Poverty and climate change: introduction

Because their assets and income represent such a small share of national wealth, the impacts of climate change on poor people, even if dramatic, will be largely invisible in aggregate economic statistics such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Assessing and managing future impacts of climate chang...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Environment and development economics 2018-06, Vol.23 (3), p.217-233
Main Authors: Hallegatte, Stephane, Fay, Marianne, Barbier, Edward B.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Agricultural ecosystems
Agricultural management
Agricultural production
Agriculture
Assets
Climate change
Correlation analysis
Developing countries
Drought
Economic growth
Economic statistics
Ecosystem services
Ecosystems
Elasticity
Environmental impact
Floods
GDP
Gross Domestic Product
Heat waves
Households
INTRODUCTION
LDCs
Low income groups
National wealth
Population
Poverty
Rural areas
Services
Statistics
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Summary:Because their assets and income represent such a small share of national wealth, the impacts of climate change on poor people, even if dramatic, will be largely invisible in aggregate economic statistics such as the Gross Domestic Product (GDP). Assessing and managing future impacts of climate change on poverty requires different metrics, and specific studies focusing on the vulnerability of poor people. This special issue provides a set of such studies, looking at the exposure and vulnerability of people living in poverty to shocks and stressors that are expected to increase in frequency or intensity due to climate change, such as floods, droughts, heat waves, and impacts on agricultural production and ecosystem services. This introduction summarizes their approach and findings, which support the idea that the link between poverty and climate vulnerability goes both ways: poverty is one major driver of people's vulnerability to climate-related shocks and stressors, and this vulnerability is keeping people in poverty. The paper concludes by identifying priorities for future research.
ISSN:1355-770X
1469-4395
DOI:10.1017/S1355770X18000141