WASHINGTON, DC -- A new report by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and Oxford University’s Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI) is sounding the alarm on the growing threat climate change poses to the world’s poorest populations.
Released in the lead-up to the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), scheduled for Brazil later this year, the report highlights how climate-related disasters are deepening poverty and placing millions of lives and livelihoods at risk. It calls for urgent and decisive action from global leaders to prevent these challenges from escalating further.
According to the findings, nearly 8 in 10 people living in multidimensional poverty—887 million out of 1.1 billion globally—are directly exposed to climate hazards such as extreme heat, flooding, drought, and severe air pollution.
“Exposure to climate hazards likely exacerbates the daily challenges faced by people living in poverty, reinforcing and deepening their disadvantages. The report finds that among those assessed to be living in acute multidimensional poverty – spanning health, education, and living standards – an overwhelming 651 million endure two or more climate hazards, while 309 million face three or four hazards simultaneously," the report stated.
“Our new research shows that to address global poverty and create a more stable world for everyone, we must confront the climate risks endangering nearly 900 million poor people,” said Haoliang Xu, UNDP Acting Administrator. “When world leaders meet in Brazil for the Climate Conference, COP30, next month, their national climate pledges must revitalize the stagnating development progress that threatens to leave the world’s poorest people behind.”
Pedro Conceição, Director of UNDP’s Human Development Report Office, warned that these burdens are not only present today but are projected to intensify in the coming decades. Temperature projections show that countries with the highest poverty rates are expected to experience the greatest rise in temperatures by the end of the century.
The report underscores the need for a global shift from acknowledging these risks to implementing concrete solutions. It calls for climate-resilient poverty reduction strategies, stronger local adaptation capacity, and expanded international financing mechanisms to support vulnerable nations.
The Caribbean remains one of the regions most exposed to climate change. From more intense hurricanes to prolonged heatwaves, countries in the region are already feeling the effects of a warming planet.
Caribbean leaders continue to advocate for the use of the Multidimensional Vulnerability Index (MVI) in determining access to concessional financing for development – arguing that Gross Domestic Product (GDP) alone does not reflect the real climate risks faced by small island states.
