CLIMATE CHANGE: A Major Cause Of Poverty & The Biggest Threat To The Earth

 CLIMATE CHANGE: A Major Cause Of Poverty & The Biggest Threat To The Earth 

By: Yashaswi Diwakar Sinha




What is Climate Change?

Climate change refers to long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle which is a consequence of carbon emission by humans. Burning fossil fuels generates greenhouse gas emissions that act like a blanket wrapped around the Earth, trapping the sun's heat and raising the Earth's temperatures.









How does climate change cause poverty?


According to the UNDP, today over 2 billion people i.e. one-third of the global population - are poor or about to become poor and face tenacious threats to their livelihoods, including from climate change. As indicated by the estimates of the World Bank, by 2030 more than 100 million individuals could be pushed back into extreme poverty due to climate change, while over 200 million individuals could be displaced due to more frequent and severe climatic disasters.
In addition, the impact of extreme weather is resulting in $520 billion in annual consumption losses and is pushing 26 million people into poverty each year.
One of the biggest ways that the environment is affected by poverty is through deforestation.
Water pollution affects so many things beyond the poor community itself. Water pollution deprives the soil of its nourishing elements, kills fish, and is extremely harmful to human health due to which individuals have to be displaced from their places.








Climate change will not just adversely affect the welfare of poor people, it will also very likely increase the flow of people falling into poverty and make it more difficult to eradicate poverty. Climate change and climate policies may increase the price of basic goods and services such as food and energy etc., which already account for a large share of poor people’s expenses— thus reducing their savings income, hence worsening their ability to invest in their future. Due to the increased frequency and intensity of events that destroy physical, human, social, and natural assets, such as floods and droughts, climate change impacts can also push more people into poverty each year. Furthermore, if climate change results in a general increase in real or perceived risk, it may encourage households to engage in low-risk activities with limited potential for income growth, thereby widening poverty traps and reducing the number of households escaping poverty each year. These effects are largely independent of any impact on GDP because they disproportionately affect people and regions that are too poor to have a significant impact on aggregate statistics. Climate change impacts will be highly heterogeneous within countries, not only across regions but also across occupations and income classes, which is equally important. If the burden is borne primarily by low-income people, the welfare consequences will be much greater than if it is borne primarily by those with a higher income. Poor people have fewer resources to fall back on and are less adaptable. However, because poor people's assets and income account for such a small percentage of national wealth, their losses, however significant, are largely invisible in aggregate economic statistics. When the wealth of the poor is more exposed or more vulnerable than the wealth of the richest people, climate change can exacerbate inequality. Furthermore, a pronounced difference in exposure and vulnerability between rich and poor could separate the effects of climate change on poverty from the effects on growth: it would be perfectly possible to have small effects of climate change on GDP but large effects on poverty experience. (and the well-being of people in or near poverty).





What We Can Do To Reduce The Impact Of Climate Change?


  • Upcycle your furniture
  • Add solar panels to your house
  • Change CFLs to LEDs
  • Get a home energy audit
  • Wash clothes in cold water
  • Design your workspace around natural light
  • Recycle your clothes
  • Buy new appliances with the Energy Star label
  • Obsess over every drop of water
  • Unplug electronic devices when they aren't in use











Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

POVERTY: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE

Image
 POVERTY: A GLOBAL CHALLENGE BY: Yashaswi Diwakar Sinha Poverty is a  plight  in which an individual or a faction of individuals lacks the monetary capital and essentials for maintaining a basic standard of living. How many people live in poverty in the world? According to the census report of the World Bank, about 9.2% of the world, or 702 million people, live in extreme poverty on less than $1.90 a day. Since 2015, the World Bank has defined extreme poverty as  individuals living on less than $1.90 a day,  measured using the  international poverty line . But extreme poverty is not only about low income, it's also about what individuals can or cannot afford. Extreme poverty is identified in two types:  Absolute poverty Relative poverty Absolute Poverty: Absolute poverty is when an individual  can achieve the basic  nutrition, clothing, or shelter needs in their country.  Absolute poverty means poverty defined using a...
Read more

POOR EDUCATION: A Major Cause of Poverty

Image
POOR EDUCATION: A Major Cause of Poverty By: Yashaswi Diwakar Sinha Poor education is a determining factor in continuing the cycle of poverty. Education not only teaches basic skills such as reading and writing but helps develop important qualities such as strong communication and social skills. Without it, it is difficult for children to become active members of society. We must not forget that a very important role in the fight against poverty belongs to the state, through the e conomic and social policies that it develops. The measures to prevent and reduce the r isk of poverty and social exclusion fall within the general framework of the multidimensional action of the Social inclusion process. This process guarantees the opportunities and resources necessary for the participation of vulnerable persons and groups i n the economic, social, and cultural life of society as well as in decision-making processes   That affect their lives and their access to fundamental rights....
Read more