The United Nations warns that nearly 900 million poor people are vulnerable to climate shocks

The United Nations warned Friday that nearly 80% of the world’s poor, or about 900 million people, are directly exposed to climate risks exacerbated by global warming, and bear a “double and highly unequal burden.”

“No one is immune to the recurring and stronger impacts of climate change such as droughts, floods, heatwaves and air pollution, but it is the poorest of us who face the harshest impacts,” UNDP Acting Administrator Haoliang Xu said in a statement to AFP.

He added that the UN COP30 climate summit in Brazil in November “is the right moment for world leaders to view climate action as action against poverty.”

According to an annual study published by the United Nations Development Program in cooperation with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, 1.1 billion people, or about 18% of the 6.3 billion people in 109 countries analyzed, live in “severe multidimensional” poverty, based on factors such as child mortality and access to housing, sanitation, electricity and education.

Half of these people are minors.

An example of this extreme deprivation cited in the report is the case of Ricardo, a member of the indigenous Guarani community who lives outside Santa Cruz de la Sierra, Bolivia’s largest city.

Ricardo, who earns a meager income as a day laborer, shares his small single-family home with 18 other people, including his three children, his parents and other extended family members.

The house has only one bathroom, a wood- and coal-fired kitchen, and none of the children go to school.

“Their lives reflect the multidimensional realities of poverty,” the report said.

Two regions particularly affected by this poverty are Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia – which are also highly vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.

The report highlights the relationship between poverty and exposure to four environmental risks: extreme heat, drought, floods, and air pollution.

“Poor households are particularly vulnerable to climate shocks because many of them depend on highly vulnerable sectors such as agriculture and informal work,” the report said.

“When risks overlap or occur frequently, they exacerbate existing disadvantages.”

As a result, 887 million people, or approximately 79% of this poor population, are directly exposed to at least one of these threats, with 608 million people affected by extreme heat, 577 million people affected by pollution, 465 million people affected by floods, and 207 million people affected by drought.

Nearly 651 million people are exposed to at least two risks, 309 million are exposed to three or four risks, and 11 million poor people are already exposed to all four risks in one year.

“It is clear that the simultaneous poverty and climate risks are a global issue,” the report said.

The increase in extreme weather events also threatens progress in development.

While South Asia has made progress in the fight against poverty, 99.1% of its poor population is exposed to at least one climate risk.

The report says the region “must once again chart a new way forward, one that balances poverty reduction with innovative climate action.”

As the Earth’s surface temperature rises rapidly, the situation is likely to get worse, and experts warn that today’s poorest countries will be most affected by rising temperatures.

“Responding to intersecting risks requires prioritizing people and planet and, above all, moving from recognition to rapid action,” the report said.