The report, titled Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty, found that poor people are 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.
Such shocks could wipe out hard-won gains, leading to irreversible losses, driving people back into poverty, particularly in Africa and South Asia, it said.
According to the report, agriculture will be the main driver of any increase in poverty, as modeling studies suggested that climate change could result in global crop yield losses as large as 5 percent by 2030 and 30 percent by 2080.
Health effects, including higher incidence of malaria, diarrhea and stunting, and the labor productivity effects of high temperatures are the next-strongest drivers.
In Africa, the world's most poorest region, climate change could cause food prices to rise as high as 12 percent in 2030 and 70 percent by 2080, it noted.
The report called the impact "a crippling blow" to African nations where food consumption of the poorest households amounts to over 60 percent of total spending.
The report, released a month before the UN climate conference in Paris, 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 defenses, early warning systems and climate-resistant crops.
It also called for "an all-out push" to reduce greenhouse gas emissions but noted that such mitigation efforts should not burden the poor.
For example, the savings from eliminating fossil fuel subsidies could be reinvested in assistance schemes to help poor families cope with higher fuel costs, it said.
"Climate change hits the poorest the hardest, and our challenge now is to protect tens of millions of people from falling into extreme poverty because of a changing climate." World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said in a statement.
"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," he said.
Xinhua - china.org.cn
9/11/15
Millones de personas, en riesgo de caer en la pobreza por el cambio climático...
ReplyDeleteEl cambio climático podría causar otros 100 millones de pobres en el mundo en los próximos quince años, advirtió este domingo el Grupo Banco Mundial.
"Sin un desarrollo rápido, inclusivo e inteligente en relación con el clima y la aplicación de iniciativas para reducir las emisiones que protejan a los pobres, es posible que antes de 2030 haya otros 100 millones de personas en esa situación", dice un comunicado publicado en la página web del ente.
El texto cita un nuevo informe del Banco Mundial de cómo abordar los efectos del cambio climático en la pobreza, emitido antes de la conferencia de Naciones Unidas al respecto que arrancará el próximo 30 de noviembre.
Según el informe, los pobres se ven más amenazados que la población promedio a las consecuencias del cambio climático, como inundaciones, sequías y olas de calor, sobre todo en África y Asia meridional.
Se indica que el impacto del cambio climático sobre los precios de los alimentos en África podría llegar al 12 por ciento en 2040 y al 70 por ciento para 2080.
"En este informe expresa con claridad que será imposible poner fin a la pobreza si no adoptamos medidas firmes para reducir la amenaza del cambio climático y disminuir radicalmente las emisiones nocivas", señaló Jim Yong Kim, presidente del Grupo Banco Mundial...........http://sptnkne.ws/abD2
9/11/15
Ahead of UN conference, World Bank says 'climate-smart' development can keep 100 million people out of poverty...
ReplyDeleteWithout inclusive and climate-smart development, alongside efforts to rein in greenhouse gas emissions that protect the poor, agricultural shocks, natural disasters and the spread of diseases could push more than 100 million additional people into poverty by 2030, the World Bank warns in a new report released just weeks ahead of a major United Nations climate conference in Paris.
The report, Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty, finds that poor people are 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 says such shocks could wipe out hard-won gains, leading to irreversible losses, driving people back into poverty, particularly in Africa and South Asia.
“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,” World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim said today in a press release.
“Climate change hits the poorest the hardest, and our challenge now is to protect tens of millions of people from falling into extreme poverty because of a changing climate,” the World Bank chief explains. Efforts to end poverty, the linchpin of the 17 new Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) adopted by the United Nations in September, could be derailed if the impacts of climate change on poor and vulnerable people and communities not effectively addressed............http://www.un.org/apps/news/story.asp?NewsID=52491#.VkBiYF4pr2Y
8/11/15