Keep climate change from impoverishing millions

President Xi Jinping said China firmly supports France in hosting the upcoming climate change summit, when he met with visiting French President Francois Hollande in Beijing on Nov 2. Wu Zhiyi / China Daily

The eyes of the world are now on Paris, where later this month heads of state and government will gather to open negotiations on a new global agreement on climate change. At this critical moment, one essential point must not be lost: climate change represents a clear, near-term threat to the world's efforts to end poverty.

A new World Bank Group report lays out the facts. Unless we take the right steps now, the impacts of climate change could push more than 100 million people into poverty over the next 15 years.

But as the report also shows, we have the power to prevent this. It will require making sure that poverty reduction and development take into account the changing climate while fighting climate change in a way that protects the poor.

Compared to those who are better off, poor people are both more exposed to the effects of climate change and less able to recover when hit by climate shocks. Making matters worse, people in poor countries also lack the support systems they need to cope with such shocks and bounce back. In low-income countries, poor people have little access to health insurance and pay more than 50 percent of their health costs out of pocket. Less than 10 percent are covered by social safety nets.

Climate shocks have long-lasting effects on human potential, and contribute to intergenerational poverty. For instance, in Mexico, once children from poor families are taken out of school, even if for a temporary shock such as a flood, they are 30 percent less likely to continue their education compared with other children.

But development policies, rightly planned and executed, can go a long way toward protecting people's incomes, assets and livelihoods, and making them more resilient. In many cases, this simply means using the tools already at hand. For example, after Typhoon Yolanda, the Philippines was able to use an existing conditional cash transfer system to quickly provide support to hard-hit households. Aid from emergency relief organizations was also channeled through the same program.