from eliminating fossil fuel subsidies be reinvested to help poor families deal with higher fuel costs. The World Bank stresses the importance of international support to accomplish many of these measures, particularly regarding investments with high upfront costs, such as urban transport or resilient energy infrastructure.

The report also spotlights successful policy solutions that illustrate how good development can protect the poor from shocks. Examples provided include: using existing conditional cash transfer systems to distribute emergency funding to the affected population, as was done in the Philippines in the aftermath of Typhoon Yolanda; or combining new crop varieties and extension visits to boost household agricultural income, as Uganda has done in response to rainfall shocks. [World Bank Feature Story] [World Bank Press Release] [UN Press Release] [Publication: Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty] [CIF Press Release]