As I have moved through various courses at the University of Washington, themes of environmentalism and sustainability, development, human rights, and inequality have consistently magnetized me. Global inequality and poverty and environmental issues are frequently thought of as separate issues, but my digital collage and this statement aim to dispel that notion by showing the relationship between climate change and poverty and their intersections. Ultimately, I am hoping that by showing the links between climate change and poverty, more people will acknowledge that inequality is also a sustainability issue and vice versa.
The most recent data from the World Bank shows that 767 million people live on less than $1.90 a day and that half of the extreme poor live in Sub-Saharan Africa (Poverty: Overview”). Those in poverty tend to live in rural areas and have low levels of education. The countries that emit the most greenhouse gases are developed countries and a recent study showed that 20 of the 36 countries with the highest emissions are among the least vulnerable to the impacts of climate. Meanwhile, 11 of the 17 countries with low to moderate emissions are “acutely vulnerable to the effects (Althor et al.).”
As anthropogenic climate change continues to cause natural disasters to occur more frequently, more people will be pushed into poverty each year. According to the World Bank’s estimates, extreme natural disasters push 26 million people into poverty each year (Elliott). When natural disasters occur, those living in poverty suffer more loss than those living in poverty. In 1998 after Hurricane Mitch struck Honduras, poor people lost three times more than non-poor people (“Rapid, Climate-Informed Development Needed”). Additionally, climate change will exacerbate the problem of rising sea levels which will lead to loss of habitat and homes and create climate refugees; rising sea levels have already claimed five Pacific islands (Albert et al.).
The threat to those in poverty doesn’t end with the problems of increased and intensified natural disasters and the rise of sea levels. Droughts will intensify, causing water sources to become more depleted and losses in crop yields of up to 5% in 2030 and 30% in 2080 (“Rapid, Climate-Informed Development Needed”). These crop losses will raise food prices and jobs will be lost, as most people living in poverty are employed in the agricultural sector (Bullard). As the food becomes more scarce and more expensive, malnutrition will rise and the transmission seasons of vector-borne diseases will lengthen and their geographic ranges will increase (Climate Change and Health). Access to healthcare will become more restricted if those in poverty risk losing jobs within the agricultural sector and have to spend more on food. People in poverty already spend more of their budgets on food and the increase in food prices would mean less money to spend on healthcare, despite the fact that they already spend more money on healthcare expenses (Bullard).
Climate change disproportionately impacts people living in poverty more than those who do not, as they are more vulnerable to displacement, instability, food and water insecurity, malnutrition and disease, and have fewer resources and access to services to recover from disasters. If nothing is done, climate change can push up to 122 million more people into extreme poverty by 2030 (Provost). This is why climate change, sustainability, poverty, and inequality are all interconnected issues that must be addressed through multi-level approaches. By implementing solutions that protect people in poverty and increase environmental resilience and capacity, we can better mitigate the detrimental impacts of climate change.
Jennifer Kim 