Opinion: Livelihoods and economies at the mercy of climate change: a global perspective

This figure is no-doubt hard to fathom. It is often difficult to comprehend such vast numbers in a context that we might never personally experience. Feeling far removed from the terrors of what happens globally is not uncommon. However, the truth is that there is never a scarcity of these types of figures from developing countries. We cannot continue to ignore the mass suffering of these citizens, and we must embrace the idea that helping them escape poverty is very possible to achieve.

There are misconceptions that global poverty rates are increasing, with its eradication a dream within itself. Myths surrounding poverty are all too common and in turn can distort people’s optimism to be a part of helping incite change. The Borgen Project, a non-profit organisation tackling global poverty on the political level, debunks some of these myths here.

We are often oblivious to the extensive successes that global poverty reduction has had. Moreover, extreme poverty has been cut in half in the past two decades, and the goal of ending global poverty is more than conceivable.

The Climate Emergency

Despite climate change being an exponential global threat right now and in the long-term, those currently being hit the hardest live in lower-income countries. This is because their economies and livelihoods are heavily dependent upon the agricultural sector, an area especially vulnerable to the catastrophic effects of climate change.

A prominent example are some countries in Sub-Saharan Africa who struggle not only because of their lack of infrastructure, but because of their exponential reliance on rain-fed agriculture - as a result, making it the most vulnerable continent to climate change. These vulnerabilities can lead to destructive floods, the invasions of desert locusts, population displacement, as well as food and water insecurity. Many of these issues are exasperated by other looming crises such as Covid-19, resource insecurity and inflation caused by the ongoing war in Ukraine.

Similar trends are seen in countries such as Sri Lanka which attribute issues such as ‘intensity of drought, shortages of water, pest and crop diseases’ directly, or indirectly, to climate change.

It is common knowledge that human activity is causing climate change to alter our planet. Irreversible damage to biological systems becomes increasingly more likely as the concentration of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere increases. Such damage could set back poverty reduction by decades, and we want nothing less than our efforts so far to be in vain.

What is being done?

When it comes to mitigating the causes of climate change, developing countries have reduced their carbon footprint, despite the economic challenges that they face. This can be seen in Chile where the Government has taken steps to achieve their goal of becoming carbon neutral by 2050 at the latest.

Adaptation is also important for developing countries as a means of survival. This comes with the acceptance that for now the heightened presence of floods, droughts, natural disasters etc is an inevitable output of slow change. This is key to being able to optimise the ability to still produce good crop yields and survive on re-adjustment to this new climate. We can relate this back to Batticaloa, Sri Lanka, where a study was done that found education had a large impact on farmer’s ability to adapt to climate change; having links to strategies such as crop switching which would involve ‘cultivating water-resistant varieties.’

The UK is in a difficult position regarding foreign aid. During the Covid-19 pandemic, spending cuts were made, and the Official Development Assistance (ODA) was put on the backburner. With there being no mentions of increasing the ODA again as we exit the Covid-19 era, it is up to us to ensure that assistance to these countries is reprioritised, as they rely on such help to stabilise their economies. We must remind them that not only is it morally right to help those in need, but it also provides benefits as long-term investment in developing countries, as well as building and maintaining international relationships.

Worldwide, we share our fears for the planet. However, the accelerated effects of climate change on developing countries should not be understated amidst one of the toughest challenges our generation has had to face. We owe it to them to increase our aid and do what we can to help save our planet. As an advanced, wealthy nation, our greenhouse gas emissions have had huge repercussions. Therefore, we have an added obligation to counteract the consequences of climate change, of which developing countries suffer the most.