Natural disasters. Crop failures. Waterborne diseases. Food price spikes. Poor people and poor countries are highly vulnerable to climate change-related shocks, which can erase decades of hard work and leave people with irreversible human and physical losses.
These shocks contribute to keeping people in poverty or to bringing non-poor people in poverty. The data shows that climate-related stresses and shocks are already an obstacle to poverty reduction and the eradication of extreme poverty — and the situation will only get worse. Over the long term, if we do not take action, climate change will make it impossible to achieve the global goal of ending extreme poverty.
This is not new news to those working in the development community. The new World Bank Group report “Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty” presents new data and analysis on the impact of climate — and climate change — on poverty.
About the authors
Stéphane Hallegatte
Stéphane Hallegatte is a senior economist at the World Bank. His work includes climate change vulnerability and adaptation, green growth strategies, urban economics and environmental policies, and disaster risk management. He was lead author of IPCC reports, and co-led with Marianne Fay the World Bank report “Decarbonizing Development.” He was the lead author of “Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty,” on which this post is based.
Mook Bangalore
Mook Bangalore is a research assistant at the World Bank, examining the impact of climate change on poverty with a focus on natural disasters. He was a co-author of “Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty,” on which this post is based.
