Report urges urgent action ahead of COP30 to tackle the “double and deeply unequal burden” of poverty and climate change
Nearly 900 million of the world’s poorest people are directly exposed to climate hazards such as droughts, floods, extreme heat, and air pollution, according to a new report released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in partnership with the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative. The findings, published just weeks before the COP30 UN climate summit in Brazil, warn that global warming is amplifying the vulnerabilities of those already living in acute poverty, creating what the UN calls a “double and deeply unequal burden.”
Haoliang Xu, acting administrator of the UNDP, said no one is immune to the growing impacts of climate change, but the poorest are being hit the hardest. “No one is immune to the increasingly frequent and stronger climate change effects like droughts, floods, heat waves, and air pollution, but it’s the poorest among us who are facing the harshest impact,” he said in a statement. He urged world leaders to view climate action as an essential component of the fight against poverty as they prepare for the upcoming climate summit.
The report estimates that 1.1 billion people in 109 countries live in acute multidimensional poverty, which includes deprivation in areas such as housing, sanitation, education, electricity, and child mortality. Half of these individuals are children. Many of the poorest communities, like the Guarani Indigenous group in Bolivia profiled in the report, face multiple, overlapping hardships that are worsened by climate shocks. Their living conditions reflect the reality of families that must cope simultaneously with economic insecurity and environmental risks.
Climate hazards are compounding these challenges. The report highlights that 608 million poor people are exposed to extreme heat, 577 million to air pollution, 465 million to floods, and 207 million to drought. Nearly 651 million are exposed to at least two of these risks, 309 million face three or four hazards, and 11 million have experienced all four in a single year. Many of these households rely on agriculture and informal labour, sectors that are particularly vulnerable to extreme weather events. When hazards strike repeatedly or simultaneously, they deepen existing deprivations and make it harder for communities to recover.
The burden is particularly acute in South Asia and sub-Saharan Africa, two regions that are home to large populations living in poverty and are highly vulnerable to climate shocks. In South Asia, 99.1 percent of poor people face at least one climate hazard. Although the region has made progress in reducing poverty, the report warns that rising temperatures and extreme weather events threaten to reverse these gains if governments do not act decisively.
With the planet continuing to warm rapidly, the report warns that the situation is likely to worsen, and today’s poorest countries will bear the brunt of rising temperatures. The authors call for urgent, coordinated action to address the overlapping crises of poverty and climate change. “Responding to overlapping risks requires prioritising both people and the planet, and above all, moving from recognition to rapid action,” the report states. COP30, to be held in Brazil this November, is expected to be a pivotal moment for world leaders to commit to solutions that address both climate resilience and poverty reduction together.