This article is published in association with United Nations.
Nearly 80 per cent of the world’s poor – 887 million people – live in regions that are exposed to extreme heat, flooding and other climate hazards, highlighting the urgent need for global action to address the issue.
That’s according to a report released on Friday by the UN Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford University ahead of the COP30 climate summit in Brazil next month.
By overlaying climate hazard data with multidimensional poverty data for the first time, it reveals how the climate crisis is reshaping global poverty.
“Poverty is no longer a standalone socio-economic issue. Instead, poverty is compounded by and interlinked with the increasingly dramatic effects of the climate emergency,” UNDP Acting Administrator Haoliang Xu told UN News.
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Millions face multiple climate shocks
High heat, air pollution, flood and drought are the most widespread hazards affecting the world’s poor, who are often confronting multiple environmental challenges at the same time.
Globally, 1.1 billion people are living in multidimensional poverty – which spans health, education and living standards – and 887 million are directly exposed to at least one climate hazard.
A staggering 651 million endure two or more, while 309 million live in regions that face three or four climate shocks simultaneously.
Geographical hotspots
South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa account for the largest numbers of poor people living in regions affected by climate hazards, with 380 million and 344 million respectively.
In South Asia, practically every person living in poverty – 99.1 per cent – is confronting one or more climate shocks. The region also leads the world in the number facing two or more hazards, with 351 million people, 91.6 per cent.
“Middle-income countries are a hidden epicentre of multidimensional poverty, being home to nearly two-thirds of all poor people. And this is also where the climate crisis and poverty are notably converging,” Sabina Alkire, Director of the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative, told UN News.
Roughly 548 million poor people in lower middle-income countries are estimated to be exposed to at least one climate hazard, and over 470 million confront two or more.
The Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) report further reveals that countries with higher current levels of multidimensional poverty are expected to experience the greatest temperature increases by the end of the century.
It calls for aligning poverty reduction, climate mitigation and adaptation, and ecosystem restoration to benefit both people and the planet.
‘Hope and cooperation’
The authors underscored the need for global action now.
“From our point of view at UNDP, addressing such complex and interrelated issues requires holistic, cross-sectoral solutions that are adequately funded and implemented with urgency,” said Mr. Xu.
“As we look to COP30, we carry forward a message of hope and cooperation. We know what works and can continue to support the populations and countries in need.”
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