Professional Documents
Culture Documents
SHOCK
WAVES
Managing the Impacts of
Climate Change on Poverty
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Attribution—Please cite the work as follows: Hallegatte, Stephane, Mook Bangalore, Laura Bonzanigo,
Marianne Fay, Tamaro Kane, Ulf Narloch, Julie Rozenberg, David Treguer, and Adrien Vogt-Schilb.
2016. Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty. Climate Change and
Development Series. Washington, DC: World Bank. doi:10.1596/978-1-4648-0673-5. License:
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Foreword. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xi
Acknowledgments. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xiii
Abbreviations. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . xv
Overview. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Climate change is a threat to poverty eradication. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
By 2030, rapid, inclusive, and climate-informed development can prevent most
(but not all) climate change impacts on poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Emissions-reduction policies are required to remove the long-term threat from
climate change, and need not threaten progress on poverty reduction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
In conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
1 From Climate Change to Poverty and Back: A Framework. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 31
Climate change is an obstacle for people to escape poverty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 34
Poverty reduction, socioeconomic trends, and non-climate policies affect climate risk . . . . . 40
The road map for our report. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 42
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
2 Bad Seed: Climate Change, Agriculture, and Food Security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 49
Climate change and climate policies will impact food security. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 50
Poor people are vulnerable to climate impacts through prices and ecosystems. . . . . . . . . . . . 56
Policies can avoid negative consumption effects and increase incomes. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 65
In conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 72
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 73
v
v i C O N T E N T S
5 Lend a Hand: Poor People, Support Systems, Safety Nets, and Inclusion. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Introduction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 141
Saving, borrowing, and insurance help people adapt to changes and cope with shocks,
but are not always accessible for poor people . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 143
Social protection schemes are critical for helping people adapt and cope with shocks,
but must be flexible and easily scalable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 146
Migration and remittances play an increasingly important role and need to be
supported by policies. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 160
Voice and governance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
In conclusion . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 164
Annex 5A. Case studies of social protection and risk management in Ethiopia,
the Philippines, and Pakistan. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 165
Notes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 172
References . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 173
Boxes
O.1 Agriculture is the key driver for climate change’s impact on poverty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
1.1 Multiple reports explore the complex relationship between development and
climate change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 33
1.2 A call for zero net CO2 emissions by 2100. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 44
C O N T E N T S v ii
2.1 Climate change could pose major hurdles for Africa’s leading cocoa and
coffee producers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.2 Climate-driven livestock diseases can have high economic costs. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 60
2.3 The wider functions of ecosystems and biodiversity in rural livelihoods. . . . . . . . . . . . . 62
2.4 Mitigating losses from the 1998 flood in Bangladesh. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 67
2.5 Despite significant benefits, adoption rates of conservation agriculture remain limited . . . . . 69
2.6 Securing local benefits from harnessing the forests to lower emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 71
3.1 Climate change makes extreme weather events more likely or more intense. . . . . . . . . . 82
3.2 Large coastal cities: Wealthier places at risk of floods . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
3.3 In Mumbai, poor people are disproportionately exposed to floods. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.4 Hidden costs of recurrent hazards for poor people in Mumbai and Ho
Chi Minh City . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 95
3.5 In an uncertain future, developing into the wetlands of Colombo is dangerous . . . . . . 100
3.6 Reversing the degradation of hydrometeorological services. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 104
4.1 Getting harder to breathe. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 117
4.2 Dengue’s future hinges on whether development or climate change prevails. . . . . . . . . 120
4.3 The uncertain triangle of climate change, conflict, and poverty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 125
4.4 Universal health coverage: Kenya’s bottom-up strategy . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 130
5.1 Developing catastrophe insurance in Turkey through public-private partnerships . . . . . 145
5.2 Food provision and school feeding schemes are commonplace and effective. . . . . . . . . 151
5.3 Indexing as an automatic scale-up mechanism. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 152
5.4 Private insurance and social protection schemes are complements, not substitutes. . . . . 157
5A.1 How the PSNP helped households cope with Ethiopia’s 2011 food crisis . . . . . . . . . . . 167
6.1 It is possible to inform decision making, even in a context of deep uncertainty. . . . . . . . 181
6.2 Building two scenarios to explore the large uncertainty on the future of poverty. . . . . 182
6.3 Is there a trade-off between climate mitigation and reducing extreme poverty? . . . . . . 197
Figures
O.1 Flows in and out of poverty in Andhra Pradesh are larger than their net effect
on poverty. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
O.2 Climate change can significantly reduce food availability in poor regions. . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
O.3 Rainfall shocks in Uganda take a big toll on crop income, less so on consumption. . . . . . 5
O.4 Without environmental income, poverty rates could be much higher in
(sub)tropical forest landscapes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
O.5 Poor people in hotter countries—like Nigeria—live in hotter areas, but less so in
cooler countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
O.6 When disasters hit in the past, poor people were more likely to be
affected (panel a) … and poor people always lost relatively more than
nonpoor people (panel b) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
O.7 If it gets too hot, productivity falls. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
O.8 Poor people have less access to financial tools, social protection, and
private transfers . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
O.9 Our model for estimating the number of people in poverty due to climate change. . . . . 13
BO.1.1 Agriculture is the main sectoral driver explaining higher poverty due to
climate change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
O.10 Drought vulnerability is reduced by agricultural techniques that integrate trees
and store carbon. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
O.11 In poorer countries, half of all health expenditures are paid out of pocket,
unlike in richer ones. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
v i i i C O N T E N T S
B5.2.1 School feeding programs are the most prevalent type of social safety net. . . . . . . . . . . 151
5.4 Providing safety nets in the Horn of Africa and Sahel is affordable, but the cost
is very volatile. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 157
5.5 Within a country, remittances tend to be higher for the wealthier. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 162
5A.1 Multiple programs answer different needs in postdisaster contexts in
the Philippines . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 168
6.1 Our model for estimating the number of people in poverty because of
climate change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 183
6.2 Agriculture is the main sectoral factor explaining higher poverty due to
climate change. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 187
6.3 One billion people living in the poorest countries emit less than 1 percent of
global emissions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
6.4 Energy consumption is low when GDP per capita is below $5,000, but then
increases fast until $10,000 . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 193
6.5 Carbon neutrality is needed by 2100 to achieve climate goals. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 194
6.6 Investments in coal-related infrastructure have created large
emission commitments . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 195
6.7 Lower air pollution means lower mortality rates. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 196
B6.3.1 Energy use keeps rising with GDP even though less energy might be enough for
basic human needs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 198
6.8 Recycling $100 from the global fossil fuel subsidy budget as a universal cash
transfer would benefit poor people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 199
6.9 Using the revenue from a carbon tax could boost social assistance. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 200
Maps
O.1 The urban poor are more exposed to river floods in many countries. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
O.2 Climate change impacts on poverty vary greatly across scenarios, with Africa
and South Asia the most vulnerable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
B2.1.1 Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire could experience a loss of area suitable for cocoa
production by 2050. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 52
2.1 Risks to food security would be much reduced in a more prosperous future. . . . . . . . . . 66
3.1 Continued high emissions will mean many more “broiling” summer months. . . . . . . . . 81
3.2 With unmitigated climate change, total days under drought conditions will
increase by more than 20 percent in most regions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 82
B3.2.1 Most cities with the highest relative coastal flood losses are in South and
Southeast Asia. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 84
3.3 Poor people are more exposed to river floods in many countries,
especially in urban areas. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 86
B3.3.1 Mumbai’s poor are over-represented in the Mithi River Basin flood zone. . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.4 Sub-Saharan Africa’s and Asia’s poor tend to be more exposed to droughts than
the nonpoor. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
3.5 Poor people in most countries are more exposed to higher temperatures than
nonpoor people. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 90
4.1 Most countries on track for significant declines in the incidence of malaria. . . . . . . . . . 118
4.2 By 2050, socioeconomic development should reduce malaria incidence, even
with climate change . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 119
6.1 Sub-Saharan Africa and—to a lesser extent—India and the rest of South Asia
are the most vulnerable. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 190
x C O N T E N T S
Tables
O.1 Climate change threatens to worsen poverty, but good development can help . . . . . . . . 15
O.2 Many targeted actions can lower poor people’s vulnerability to climate
change impacts . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
1.1 Households in developing countries face many shocks. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
1.2 Weather shocks hit the poorer populations the hardest in the Middle East and
North Africa region . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 37
2.1 Climate change risks for ecosystems and potential livelihood impacts across regions. . . . 63
B3.3.1 Poor people tend to be more exposed to floods in Mumbai . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 88
3.1 Poor people in Mumbai suffered higher relative losses from the 2005 floods . . . . . . . . . 94
B3.4.1 The health of Ho Chi Minh City’s poor is especially vulnerable to flood impacts. . . . . . 95
3.2 Bangladesh’s poor became food-insecure after the 1998 Great Flood. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 96
3.3 Mumbai’s poor spend a lot to regularly repair their dwelling . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 101
4.1 Many days of work are lost because of malaria episodes . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 115
5.1 Social protection includes safety nets, social insurance, and labor market policies. . . . . 147
5.2 Methods for targeting beneficiaries with social safety nets are more or less
appropriate during a crisis or after a disaster . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 154
B6.2.1 Our optimistic and pessimistic scenarios. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 182
6.1 Climate change can have a large impact on extreme poverty, especially if
socioeconomic trends and policies do not support poverty eradication. . . . . . . . . . . . . 188
Foreword
Ending poverty and addressing climate each year. The poor live in uncertainty, just
change are the two defining issues of our one natural disaster away from losing every-
time. Both are essential to achieving sustain- thing they have.
able global development. But they cannot be We need good, climate-informed develop-
considered in isolation. ment to reduce the impacts of climate change
This report brings together these two over- on the poor. This means, in part, providing
arching objectives and explores how they can poor people with social safety nets and uni-
be more easily achieved if considered together. versal health care. These efforts will need to
It demonstrates the urgency of efforts to be coupled with targeted climate resilience
reduce poverty and the vulnerability of poor measures, such as the introduction of heat-
people in the face of climate change. It also resistant crops and disaster preparedness
provides guidance on how to ensure that cli- systems.
mate change policies contribute to poverty The report shows that without this type of
reduction and poverty reduction policies con- development, climate change could force
tribute to climate change mitigation and resil- more than 100 million people into extreme
ience building. poverty by 2030. But with rapid, inclusive
Our studies show that without action, cli- development that is adapted to changing cli-
mate change would likely spark higher agri- mate conditions, most of these impacts can be
cultural prices and could threaten food prevented.
security in poorer regions such as Sub- Over the longer term, we will face the lim-
Saharan Africa and South Asia. And in most its of what good development and risk man-
countries where we have data, poor urban agement can achieve. Only immediate
households are more exposed to floods than emissions-reduction policies can limit the
the average urban population. long-term impacts of climate change on the
Climate change also will magnify many poor. This report shows that these policies
threats to health, as poor people are more need not burden, and can actually benefit, the
susceptible to climate-related diseases such as poor, through the use of proven mechanisms
malaria and diarrhea. As the report points such as social safety nets to mitigate the
out, poverty reduction is not a one-way street. impact of higher energy prices. The interna-
Many people exit or fall back into poverty tional community must also support poor
xi
x i i F O R E W O R D
countries that cannot provide such And ending extreme poverty will be more
protection. achievable now—with limited climate change
The report combines the findings from impacts—than later, when impacts are likely
household surveys in 92 countries that to be larger.
describe demographic structures and income The report shows us that the best way for-
sources with the most recent modeling results ward is to design and implement solutions to
on the impacts of climate change on agricul- end extreme poverty and stabilize climate
tural productivity and food prices; natural change as an integrated strategy. Such con-
hazards such as heat waves, floods, and certed action, implemented quickly and inclu-
droughts; and climate-sensitive diseases and sively, can help ensure that millions of people
other health consequences. are not pushed back into poverty by the mul-
Based on these findings and results, the tifaceted impacts of climate change.
report gives a renewed urgency to the objec-
tive of eradicating extreme poverty by 2030 John Roome Ana Revenga
while tackling climate change. Development Senior Director Senior Director
and poverty alleviation reduce people’s vul- Climate Change Poverty and Equity
nerability to the effects of a changing climate. World Bank Group World Bank Group
Acknowledgments
This book was written by a team led by Kristie Ebi, Chris Field, Michael
Stephane Hallegatte and composed of Mook Oppenheimer, and Youba Sokona.
Bangalore, Laura Bonzanigo, Tamaro Kane, Detailed comments on drafts of this book
Ulf Narloch, Julie Rozenberg, David were provided by Javier Baez, Timothy
Treguer, and Adrien Vogt-Schilb under the Bouley, Maurizio Bussolo, Shaohua Chen,
supervision of Marianne Fay. Vikas Choudhary, Sarah Coll-Black, Carlo
Background papers for this book were del Ninno, Quy-Toan Do, Jane Ebinger, Sam
provided by Arild Angelsen, Ed Barbier, Anne Fankhauser, Charles Feinstein, Alan Fuchs,
Biewald, Benjamin Bodirsky, Jan Börner, Ruth Hill, Hanan Jacoby, Dean Jolliffe,
Thomas Bowen, Nils Brinckmann, Matthew Marie-Agnes Jouanjean, Eeshani Kandpal,
Cantele, Michael Carter, Steve Davis, Therese Tom Kerr, Herve Levite, Leonardo Lucchetti,
Dokken, Nicklas Forsell, Mykola Gusti, Jonna Lundvall, Olivier Mahul, Bradford
Petr Havlík, Mario Herrero, Sarah Janzen, Mills, Mario Negre, Grzegorz Peszko, Jun
Kelly Johnson, Brenden Jongman, Nikolay Rentschler, Kanta Rigaud, Carlos Rodriguez
Khabarov, David Leclère, Hermann Lotze- Castelan, Karin Shepardson, Kalanidhi
Campen, Aline Mosnier, Frederik Noack, Subbarao, Hans Timmer, and Sara Van Wie.
Michael Obersteiner, Ilona Otto, Jisung Park, For valuable contributions and advice, the
Archana Patankar, Alexander Popp, Evan team thanks Neil Adger, Syud Amer Ahmed,
Sandhoefner, Hans Joachim Schellnhuber, Zoubida Allaoua, Margaret Arnold, Jehan
Erwin Schmid, Petra Tschakert, Hugo Valin, Arulpragasam, Abigail Baca, Judy Baker,
Ted Veldkamp, Philip Ward, Isabelle Weindl, John Balbus, Sushenjit Bandyopadhyay,
Hessel Winsemius, and Sven Wunder. Arup Banerji, Diji Chandrasekharan Behr,
Guidance was provided by the book’s peer Genowefa Blundo, Paula Caballero, Cyril
reviewers. Internal peer reviewers included Caminade, Raffaello Cervigni, Michael
Carter Brandon, Richard Damania, Francisco Chaitkin, Daniel Clarke, James Close, Louise
H. G. Ferreira, Masami Kojima, Andrea Cord, Christophe Crepin, Marcio Cruz,
Liverani, Tamer Rabie, Emmanuel Skoufias, Saurabh Dani, Alejandro De la Fuente, Chris
and Mike Toman. External advisors included Delgado, Fionna Douglas, Paul Drummond,
Purnamita Dasgupta, Stefan Dercon, Erick Fernandes, Marc Forni, Camille
xiii
x i v A C K N O W L E D G M E N T S
Funnel, Tam Giang, Ugo Gentilini, Francis The World Bank Group’s Publishing and
Ghesquiere, Indermit Gill, Ilmi Granoff, Knowledge Unit managed the editorial ser-
Rashmin Gunasekera, Kirk Hamilton, Steve vices, design, production, and printing of the
Hammer, Niels Holm-Nielsen, Maddalena book, with Aziz Gökdemir, Patricia Katayama,
Honorati, Ede Jorge Ijjasz-Vasquez, Oscar and Nora Ridolfi anchoring the process.
Ishizawa, Maros Ivanic, Jan Kwakkel, Peter Others assisting with the book’s publication
Läderach, William Lamb, Glenn-Marie included Bruno Bonansea (maps), Honora
Lange, Jeffrey Lewis, Simon Lloyd, Patricio Mara (copyediting), Datapage International
M a r q u e z , To m M c D e r m o t t , K a t i e (typesetting), Catherine Farley (proofreading),
McWilliams, Stacy Morford, Michael and Bill Pragluski of Critical Stages (cover
Morris, Rick Murnane, Urvashi Narain, Jim design). The World Bank Group’s General
Neumann, Israel Osorio-Rodarte, Anand Services Department managed the printing.
Patwardhan, Madhu Raghunath, Angel The team acknowledges the generous sup-
Rangel, Narasimha Rao, Maurice Rawlins, port for the preparation of this book of the
Rob Reid, Ana Revenga, Christopher Reyer, U n i t e d K i n g d o m ’s D e p a r t m e n t f o r
Alex Robinson, Meerim Shakirova, Meera International Development (DFID) and the
Shekar, Jagjeet Singh Sareen, Ben Stewart, Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and
Anshuman Tiwari, Sailesh Tiwari, Renos Recovery (GFDRR). In particular, the team
Vakis, Bernice Van Bronkhorst, Axel van thanks the main counterparts from each
Trotsenburg, Nick Watts, Anne Zimmer, organization—Annika Olsson (DFID) and
and the International Committee on New Alanna Simpson (GFDRR).
Integrated Climate Change Assessment The book was sponsored by the Climate
Scenarios (ICONICS) group. Change Cross-Cutting Solutions Area of the
The book was skillfully edited by Laura World Bank under the leadership of Rachel
Wallace. Kyte and John Roome.
Abbreviations
xv
x v i A B B R E V I A T I O N S
1
2 SHOCK WAVES
change and climate policies on poverty reduc- Between now and 2030, climate policies
tion. It also provides guidance on how to can do little to alter the amount of global
create a “win-win” situation so that climate warming that will take place. The only
change policies contribute to poverty reduc- option, therefore, is to reduce vulnerability
tion and poverty-reduction policies contribute through both targeted adaptation invest-
to climate change mitigation and resilience ments and improved socioeconomic condi-
building. tions (higher incomes and lower poverty
The key finding of the report is that cli- and inequality).
mate change represents a significant obstacle Although development and adaptation
to the sustained eradication of poverty, but cannot prevent all negative impacts from
future impacts on poverty are determined by climate change, by 2030 they can prevent
policy choices: rapid, inclusive, and climate- or offset most of its effects on poverty. But
informed development can prevent most development must be rapid and inclusive
short-term impacts whereas immediate pro- to reduce poverty and provide poor people
poor, emissions-reduction policies can drasti- with social safety nets and universal health
cally limit long-term ones: coverage. It also needs to be climate
informed—meaning that investments and
• Climate-related shocks and stresses, development patterns do not create new
already a major obstacle to poverty reduc- vulnerabilities and account for what we
tion, will worsen with climate change. know about future climate conditions.
Climate is involved in most of the And it needs to be accompanied by tar-
shocks that keep or bring households into geted adaptation (like upgrades in flood
poverty—notably, natural disasters (such defenses or more heat-tolerant crops).
as floods that cause asset loss and disabil- • Immediate mitigation is required to
ity); health shocks (such as malaria that remove the long-term threat that climate
results in health expenditures and lost change creates for poverty eradication.
labor income); and crop losses and food Mitigation need not threaten short-term
price shocks (due to drought or crop progress on poverty reduction provided
disease). policies are well designed and interna-
Poor people are disproportionately tional support is available.
affected—not only because they are often Our ability to manage increasing cli-
more exposed and invariably more vul- mate change impacts is limited. To keep
nerable to climate-related shocks but also long-term impacts on poverty in check,
because they have fewer resources and global temperatures need to be stabilized
receive less support from family, commu- at a safe level—which implies that net
nity, the financial system, and even social global carbon emissions be brought down
safety nets to prevent, cope, and adapt. to zero before the end of the century. Such
Climate change will worsen these shocks an ambitious goal requires that all govern-
and stresses, contributing to a decoupling ments act now to implement emissions-
of economic growth and poverty reduc- reduction policies. These policies will
tion, thereby making it even harder to unambiguously benefit poor people over
eradicate poverty in a sustainable the long term, thanks to reduced climate
manner. change impacts, and they can be designed
• In the short run, rapid, inclusive, and not to slow down poverty reduction over
climate-informed development can pre- the short term.
vent most (but not all) consequences of All countries should pursue options that
climate change on poverty. Absent such provide local and immediate benefits (like
good development, climate change could less pollution, better health, improved
result in an additional 100 million people energy access and efficiency, reduced
living in extreme poverty by 2030. energy expenditures, and higher
O V E R V I E W 3
agricultural productivity). Governments FIGURE O.1 Flows in and out of poverty in Andhra Pradesh are
can protect the poor from the conse- larger than their net effect on poverty
quences of those mitigation policies that
could impose net costs and create Flows out of poverty
14% per year Drought,
trade-offs—notably by strengthening social
irrigation failure,
protection and cash transfers or reducing or crop disease
Net flows
Decreasing the flow from 2% per year
taxes, possibly using revenues from energy 14% to 13% would halve involved in 44%
or carbon taxes or fossil fuel subsidy poverty reduction of the cases Nonpoor
removal. In poor countries where domestic Poor
Increasing the flow from
resources are insufficient to protect poor Weather events keep 12% to 13% would halve
people, support from the international people poor through poverty reduction
asset and human
community is essential. This is particularly
capital destruction
true for investments with high upfront Flows into poverty
costs that are critical to prevent lock-ins 12% per year
into carbon-intensive patterns (such as for
Source: Based on Krishna 2006.
urban transport, energy infrastructure, or
deforestation).
We find that climate change already people through food production impacts,
orsens—and will further exacerbate—
w higher consumption prices, and changes in
climate-sensitive shocks and negative trends rural incomes.
in the three sectors that we consider, consis- Lower crop yields and higher food prices.
tent with recent reports from the World Bank Modeling studies suggest that climate change
(2014a) and the Intergovernmental Panel on could result in global crop yield losses as large
Climate Change (IPCC 2014; Olsson et al. as 5 percent in 2030 and 30 percent in 2080,
2014). We also show that there will be an even accounting for adaptive behaviors such
impact on poverty and inequality because as changed agricultural practices and crops,
poor people (i) are more often affected by more irrigation, and innovation in higher
these negative shocks or trends (they are yield crops (Biewald et al., forthcoming;
more exposed); (ii) lose more when affected, Havlík et al., forthcoming). Over the short
relative to their income or wealth (they are term, climate change will also create some
more vulnerable); and (iii) receive less sup- benefits, but mostly in cold and relatively rich
port from family, friends, and community, countries, while poorer regions will be the
and have less access to financial tools or most negatively affected. The expected yield
social safety nets to help prevent, prepare for, losses are likely to translate into higher agri-
and manage impacts. cultural prices; and climate change will make
it more difficult, even with more trade, to
ensure food security in regions like Sub-
Poor people are more vulnerable
Saharan Africa and South Asia. In a world
to spikes in food prices and more
with rapid population growth, slow economic
dependent on agricultural and
growth, and high GHG emissions (that is, a
ecosystem-related income
scenario in which global temperatures
Impacts on agricultural production and increase by approximately 4 oC by 2100),
prices—triggered by either gradual changes food availability in these regions could pla-
in long-term climate trends or more frequent teau at levels far below current levels in devel-
and severe natural disasters—will affect poor oped countries (figure O.2).
FIGURE O.2 Climate change can significantly reduce food availability in poor regions
80 80
in 2015 (%)
in 2015 (%)
70 70
60 60
2000 2030 2050 2080 2000 2030 2050 2080
No climate change Low emissions High emissions High emissions without CO 2 fertilization
But these estimates come with a high level FIGURE O.3 Rainfall shocks in Uganda take a big
of uncertainty. They vary depending on the toll on crop income, less so on consumption
type of climate, crop, and economic model
applied, as well as on assumptions about CO2 20
fertilization (its presence should mean higher 15
Reduction (%)
crop yields)—hence the −30 percent to
+45 percent range in likely food price changes 10
in 2050 that is reported by the IPCC (Porter
5
et al. 2014). And they do not include local
pollution and ozone, pests and crop diseases, 0
Bottom 40% Top 60%
food losses along the supply chain, or natural household income household income
disasters that could result in temporary, but
Crop income Consumption
very severe, food price shocks.
In addition, emissions-reduction efforts
Source: Hill and Mejia-Mantilla 2015.
could affect food prices and availability. The Note: Values calculated based on Uganda National Household Survey
IPCC concludes that large-scale, land-based UNHS 2005/6, UNHS 2009/10, UNHS 2012/13. Rainfall shock is represented
by a 10 percent decrease in the Water Requirement Satisfaction Index,
mitigation at the global scale, especially bio- estimated for Uganda.
energy expansion, can reduce the availability
of land for food production, with implica-
tions for food security. In fact, new modeling As for the rural poor, the situation could
simulations show that mitigation policies that be mixed. If production shocks are accompa-
do not consider food security could have price nied by price rises, agricultural workers and
impacts that are larger than those of climate farmers may benefit from higher wages and
change (Havlík et al., forthcoming). However, earnings (Jacoby, Rabassa, and Skoufias
more carefully designed mitigation policies 2014). So the net effect on income depends
could lead to price impacts that are smaller on how food prices react to reduced global
than those caused by unmitigated climate production and how demand and diets can
change (Lotze-Campen et al. 2014). adjust over the short term and the long term.
Changes in consumption and incomes. It also depends on the balance between local
Losses in the agricultural sector and spikes in changes (which affect farmers’ production)
food prices can push vulnerable consumers and global changes (which affect global food
into poverty—take, for example, the 2008 prices). And it depends on institutions—
food price spike that caused about 100 million especially labor markets—that determine
people to fall into poverty, or the 2010–11 how changes in revenues from agriculture are
episode that increased poverty by 44 million. distributed between workers, landowners,
Part of the problem is that poor people spend and traders.
a larger share of their budget on food than the However, even if the net impact on income
rest of the population, with nonagricultural is positive, it is unlikely to offset the negative
rural households and urban residents the impacts of higher consumption prices on
most vulnerable (Ivanic, Martin, and overall poverty. One study of 15 developing
Zaman 2012). countries in various regions finds that climate-
In addition, farmers would directly suffer induced price rises increase extreme poverty
from production shocks that could reduce by 1.8 percentage points (Hertel, Burke, and
income and consumption. Data from Uganda Lobell 2010). It also finds that, in parts of
between 2005 and 2011 suggest that a Africa and Asia, climate-related price adjust-
10 percent reduction in water availability due ments could increase poverty rates for nonag-
to a lack of rainfall reduces crop income by an ricultural households by 20–50 percent.
average of 14.5 percent—and almost 20 per- Similarly, another study shows that a once-in-
cent for the poorest households. Consumption 30-year climate extreme could double the
also falls, but less so (figure O.3). number of poor urban laborers in the most
6 SHOCK WAVES
floods increase agricultural productivity. FIGURE O.5 Poor people in hotter countries—like Nigeria—live in
People settle in risky areas to benefit from hotter areas, but less so in cooler countries
opportunities—such as coastal areas with
export-driven industries or cities with large a. Poor people in hotter countries live in
labor markets and agglomeration spillovers. hotter areas, but in cooler countries less so
While these factors apply to rich and poor
alike, local land and housing markets (or the 1.5
MAP O.1 The urban poor are more exposed to river floods in many countries
(Poverty exposure bias for floods in urban areas)
Source: World Bank (IBRD 41902, September 2015) based on Winsemius et al., forthcoming.
Note: Exposure was calculated for river floods.
FIGURE O.6 When disasters hit in the past, poor people were more likely to be affected (panel a) … and poor people
always lost relatively more than nonpoor people (panel b)
a. Exposure b. Vulnerability
100 100
households (% of annual income)
Assets or income lost for affected
Surveyed households affected by
natural disaster (% of total)
80 80
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
1
as
i
lad 1
at 2
Gu a
na
Ho iti
as
rth as a
r d
l
gu or
Vi a
m
ba
ba
n S pa
al
No e E ny
alp
Af t an
h,
h,
h,
ng sh,
Gu sh,
Ha
r
na
Te lvad
ur
M ica
ya
du
em
um
um
Sa Ne
es
es
es
dl Ke
nd
cig
et
Ba ade
n
ad
ad
ad
M
a
Ho
l
gl
gl
l
ng
ng
n
Ba
Ba
Ba
Ba
id
M
Poor Nonpoor
Malaria. Even small temperature increases and other vectorborne or waterborne dis-
could significantly affect the transmission of eases, but these interactions have not yet been
malaria. At the global level, warming of 2°C investigated in the context of climate change.
or 3°C could increase the number of people at Also impossible to quantify is the impact on
risk for malaria by up to 5 percent, or more mental disorders and stress due to increased
than 150 million people. In Africa, malaria risk, disasters, or indirect impacts through
could increase by 5–7 percent among popula- physical health, household dynamics, or com-
tions at risk in higher altitudes, leading to a munity well-being. And changes in climate
potential increase in the number of cases of and environmental conditions will interact
up to 28 percent (Small, Goetz, and Hay with local air pollution and allergen distribu-
2003). Further, climate change is projected to tion, exacerbating respiratory diseases. One
intensify malaria along the current edges of its estimate is that climate change could cause
distribution, where malaria control programs annually an additional 100,000 premature
are often nonexistent and people have no nat- deaths associated with exposure to small par-
urally acquired immunity against the disease. ticulate matter and 6,300 premature deaths
Diarrhea. Climate impacts could increase associated with ozone exposure (Fang et al.
the burden of diarrhea by up to 10 percent by 2013).
2030 in some regions (WHO 2003). Indeed, Another concern is that high temperatures
higher temperatures favor the development of will reduce labor productivity of those who
pathogens, and water scarcity affects water are poorer and often work outside or with-
quality and the hygiene habits that can out air conditioning (figure O.7). The impact
prevent diarrhea. An estimated 48,000 addi- on labor productivity could be large and
tional deaths among children under the age of reduce income by several percentage points.
15 resulting from diarrheal illness are pro- Moreover, this effect is not accounted for in
jected by 2030 (Hales et al. 2014). And cli- any of the studies we reviewed on estimates
mate change could contribute to outbreaks of of agricultural production, although it could
other waterborne diseases such as cholera and magnify food security issues. In addition,
schistosomiasis. new research suggests that extreme tempera-
Stunting. In part because of its impacts on ture stress in either direction—hot or cold—
agriculture (figure O.2), climate change will is suboptimal for economic activity, even
increase undernutrition and could sharply when considering only nonfarm activities.
increase severe stunting among children. By These results imply that the temperature-
2030, an additional 7.5 million children may related loss in performance observed in
be stunted (Hales et al. 2014). Climate change
could even lead to an absolute increase in the
number of stunted children in some parts of FIGURE O.7 If it gets too hot, productivity falls
Africa, with the negative effect of climate (Task performance under different temperatures)
change outweighing the positive effect of eco-
nomic growth (Lloyd, Kovats, and Chalabi 1.00
2011). And recent evidence suggests that the
Relative performance
laboratories and at the individual level may FIGURE O.8 Poor people have less access to
be observable at the macroeconomic level, financial tools, social protection, and private
transfers
and that climate change could hurt overall
income through this channel (Deryugina
and Hsiang 2014; Heal and Park 2013; a. Access to savings
80
Park et al., forthcoming).
climate change and natural shocks, not only We then introduce into each of these sce-
because they are more exposed and vulnera- narios estimates of climate change impacts on
ble to them but also because they receive less food price and production, natural disasters,
support. and health and labor productivity, based on
the reviews and analyses presented in the
report. But we do so with two climate change
By 2030, rapid, inclusive, and impact scenarios—a low-impact and a high-
impact scenario—given that the physical and
climate-informed development biological impacts will be highly uncertain,
can prevent most (but not all) dependent on (i) how ecosystems adapt and
climate change impacts on physical systems (like glaciers and coastal
zones) respond and (ii) how sectors spontane-
poverty ously adapt (like adopting new agricultural
Just how large might these impacts be on practices or improved hygiene habits).
poverty by 2030 and how much can devel- We do not attribute probabilities or likeli-
opment help? We know that between now hoods to the development and climate impact
and then, climate policies will have minimal scenarios because we are not interested in
impacts on warming, given the long lag forecasting the future of poverty (it is proba-
between the introduction of mitigation poli- bly impossible). What interests us is the con-
cies, their impact on emissions, and the effect trast across scenarios rather than the absolute
of emissions reductions on the climate sys- numbers. That is why we focus on how the
tem (IPCC 2014). This means that, by 2030, impacts of climate change on poverty would
the only way to reduce climate change differ if development is rapid and inclusive
impacts will be by lowering socioeconomic (“Prosperity”) as opposed to slow and nonin-
vulnerability to these impacts—which will clusive (“Poverty”).
require climate-informed development and The bottom line is that, even though our
specific actions to adapt to climate change. analysis looks only at the short term with lim-
ited changes in climate conditions, it still finds
that climate change could have a large effect
The magnitude of future climate change
on extreme poverty: by 2030, between 3 and
impacts on poverty depends on today’s
16 million people in the prosperity scenario
choices
and between 35 and 122 million people in the
In this report, we try to get a sense of the poverty scenario would be in poverty because
magnitude of future climate change of climate change.
impacts—and how this magnitude depends That said, these estimates are likely an
on today’s choices—by creating two scenar- underestimate for several reasons. First, we
ios for what the future of poverty could be follow a bottom-up approach and sum the
by 2030 in the absence of climate change sector-level impacts, assuming they do not
(figure O.9). The first one, “Prosperity,” interact. Second, we consider only a subset
assumes that the World Bank’s goals of of impacts, even within the three sectors we
extreme poverty eradication and shared focus on. For instance, we do not include
prosperity are met by 2030 (in particular, losses in ecosystem services and reduced
less than 3 percent of the world population nutritional quality of food; we consider only
remains in extreme poverty), and that access consumption poverty, disregarding outcomes
to basic services is quasi-universal. The sec- like the nonmonetary effects of disease; and
ond scenario, “Poverty,” is much more pes- we do not include secondary impacts of
simistic in terms of poverty reduction and disasters (like the potential effect on migrants
inequalities (for instance, 11 percent of the and refugees). Third, we cannot assess the
world population remains in extreme poverty impact everywhere. Our scenarios
poverty). are developed based on a household
O V E R V I E W 1 3
FIGURE O.9 Our model for estimating the number of people in poverty due to climate change
(A schematic to represent the modeling undertaken to estimate the impact of climate change on extreme poverty in 2030 under
different scenarios of future development, and thus in worlds with different levels of exposure and vulnerability)
Prosperity Poverty
More optimistic on: Less optimistic on:
• Economic growth • Economic growth
• Poverty • Poverty
• Inequality • Inequality
• Basic services • Basic services
There are uncertainties on the impacts, in the short and the long run. By 2030,
differences in the physics (and biology) of climate change and sectoral adaptation to
climate impacts may give us different outcomes (e.g., on local rainfall patterns and
crop yields). By 2080, the level of emissions, and thus development patterns and
climate mitigation polices, also matter.
What development can achieve: Comparing the effect of low-impact climate change on poverty,
in a world that would be more or less prosperous in the absence of climate change
Uncertainty
from the
magnitude of
climate change
impacts
What development can achieve: Comparing the effect of high-impact climate change on poverty,
in a world that would be more or less prosperous in the absence of climate change
Note: Photos © Masaru Goto / World Bank (low impact image) and Arne Hoel / World Bank (high impact image). Further permission required for reuse.
1 4 SHOCK WAVES
BOX O.1 Agriculture is the key driver for climate change’s impact on poverty
Which poverty channel is the dominant influence impacts (diarrhea, malaria, and stunting) and the
in our four scenarios? As figure BO.1.1 shows, labor productivity effects of high temperature have
agriculture is the main driver of the impact on pov- a second-order but significant role. Disasters have a
erty (in all four scenarios)—although its impact is relatively limited role, but this may be because only
possibly an underestimation because all climate the direct impact on income losses was taken into
scenarios assume CO 2 fertilization. Then, health account.
FIGURE BO.1.1 Agriculture is the main sectoral driver explaining higher poverty due to climate change
(Summary of climate change impacts on the number of people living below the extreme poverty threshold, by driver)
Prosperity scenario
(high impact)
Prosperity scenario
(low impact)
Poverty scenario
(high impact)
Poverty scenario
(low impact)
database that r epresents only 83 percent of (like small islands or in locations affected by
the developing world’s population. Some large disasters), the local impact could be
high vulnerability countries (such as small massive.
islands) could not be included because of Note that the large range of estimates in
data limitations, in spite of the large effects our results may incorrectly suggest that we
that climate change could have on their pov- cannot say anything about the future impact
erty rate. of climate change on poverty. The main rea-
Although climate change has a significant son for this wide range is not scientific uncer-
impact on poverty up to 2030—working pri- tainty on climate change and its impacts.
marily through the agricultural channel I n s t e a d , p o l i c y c h o i c e s d o m i n a t e —
(box O.1)—it remains a secondary driver, as particularly those concerning development
evidenced by the nearly 800 million person patterns and poverty-reduction policies
difference between the two socioeconomic between now and 2030. While emissions-
scenarios in the absence of climate change reduction policies cannot do much regarding
(table O.1). This does not mean that climate the climate change that will happen between
change impacts are secondary at the local now and 2030 (because that is mostly the
scale: in some particularly vulnerable places result of past emissions), development
O V E R V I E W 1 5
TABLE O.1 Climate change threatens to worsen poverty, but good development can help
choices can affect what the impact of that cli- prosperity scenario in 2030, by 2 percent
mate change will be. globally and by up to 20 percent in some
Also note that the range of possible impacts African countries due to more migration.
is even larger than the one represented by our A smaller population mitigates the impact of
four scenarios because there is an infinite climate change on food prices. In addition,
number of possible socioeconomic pathways the prosperity scenario assumes more tech-
by 2030, even without climate change. To nology transfers to developing countries,
assess the robustness of our results, we create which further reduces the agricultural loss
60 alternative prosperity and 60 alternative due to climate change. In the prosperity sce-
poverty scenarios. We find that the range of nario, a more balanced economy and better
possible impacts on poverty remains limited governance also mean that farmers capture a
in the prosperity scenario: development not larger share of the income benefits from
only reduces the impacts but also protects us higher food prices.
from the uncertainty. In the poverty scenario, At the country and regional level, the
on the other hand, the range of possible out- hotspots are Sub-Saharan Africa and—to a
comes is extremely large: the worst-case esti- lesser extent—India and the rest of South Asia
mate increases up to 165 million, and some (map O.2). Almost all countries are less vul-
scenarios show a decrease in global poverty nerable to climate change in the prosperity
numbers—these are scenarios where climate scenario, often dramatically: in India, the
change impacts remain moderate (low- high-impact climate change scenario brings
impact) and where farmers benefit the most 2 million people into poverty in the prosperity
from higher agricultural prices. scenario, compared to almost 50 million in
The lower vulnerability of the developing the poverty scenario. One exception is the
world to climate change in the prosperity sce- Democratic Republic of Congo, where cli-
nario comes from several channels. First, peo- mate change is found to bring more people
ple are wealthier and fewer households live into poverty in the prosperity scenario. This
with a daily income close to the poverty line. occurs because, in the poverty scenario with-
Wealthier individuals are less exposed to out climate change, the poverty rate is
health shocks such as stunting and diarrhea, extremely high (70 percent): climate change
and are less likely to fall back into poverty draws fewer people into poverty than in the
when hit by a shock. And with fewer farmers, prosperity scenario only because so many
the population is less vulnerable to the nega- people are already in poverty.
tive impacts of climate change on yields. Such a result warns us against using a pov-
Second, the global population is smaller in the erty headcount as the unique indicator of the
1 6 SHOCK WAVES
MAP O.2 Climate change impacts on poverty vary greatly across scenarios, with Africa and South Asia the most vulnerable
(Increase in number of extreme poor people due to climate change in the high-impact climate scenario (% of total population))
Source: World Bank (IBRD 41903 and IBRD 41904, September 2015) based on Rozenberg and Hallegatte, forthcoming.
O V E R V I E W 1 7
impact of climate change on poverty. Because shocks, including those magnified by climate
it does not measure poverty depth, it does not change (table O.2). Of course, each country
capture the impact on people who are already can identify its own priorities, based on the
poor. For instance, in a high-impact climate impacts of climate change that are expected
scenario, climate change reduces the income on its territory, but also on synergies and con-
of the bottom 40 percent in 2030 by more vergence with other policy priorities. For
than 4 percent in most of the countries in instance, where urban planning is a policy
both the prosperity and poverty scenarios. priority, mainstreaming natural hazards and
And, in most Sub-Saharan African countries climate change into its design is a low-hanging
and Pakistan, climate change reduces the fruit waiting to be plucked.
income of the bottom 40 percent by more Climate-smart agriculture and protected
than 8 percent. ecosystems. Climate-smart agricultural prac-
tices can increase productivity and resilience
(Cervigni and Morris 2015). More produc-
Climate-informed development needs
tive and more resilient practices, however,
to be complemented with targeted
require a major shift in the way land, water,
adaptation interventions and a more
soil nutrients, and genetic resources are man-
robust safety net system
aged to ensure that these resources are used
Rapid and inclusive development can prevent more efficiently (FAO 2013). Crop improve-
most of the impact of climate change on pov- ment, smarter use of inputs, approaches to
erty, but only if new investments and devel- strengthen crop resistance to pests and dis-
opments are climate informed—that is, eases, and reduction of post-harvest losses
designed to perform well under changing cli- can contribute to the sustainable intensifica-
mate conditions so that they do not create tion of agriculture—thereby leading to
new vulnerabilities to climate impacts. For greater food production (Beddington 2010;
example, new water and sanitation infra- Tilman et al. 2011).
structure can make a big difference for diar- For this to happen, innovation is needed to
rhea, but only if it can absorb the more keep increasing yields, and the new techniques
extreme rainfall episodes that are expected in that result from innovation must actually be
many regions. Similarly, new settlements in broadly adopted, including by poor farmers.
safe areas will reduce the long-term vulnera- These two conditions are challenging. First,
bility only if the selected areas remain safe in yield increases have plateaued in recent years,
spite of sea level rise and accelerated erosion. even exhibiting abrupt decreases in some
However, even a rapid, inclusive, and cli- regions (Grassini, Eskridge, and Cassman
mate-informed development will not cancel 2013). The low and declining levels of invest-
out the need for targeted actions that are ment in agricultural research and develop-
aimed at lowering people’s vulnerability to ment in the developing world are a major
climate change impacts. Although some of constraint to realize further yield gains in poor
them are pure climate change adaptation countries (Pardey, Alston, and Chan-Kang
measures (like adapting building norms to 2013). Second, disseminating improved tech-
new environmental conditions), others (like nologies and making them accessible to poor
increasing financial inclusion) can be seen as farmers is difficult, and even promising inno-
“good development” and would make sense vations sometimes have low or no uptake.
even in the absence of climate change. High implementation costs, cultural barriers,
Our report highlights potential options in and lack of access to information and educa-
the three sectors that we focus on (agriculture tion need to be overcome. Agricultural exten-
and ecosystems, natural disasters, and health) sion services can help farmers make better
and emphasizes the potential of social protec- use of new technologies. In Uganda, exten-
tion and financial tools to boost the resilience sion visits increased household agricultural
of households and economies to all sorts of income by around 16 percent when new crop
1 8 SHOCK WAVES
TABLE O.2 Many targeted actions can lower poor people’s vulnerability to climate change impacts
International
Sectoral options to reduce vulnerability Private sector Governments community
Agriculture, ecosystems, and food security
Adopt climate-smart technologies and agricultural practices, with
X X
support from agricultural extension
Develop higher yielding and more climate-resistant crop varieties and
livestock breeds, adapted to developing country contexts and climate X X X
conditions
Develop transport infrastructure and facilitate market access (domestic
X X
and international)
Reduce non-climate stresses on ecosystems, including through
X X
conservation and ecosystem-based adaptation
Health
Increase R&D and eradication/control efforts toward health issues that
X X X
affect poor people and are expected to increase with climate change
Invest in health infrastructure and access; train health workers X
Implement or strengthen effective surveillance and monitoring
X X
systems to detect emerging health risks
Increase health coverage to lower the share of expenses that are out
X
of pocket
varieties were available (Hill and Mejia- FIGURE O.10 Drought vulnerability is reduced by
Mantilla 2015). agricultural techniques that integrate trees and
store carbon
Poor people can become more resilient to
(Reduction in average annual number of drought-affected
shocks in agriculture thanks to trade and food people)
reserves that can overcome local shortages in
times of need, better access of poor farmers to 8
markets, and improved technologies and
needed in developing countries to close the preparedness—can save many lives at a low
infrastructure gap, with about $100 billion cost. When Cyclone Phailin made landfall
for Africa alone. Closing this gap is difficult, near Gopalpur, India, in 2013, it killed fewer
but it would go a long way toward reduc- than 100 people. While still a significant
ing the vulnerability of poor people. loss, it is much smaller than the 10,000
Recommendations typically include leverag- deaths that a similar storm caused in 1999.
ing private resources to make the most of More generally, early warning systems are
available capital, which involves well-known very cost-effective investments, with each
steps like improving the investment climate, dollar invested yielding more than $4 in
developing local capital markets, and provid- avoided losses (Hallegatte 2012b). However,
ing a pipeline of “bankable” projects (Fay over the past 15–20 years, the situation of
et al. 2015). many hydrometeorological services in devel-
But infrastructure investments will reduce oping countries has worsened (Rogers and
the long-term vulnerability of the population Tsirkunov 2013). As a result, the ability to
and contribute to long-term poverty reduc- monitor local climate change and increases
tion only if they serve poor people. In particu- in natural risks has eroded, making develop-
lar, investing where it is most cost-efficient ing countries less able to detect, anticipate,
would risk concentrating resources on and adapt to climate change.
wealthier populations at the expense of poor Better health infrastructure and universal
communities (Tschakert, forthcoming). New health care. Poor people in low- and lower-
infrastructure also needs to be designed to middle-income countries have limited access
remain efficient in spite of changes in climate to health care, and face out-of-pocket expen-
and environmental conditions. Innovative diture exceeding 50 percent of health
methods for managing the uncertain risks of expenses—much higher than the less than
climate change and multiple (and sometimes 15 percent that is common in rich countries
conflicting) policy objectives can be applied to (figure O.11). But examples show that better
meet these challenges (Kalra et al. 2014). health coverage is possible everywhere. In
Several World Bank pilot projects using these Colombia, thanks to a multilevel govern-
methods have been completed or are under ment scheme and cross-subsidization from
way, including on water supply in Lima, flood contributory schemes, the poor are covered
risk management in Ho Chi Minh City and against primary care and catastrophic event
Colombo, hydropower investment in Nepal, costs—with coverage of the poorest quintile
and adaptation of road networks in Peru and up to 47 percent in 1997 from only
across Africa. 3–8 percent in 1993. In Rwanda, the govern-
As discussed earlier, poor people lose a ment invested in universal health coverage
larger fraction of their assets and income after the 1994 genocide, and today nearly
because their dwelling is often their main 80 percent of its population is insured.
asset and because they live in buildings with However, benefits from better access to
low resistance to natural hazards. In addition care depend on the quality of care, and in
to financial inclusion—which could help peo- most countries parallel efforts are required to
ple save in less vulnerable ways—improving develop and improve health infrastructure.
tenure security could incentivize investment in Climate change makes this need even more
housing, including in risk reduction, to make important. Countries should have strong
them more resistant. In Peru, the issuance of monitoring and surveillance systems able to
property titles to over 1.2 million urban detect new health issues that will periodically
dwellers encouraged households to invest arise in response to changing climate condi-
more in their homes, thereby reducing their tions. They also need research and develop-
vulnerability (Field 2007). ment on the diseases that affect poor people
Early warning systems—combined with and that are expected to increase with climate
observation systems and evacuation change.
O V E R V I E W 2 1
FIGURE O.11 In poorer countries, half of all health expenditures are paid out of pocket,
unlike in richer ones
100
Share of health care expenditure (% of total in 2011)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Low income Lower-middle Upper-middle High income Global
income income
Out-of-pocket expenses External resources Other private expenditure
Private health insurance Other government expenditure Social security
Social safety nets and financial tools. A FIGURE O.12 Poorer households need different types of solutions
growing body of evidence shows that insur-
ance and social safety nets are efficient tools More International aid
intense
to support poor people when they are events Social insurance
affected by natural disasters or environmen- and scaled-up
tal and economic shocks. In Mexico, benefi- social safety nets
Market insurance
ciaries of Prospera, the national cash transfer Government
program (previously known as insurance and
contingent finance
Oportunitades or Progresa), are less likely to Savings, credit, and
respond to shocks by withdrawing their chil- Government scaled-up remittances
reserve funds
dren from the classroom (de Janvry et al.
2006; Fiszbein, Schady, and Ferreira 2009; Smaller Basic social protection, remittances,
Gertler 2004). events and revenue diversification
To ensure that the financial sector and
social safety nets provide instruments relevant Poorer Richer
to climate change, governments need to households households
design a holistic risk management and climate
change strategy, giving a voice to poor people
and making their protection a priority. Such a
strategy will necessarily include a range of needed. For relatively wealthier households,
instruments, targeted to specific disasters or savings and market insurance can offer effi-
social groups (figure O.12). cient protection for larger losses. But the
Basic social protection and revenue diversi- poorest households have minimal savings,
fication can help households at all income and high transaction costs make it difficult
levels cope with small and frequent shocks. to offer them private insurance. Instead, the
But for larger shocks, additional tools are government needs to provide social safety
2 2 SHOCK WAVES
nets that are well targeted and can be scaled instruments such as reserve funds, regional
up rapidly after a shock. mechanisms, contingent finance or reinsur-
A key challenge is to strike a balance ance products (like the World Bank’s
between providing rapid support when Catastrophe Deferred Drawdown Option, or
needed and precisely targeting those most in Cat-DDOs), or even international aid if local
need. Case studies in Ethiopia and Malawi capacities are exhausted (Ghesquiere and
suggest that the cost of a drought to house- Mahul 2010). In response to Cyclone Pam in
holds can increase from zero to about $50 March 2015, the Pacific Catastrophe Risk
per household if support is delayed by four Assessment and Financing Initiative
months, and to about $1,300 if support is (PCRAFI), a regional mechanism, provided
delayed by six to nine months (Clarke and Vanuatu with a rapid $1.9 million payment
Hill 2013). This rapid increase, which is due that supported the immediate response.
to irreversible impacts on children and dis- Social protection schemes also need to
tress sales of assets (especially livestock), maintain incentives to invest in long-term
helps explain why most postdisaster responses adaptation to economic and environmental
have multiple stages. Typically, initial support changes. Poorly designed social safety nets
is delivered quickly—even at the expense of can reduce the incentive for people to quickly
targeting and accuracy—and larger recovery adapt and change occupation or activity when
and reconstruction efforts are provided later the first effects of climate change appear
with more emphasis on appropriate (Chambwera et al. 2014). This problem is not
targeting. new and specific to climate change: efforts are
Experience shows that countries at all already under way to ensure that social pro-
income levels can implement social safety nets tection is a facilitator of—and not an obstacle
to protect their population, even though the to—long-term change and adaptation, for
appropriate instruments depend on local instance by facilitating migration (Brown,
capacity. Preexisting social protection pro- Zelenska, and Mobarak 2013; Bryan,
grams with large and flexible social registries Chowdhury, and Mobarak 2014) or making
help provide prompt support to affected peo- benefits more portable if the recipient decides
ple so that they do not have to resort to costly to move to capture better opportunities
coping strategies. For instance, by using the (World Bank 2015b).
preexisting conditional cash transfer system Combining rapid, inclusive, and climate-
(the 4Ps), the government of the Philippines informed development with targeted interven-
was able to quickly release a total of tions and stronger safety nets would largely
P550.5 million (US$12.5 million) between reduce the short-term threat from climate
November 2013 and February 2014 in emer- change—and, fortunately, developing countries
gency unconditional cash transfers to 4Ps have a window of opportunity to go in that
beneficiaries affected by Typhoon Yolanda direction before most of the climate change
(Bowen, forthcoming). When droughts in impacts materialize. In parallel, the interna-
Ethiopia caused food shortages and famine in tional community can do much to support
2011, the Productive Safety Net Program them. This includes offering resources for cli-
expanded its coverage from 6.5 million to 9.6 mate risk analysis and project preparation,
million people in two months and increased and ensuring that financial instruments and
the duration of benefits from six to nine resources are available for development and
months per year (Johnson and Bowen, forth- poverty reduction investments—especially
coming). These safety nets remain affordable when higher resilience implies higher upfront
and reduce the need for costly humanitarian costs. The international community can also
interventions. build resilience by strengthening international
However, adaptive social protection sys- risk-sharing mechanisms and generalizing
tems create an additional liability for govern- access to contingent finance in emergency
ments, who may then need to turn to specific situations.
O V E R V I E W 2 3
Better public transit would reduce congestion than implement win-win options, sometimes
and traffic accidents, and greater energy effi- creating net costs and trade-offs. Fortunately,
ciency would bode well for productivity. Yet governments can protect the poorest, using
many countries, facing strong financing con- specific instruments or their existing social
straints, tend to favor technologies with lower protection systems, possibly strengthened by
upfront capital costs, at the expense of higher the resources raised by climate policies. For
operation costs—in effect, favoring less instance, climate policies need to ensure that
energy-e fficient technology and reducing they do not slow down the switch from tradi-
overall productivity (World Bank 2012). tional biomass to modern cooking fuels, for
Governments need to enact policies to example by subsidizing efficient cookstoves.
actively promote the adoption of no-regret This matters greatly because traditional cook-
options that reduce GHG emissions and ing fuels not only are unhealthy but also
accelerate development. A recent World Bank worsen gender imbalances and affect educa-
report reviews market and government fail- tional opportunities, given the time women
ures that hamper the adoption of these no- and children often spend collecting wood and
regret options—such as incorrect pricing, split other traditional fuels (WHO 2006).
incentives, poor enforcement of existing regu- There are many options to make climate
lations, lack of information, behavioral fail- policies pro-poor—such as introducing a car-
ures, and limits to the financing capacity of bon or energy tax and recycling the revenues
stakeholders—and offers solutions to over- through a universal cash transfer that would
come them (Fay et al. 2015). The interna- benefit the poor. An analysis of 20 developing
tional community can help developing countries shows that for each $100 of addi-
countries by providing a combination of tech- tional energy tax collected and redistributed,
nical assistance and better access to green the bottom quintile gains $13 while the rich-
technologies (for instance to help them imple- est quintile loses $23, and overall the bottom
ment performance standards for vehicles, 60 percent would benefit from the measure
lighting, and appliances). It can also help (del Granado, Coady, and Gillingham 2012;
them mobilize private capital to relax existing Fay et al. 2015).
investment constraints and favor technologies Similarly, we can estimate how the
with higher upfront costs but better efficiency, resources that could be raised by a carbon tax
drawing on innovative financial instruments in one country (or an equivalent reform of
or the resources from bilateral and multilat- energy subsidies) compare with current social
eral development banks. assistance transfers. Based on current
In addition, all countries need to avoid CO2 emissions and without any international
negative impacts of mitigation policies on transfer, a $30/tCO2 (tons of CO2) domestic
food security, since the resulting effects on carbon tax would raise resources amounting
global food prices could have a detrimental to more than 1.5 percent of national GDP in
impact on the poor. Promisingly, many land- half of the 87 countries where data are avail-
based mitigation options also provide an able (figure O.13, panel a). And in 60 out of
opportunity to strengthen the productivity of the 87 countries, a $30/tCO2 domestic carbon
agriculture and ecosystems and to boost local tax would provide the resources to more than
incomes. They can be implemented through double current levels of social assistance in
payments for ecosystem services, which can the country (figure O.13, panel b). Even a low
provide a source of income for the poor. An carbon tax at $10/tCO2 would make it possi-
estimated 25–50 million low-income house- ble to significantly scale up social assistance
holds could be benefitting from them by 2030 or other investments that benefit poor people
(Milder, Scherr, and Bracer 2010). (like connections to sanitation and improved
But to stay on a pathway compatible with drinking water or access to modern energy).
the complete decarbonization of the economy More generally, the impacts of climate mit-
before 2100, countries will have to do more igation policies on inequality can be corrected
O V E R V I E W 2 5
FIGURE O.13 Using the revenue from a carbon tax could boost social assistance
14 14
12 12
10 10
8 8
6 6
4 4
2 2
0 0
0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
GDP per capita (US$, PPP 2011) Average social assistance received (% GDP)
Source: World Bank calculations using data from WDI and ASPIRE (World Bank 2015c, 2015d).
Note: Panel a: Revenue of a $30/tCO2 carbon price expressed as a fraction of GDP. Each dot represents a country. Panel b: How this revenue compares to
current social assistance benefits in each country. In 60 out of 87 countries for which data are available, a $30/tCO2 tax would provide the resources to
more than double current social assistance transfers (dots above the diagonal line for panel b). Calculations assume unchanged energy consumption.
PPP = p urchasing power parity; tCO2 = tons of carbon dioxide.
using policies specifically designed to redis- climate mitigation could still worsen poverty,
tribute income in the economy—such as using because the top quintiles are still in, or close
income or consumption taxes to fund cash to, poverty. In these cases, international sup-
transfers or social safety net programs port will be essential to offset potential trade-
(Borenstein and Davis 2015; Gahvari and offs between poverty reduction and climate
Mattos 2007; Lindert, Skoufias, and Shapiro change mitigation.
2006). A World Bank study based on house- This is especially the case for investments
hold surveys reveals that countries with GDP that involve high immediate costs—and there-
per capita above $4,000 (in purchasing power fore large trade-offs with other investments—
parity) have sufficient internal resources to but are urgently needed to prevent irreversibility
redistribute poverty away, and thus can pro- and lock-ins into carbon-intensive patterns.
tect poor people against the possible negative The typical example is urban transit. While
effects of climate mitigation (Ravallion 2010). transit-oriented development may require
This is important because around 70 percent higher upfront costs than road-based low-
of people in extreme poverty live in these density urbanization, there is now a unique
countries that are able to protect them. window of opportunity to build efficient tran-
But in very poor countries, it may be diffi- sit-oriented cities, because of high urbanization
cult for economic, political, or institutional rates in many developing countries and the
reasons to accomplish this. In particular, the extended lifetime of urban forms and transit
same World Bank study shows that countries infrastructure.
with a GDP per capita below $4,000 (in pur-
chasing power parity) would find it nearly
impossible to rely on internal resources for
In conclusion
redistribution. In these countries, even if most Bringing together the short-run (up to 2030)
of the cost of climate mitigation is paid for by and long-run views, this report emphasizes
the wealthier quintiles of the population, how climate change could set back poverty
2 6 SHOCK WAVES
eradication efforts—including the risk that Developing Countries.” Background paper for
unabated climate change creates for the inter- the World Development Report, World Bank,
nationally agreed objective of eradicating Washington, DC.
extreme poverty. In parallel, it demonstrates Bryan, G., S. Chowdhury, and A. M. Mobarak.
2014. “Underinvestment in a Profitable
that the future is not set in stone. We have a
Technology: The Case of Seasonal Migration
window of opportunity to achieve our pov-
in Bangladesh.” Econometrica 82: 1671–1748.
erty objectives in spite of climate change by Carter, M. R., and S. A. Janzen. Forthcoming.
pursuing both (i) rapid, inclusive, and cli- “Social Protection in the Face of Climate
mate-informed development, combined with Change: Targeting Principles and Financing
targeted adaptation interventions, to cope Mechanisms.” Background paper prepared for
with the short-term impacts of climate this report.
change and (ii) immediate pro-poor mitiga- Cervigni, R., and M. Morris. 2015. “Enhancing
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of poverty.
S. Hallegatte, L. Leclerc, A. Markandya,
B. A. McCarl, R. Mechler, and J. E. Neumann.
2014. “Economics of Adaptation.” In Climate
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O V E R V I E W 2 9
Main Messages
• Climate-sensitive events are already a critical • The net impact of climate change on pov-
obstacle for people trying to escape poverty erty and well-being will be mediated by
and those who are vulnerable to falling back socioeconomic trends (like demography,
into poverty. growth, and inequality) and non-climate
• There are three major channels through which change policies (like skills development and
climate-sensitive events already affect the a bility redistribution).
of poor people to escape poverty: (i) agricul- • Over the medium to long term, the impact of
tural production, ecosystems, and food security; climate change on poverty will also depend
(ii) natural disasters; and (iii) health. All are likely on greenhouse gas emissions and thus on
to be significantly affected by climate change. emissions-reduction policies.
31
3 2 SHOCK WAVES
population, including the poorest, through ending extreme poverty. It also provides guid-
changes in environmental conditions and the ance on how to design climate policies such
frequency and intensity of extreme weather that they contribute to poverty reduction as
events (O’Brien and Leichenko 2000; Olsson well as on how to design poverty-reduction
et al. 2014). While the magnitude of climate policies such that they contribute to climate
change is likely to be relatively limited change mitigation and resilience building.
between now and 2030, compared with what And it contributes to a series of reports that
can be expected over the long term, its explore the complex relationship between
impacts may still be important in certain loca- development and climate change (box 1.1).
tions (like semi-arid areas where precipitation The report aims to answer the following
will decrease in response to climate change) questions:
or for certain people (like those already living
close to subsistence levels). Moreover, antici- • Will the changing climate be a threat to
pated warming by 2030 cannot be reduced ending poverty, at what time horizon, and
much, as any action taken to reduce green- under which conditions? Would climate
house gas emissions takes several decades to change make it impossible to end poverty
significantly affect climate change. only in the most pessimistic scenarios, or
As we approach the end of this century, in would it be a threat even in more moder-
the absence of ambitious climate-mitigation ate or optimistic cases? Will this impact
policies, global warming may exceed 4°C, be concentrated in highly vulnerable loca-
and impacts are likely to become “severe, tions, or more broadly distributed glob-
widespread and irreversible,” threatening ally? Is it a long-term trend, or is it also
poverty reduction and development (IPCC relevant over the shorter term?
2014a; World Bank 2015b). But the good • What emissions-reduction policies and
news is that we still have a window of oppor- adaptation actions c an reduce this
tunity to adopt and implement emissions- threat? In particular, how can we balance
reduction policies that could slow down and short-term actions (like reducing vulner-
stabilize long-term climate change, and in the ability to floods and droughts) with long-
process, usher in a more prosperous world. term goals such as stabilizing the climate?
One more wrinkle in this story is that the How should adaptation actions navi-
climate change–poverty link is actually two- gate across different options to reduce
way. Expected progress in poverty reduction v ulnerability—from poverty reduction
and access to basic services has the potential to and increased income to targeted adapta-
reduce vulnerability to climate change and tion policies and social protection? How
reduce its impacts (Hallegatte, Przyluski, and can adaptation policies prevent lock-ins
Vogt-Schilb 2011; Wilbanks and Ebi 2013). into activities and locations that will
But the future of poverty also matters for cli- become increasingly unable to sustain ris-
mate change. Development and economic ing standards of living?
growth, critical elements for reducing poverty, • How should poverty concerns be fac-
directly affect energy consumption and access tored into mitigation and adaptation
to technologies—which, in turn, affect green- p olicies? Are there trade-offs between
house gas emissions and the long-term pace mitigation and poverty goals, and if so
and magnitude of climate change. how can these be managed? Can com-
Against this backdrop—and the limited plementary policies cancel out potential
research done so far on this two-way negative effects on the poor? How can
relationship—this report sets out to explore we design adaptation policies so that they
the potential impact of climate change and benefit poor people and contribute to
climate policies on poverty reduction, and poverty reduction?
investigate whether climate change can repre- • How should the existence of climate change
sent a significant obstacle to the objective of modify poverty reduction s trategies?
F rom C limate C hange to P overt y and B ack : A F ramework 33
BOX 1.1 Multiple reports explore the complex relationship between development and
climate change
This report is just one of many produced by the and Disaster Risk into Development explores
World Bank Group in the past two years on climate solutions for both protecting lives and livelihoods
change, mitigation, and development. The scope of and decreasing damages from natural disasters.
this flagship report is on climate change and poverty, C limate-Smart Development examines the many
and it does not pretend to cover all the dimensions benefits of climate-smart development, including
of the complex interplay between climate change and those for health, agricultural yields, and employ-
development. In particular, a number of other reports ment. And Enhancing the Climate Resilience of
on mitigation, adaptation, and development, along Africa’s Infrastructure assesses the impact of climate
with private-sector involvement, provide analyses change on infrastructure development in Africa,
that complement the findings of this report. especially in the power and water sectors.
On mitigation, the recent report Decarbonizing On the private sector, the report on Mobiliz-
Development: 3 Steps to a Zero-Carbon Future pro- ing Public and Private Funds for Inclusive Green
vides policy advice to help put countries on a path Growth Investment in Developing Countries pro-
toward decarbonizing development. On Thin Ice: vides guidance on how to scale-up existing innova-
How Cutting Pollution Can Slow Warming and tive mechanisms to mobilize private capital for green
Save Lives reviews the scientific impacts of meth- growth. And the report on an Enabling Environ-
ane and black carbon and strategies to reduce emis- ment for Private Sector Adaptation outlines how
sions. And the annual State and Trends of Carbon to create an environment for private sector partici-
Pricing report reviews the ever-changing landscape pation in promoting climate-resilient development
of country-level climate-mitigation policies. paths.
On adaptation and development, this report Other organizations have also recently produced
relies on the World Development Report 2014, major reports that contribute to the discussion on
which focuses on managing risk (including natu- development and climate, including the OECD’s
ral risk, and opportunities for poverty reduction), Aligning Policies for a Low-Carbon Economy, the
and the three volumes of the Turn Down the Heat Global Commission on the Economy and Climate’s
reports, which review the science of global climate Better Growth, Better Climate, the IMF’s Energy
change and provide detailed assessments on regional Subsidy Reform: Lessons and Implications, and
impacts. Building Resilience: Integrating Climate UNEP’s Adaptation Gap Report.
examine whether poor people are more Dollar and Kraay 2002). This relationship
exposed and vulnerable to natural disasters could of course change in the future if gov-
and how this is likely to change with climate ernments implement substantial redistribu-
change. We also explore whether lower agri- tive policies (Ferreira and Ravallion 2009;
cultural yields will occur in places vulnerable Robalino and Warr 2006). But substantial
to hunger, and the role that ecosystems play redistribution is not easy politically, and
in reducing both poverty and risk in poor the poorest countries simply lack the
communities. resources to eradicate poverty through
We then present the results of a new mod- redistribution. Economic growth will thus
eling exercise that builds on the collected be needed to bring people out of poverty
knowledge in each main channel—agriculture, (Ravallion 2010).
natural disasters, and health—to explore the At this point, we know that climate
potential impacts of climate change on pov- affects economic growth, based on observa-
erty in 92 developing countries by 2030, tions of past evolutions. Reduced rainfall in
investigating how these impacts are different the 20th century partly explains S ub-Saharan
in more or less optimistic scenarios of socio- Africa’s slow growth (Barrios, Bertinelli, and
economic development. Finally, we explore Strobl 2010; Brown et al. 2010). And high
policy options with an eye on the long term, temperatures in the second half of the 20th
and discuss how the stabilization of climate century may have slowed down growth in
change can be made compatible with poverty poor countries in both the agricultural and
eradication. the industrial sectors (Dell, Jones, and Olken
Our assessments—and quantification 2012). One study also finds that every 1°C
exercises—cannot be considered a compre- warming reduces income by 1.2 percent in
hensive estimate of the impact of climate the short run, and by 0.5 percent in the long
change on poverty. However, they are suffi- run (Dell, Jones, and Olken 2009). Other
cient to demonstrate that climate change studies have found even larger impacts—
poses a significant obstacle to eradicating including a 3.8 percent drop in income in
extreme poverty in the days and decades the long run for every 1°C warming
ahead. They also stress that we can act and (Horowitz 2009).
reach poverty-eradication goals—in spite of But what should countries expect from
climate change—by combining rapid, inclu- global warming in the future? Here, the evi-
sive, and climate-informed development and dence is inconclusive, with estimates based on
targeted interventions (to cope with short- very simple, partial models that vary widely
term impacts) with pro-poor mitigation poli- (Pindyck 2013; Stern 2013). Most studies find
cies (to avoid long-term impacts). a relatively limited impact on GDP. The latest
Synthesis Report of the IPCC states that
“incomplete estimates of global annual eco-
Climate change is an obstacle for nomic losses for additional temperature
increases of [about] 2.5°C above pre-
people to escape poverty industrial levels are between 0.2 and 2.0% of
Given that economic growth plays a critical income” (figure 1.1), but adds that these esti-
role in reducing poverty, a key concern for mates are likely to underestimate actual
poverty eradication is the impact of climate impacts. In particular, existing estimates have
change on growth. Indeed, in the past, the focused on limited warming (below 3°C) and
income of the bottom 20 percent of the do not include many sources of impacts that
population has increased much more as a may prove consequential—such as the impact
result of increases in the average income of ecosystems on economic activity, or the
than from increases in the share of the risk from surprises and tipping points. Studies
income that goes to the bottom quintiles including these elements, even in a simplistic
(Dollar, Kleineberg, and Kraay 2013; manner, have found much larger potential
F rom C limate C hange to P overt y and B ack : A F ramework 35
impacts (Stern 2006; Weitzman 2014). As a FIGURE 1.1 The bigger the climate change, the bigger the
result, the confidence in these estimates is lim- total impact
(Estimates of the total impact of climate change increases with the magnitude of
ited, especially for warming that exceeds 2°C
climate change)
(IPCC 2014a).
Based on these macroeconomic estimates
3
of future aggregate impacts of climate change,
change can worsen the situation through Climatic events already affect the
more conflicts, increased competition dynamics of poverty, which will be
for resources, higher risk aversion, or worsened by climate change
poorly designed adaptation policies (such
Poverty reduction is not a one-way transi-
as greater reliance on nonportable safety
tion out of poverty. Recent data show that
nets; chapter 5).
about a third of urban Indonesian residents
Of course, these channels interact closely. moved in or out of poverty in less than a
Lower agricultural productivity could lead to decade (Gentilini, forthcoming)—and such
higher food prices, which can make it impos- large flows are consistently found in surveys
sible for some households to continue saving around the world (Baulch 2011; Beegle, De
and build their asset stock. Capturing new Weerdt, and Dercon 2006; Dang, Lanjouw,
opportunities requires investments and and Swinkels 2014; Krishna 2006; Lanjouw,
sometimes migration, activities that are pos- McKenzie, and Luoto 2011).
sible only with an appropriate asset base. Take the case of 36 communities in the
And price changes will affect consumption state of Andhra Pradesh in India, over a
(for net buyers) and income (for net sellers) 25-year period. As figure 1.2 shows,
simultaneously. 14 percent of households in the 36 communi-
If poor people are disproportionally ties escaped poverty every year, while 12 per-
affected by climate change impacts through cent of nonpoor households became
these channels, the impact of climate change poor—resulting in a 2 percent net annual
on poverty will be larger than what is sug- decrease in overall poverty (Krishna 2007).2
gested by the macro impact on GDP—and The fact that the net flow out of poverty is
climate change can lead to a decoupling of much smaller than the gross flows in and out
economic growth and poverty reduction. To of poverty means that a relatively small
explore this question, the report examines the change in the gross flows can have a signifi-
impacts of climate change on poor and vul- cant effect on the net flows and thus overall
nerable people and draws implications for poverty dynamics. In this example, if the flow
future poverty reduction. We start with cur- into poverty increased from 12 to 13 percent
rent poverty dynamics to identify the obsta- per year or the flow out of poverty slowed
cles to p
overty reduction that are most likely from 14 to 13 percent per year, that would
to be affected by climate change. cut the pace of poverty reduction by half.
Climate events and environmental degra-
dation can make people fall in poverty. How
FIGURE 1.2 Flows in and out of poverty in Andhra Pradesh are
larger than their net effect on poverty can climate change affect these flows in and
out of poverty? We know that natural haz-
Flows out of poverty ards and climate conditions are involved in
14% per year Drought, many cases where households fall into pov-
irrigation failure, erty, notably because of the shocks they
Net flows
Decreasing the flow from or crop disease
2% per year create or contribute to. Table 1.1 shows the
involved in 44%
14% to 13% would halve results of 15 household surveys in six devel-
poverty reduction of the cases Nonpoor oping countries—Afghanistan, India, the
Increasing the flow from Poor Lao People’s Democratic Republic, Malawi,
Weather events keep
people poor through
12% to 13% would halve Peru, and Uganda—which ask people
poverty reduction whether they have experienced a shock in
asset and human
capital destruction the past year (Heltberg, Oviedo, and
Flows into poverty
12% per year Talukdar 2015; World Bank 2013). Among
the six categories of shocks, three of the
Source: Krishna 2006. most commonly reported can be directly
F rom C limate C hange to P overt y and B ack : A F ramework 37
related to weather events and environmental TABLE 1.2 Weather shocks hit the poorer populations the hardest
conditions: in the Middle East and North Africa region
(Percentage reporting economic impacts from weather shocks)
• Price shocks can be linked to lower agri- Quintiles
cultural production—for instance, follow- Percent Poorest Q2 Q3 Q4 Richest All
ing a shock like the 2010 Russian
Lost income 46 44 43 29 21 37
droughts or as a result of a long-term
Lost crops 58 62 62 49 42 55
trend—and they can reduce poor people’s
Lost livestock or
consumption, pushing them into poverty cattle 24 25 30 23 15 23
and making it even tougher to save and Less fish caught 10 10 9 10 5 9
accumulate assets.
Source: Wodon et al. 2014.
• Many natural disasters are climate related. Note: Households from five countries in the region are asked to report impacts from weather shocks
These include asset and crop or livestock in the last 5 years.
top two, especially in terms of income losses disasters. In Bangladesh, a recent study tells a
(table 1.2). Other household surveys show a similar story. Households that receive assets
similar story. (such as livestock or a sewing machine, com-
Climate-related shocks push people into plete with income support and training) build
poverty. In the Andhra Pradesh communities, and diversify their asset portfolio to increase
among households falling into poverty, their income and reduce vulnerability to nega-
44 percent cite “drought, irrigation failure, or tive shocks (Barrett et al. 2013).
crop disease” as one of the reasons for their Households also escape poverty because
descent. A household affected by droughts in they have access to jobs with better wages,
the past is 15 times more likely to fall into and in developing countries these jobs are
poverty (Krishna 2006). In Bangladesh, of largely created by private micro-, small, and
nearly 400 households falling into poverty, medium enterprises (MSMEs), often in the
15 percent cite natural disasters and informal sector. These firms therefore play a
18 percent the loss of natural assets as the key role in reducing poverty, especially where
main reasons (Sen 2003). Changed weather many young people enter the job market
patterns and modified rainfall may increase or (World Bank 2012). But recent studies show
decrease the frequency and intensity of such that these firms are particularly ill-equipped
weather shocks and therefore change the flow to anticipate and adapt to environmental
of households into poverty. change and prepare for natural disasters. In
Climatic and environmental conditions Turkey, more than 60 percent of the MSMEs
affect the ability of households to escape pov- interviewed in a recent study reported that
erty. Climate change may make it more diffi- they did not have enough understanding of
cult for poor people to increase their income climate risks and access to resources and
and accumulate assets, or may even lead in financial and insurance instruments to man-
extreme cases to “poverty traps” (that is, age climate-related risks (IFC and EBRD
when people own so little that they cannot 2013). This lack of preparation translates into
invest to increase their income). While evi- needless losses in economic activity and jobs,
dence on the existence of poverty traps is even in rich countries, as illustrated by case
mixed, surveys do suggest that poor people studies after (climate- or non-climate-related)
experience slow income growth and slow disasters in the past (Groen and Polivka 2008;
recovery from shocks (Antman and McKenzie Kroll et al. 1991; Tierney 1997).
2007; Carter et al. 2007; Kraay and McKenzie Climate and environmental shocks and
2014; Ravallion and Jalan 2001). And a slow- degradation can also restrict asset accumula-
ing down of income growth for the poor tion and slow down poverty reduction (Carter
would result in slower rates of poverty et al. 2007; Dercon and Christiaensen 2011).
reduction. Poor people who have little other means to
At the household level, we know that asset cope with shocks may be forced to sell their
accumulation offers a way out of poverty, productive assets, such as distress sales
often over several generations. In Guayaquil, of l ivestock during drought periods
Ecuador, a study on asset-poor households (Little et al. 2006). They may also be forced
found that they start by accumulating housing to overextract environmental resources in a
capital through improving their dwelling struggle for short-term survival (Reardon and
(Moser and Felton 2007). This improves the Vosti 1995). Such strategies can lead to pov-
quality of life, but also helps build human erty traps when they undermine the resources
capital through better health, safety, and secu- poor people depend on for future income gen-
rity. Next, households consume more durable eration (Barbier 2010; Barrett, Travis, and
goods and diversify their asset base by invest- Dasgupta 2011).
ing in productive assets (like children’s educa- Climate-sensitive shocks can also have
tion and financial capital) to better cope with irreversible impacts on education and health,
negative shocks such as illness or natural transmitting poverty from one generation to
F rom C limate C hange to P overt y and B ack : A F ramework 39
the next. While households with enough and education for long-term prospects, pro-
assets can be expected to smooth consump- ductivity, and income, even a moderate
tion following a shock, asset-poor house- impact of climate change on health and edu-
holds may smooth assets and destabilize cational achievement could affect poverty vis-
consumption in an attempt to preserve the ibly over the long term. And because poor
small productive resources they still have households suffer disproportionately from
(Carter et al. 2007). This interruption in climate impacts, it would reduce the chance
postdisaster consumption can result in irre- for children from poor families to escape pov-
versible impacts for children. A review of erty, further harming social mobility and
the literature elicits many examples from increasing the intergenerational transmission
S ub-Saharan Africa, but also in Asia, of poverty.
Latin America, and elsewhere (Baez, de la Increased risk can push poor households
Fuente, and Santos 2010; Maccini and into low-risk, low-return strategies that
Yang 2009). keep them poor. Natural risk can affect
people’s prospects even before a disaster
• Following weather shocks in Sub- hits. Household choices on risk-return
Saharan Africa, asset-poor households trade-offs depend on their ability to cope
typically provide children with lower- with potential negative futures (such as bad
quality nutrition (Alderman, Hoddinott, rainfall, reduced consumption, and lower
and Kinsey 2006; Dercon and Porter demand). With less steady income, a larger
2 0 1 4 ; Ya m a n o , A l d e r m a n , a n d percentage of total assets exposed, and
Christiaensen 2005) and are less likely reduced insurance coverage, poor people
to take sick children for medical consul- generally have a lower ability to adapt to
tations (Jensen 2000). These behaviors bad outcomes than the rich. As a result,
have short- and long-term impacts, espe- low-income households disproportionately
cially for children under the age of choose low-risk activities, which are also
two—like stunted growth (Yamano, low-return, perpetuating poverty
Alderman, and Christiaensen 2005) and (Bandyopadhyay and Skoufias 2013;
a greater tendency to get sick (Dercon Dercon and Christiaensen 2011; Elbers,
and Porter 2014). Gunning, and Kinsey 2007; Mobarak and
• After droughts in Côte d’Ivoire, school Rosenzweig 2013).
enrollment rates declined by 20 percent This effect can be as important as the actual
(Jensen 2000), and drought-affected impacts of a shock. In Zimbabwe, an agricul-
households in Zimbabwe delayed the tural study found that ex ante impacts from
start of school for children on average 3.7 increased weather risk explain almost half of
months, resulting in children completing the reduction in income due to droughts
0.4 fewer grades (Alderman, Hoddinott, (Elbers, Gunning, and Kinsey 2007).
and Kinsey 2006). Such livelihood strategies often entail exces-
• In Ethiopia, children younger than sive and costly diversification of activities and
36 months at the apex of the 1984 fam- less productive investments, thereby con-
ine were less likely to have completed pri- straining wealth accumulation. This risk
mary school, with calculations suggesting stance, in turn, discourages the adoption of
this led to income losses of 3 percent per new technologies and lowers incentives to
year (Dercon and Porter 2014). invest in productive capital.
Risk exposure also reduces credit market
Moreover, health challenges are not lim- willingness to lend—in other words, those
ited to shocks: malnutrition can be a chronic with uninsured weather risk have limited
condition that is expected to worsen in a access to credit and investments. Importantly,
future with climate change (see chapter 4). households consider their vulnerability to nat-
Considering the importance of child health ural risks such as floods and droughts when
4 0 SHOCK WAVES
affected by a hazard (like the population different scenarios for the analyses at different
working in the agricultural sector and time horizons:
thus exposed to reduction in yields).
• Vulnerability: The expected amount of • Short-term hazard. In our analyses of the
loss, if a hazard occurs. This depends on short-term impacts of climate change, by
the physical strength of exposed assets (a 2030, we use two scenarios for the magni-
mud house tends to be more vulnerable to tude of climate change impacts (low-
flood than a brick house); the technolo- impact and high-impact scenarios) to
gies used (some agricultural techniques represent the scientific uncertainty on
are more vulnerable to a decrease in pre- how local climates will change in response
cipitation); and the role of exposed assets to global climate change, and how physi-
for the community’s well-being (the loss cal and biological systems will respond
of a critical bridge typically results in (such as the effects of higher temperatures
higher losses than the reconstruction on ecosystems). These scenarios do not
value). depend on emissions and extend to 2030.
• Long-term hazard. When analyzing the
How these three factors evolve is uncer- longer-term, beyond 2050, we use two
tain, given our lack of full understanding scenarios for the future of global green-
about the climate system and impacts of cli- house gas emissions and climate change
mate change (for instance, on ecosystems)— (low-emissions and high-emissions sce-
as well as how socioeconomic systems narios), which are driven by develop-
evolve. But it is also uncertain because they ment trends and climate policies. Our
can be affected by policies and therefore by low-emissions scenario is the Represen-
our current and future choices. These two tative Concentration Pathway (RCP)2.6,
sources of uncertainty have very different which is consistent with the objective of
implications: while the scientific uncertainty stabilizing climate change at 2°C above
(for instance on how local climates will preindustrial temperatures (Van Vuuren
change and how physical and biological sys- et al. 2011). Our high-emissions scenario
tems will respond) is a bad thing, because it is the RCP8.5, which represents a world
impairs decision making and creates risks, of high population and economic growth
the uncertainty due to our choices is good combined with a growing use of fossil-
news, because it shows that our decisions fuel energy (Riahi et al. 2011). These sce-
can shape the future of climate change and narios extend to 2100, and are used for
its impacts. instance to discuss the long-term impact
These two sources of uncertainty also of climate change on agricultural pro-
influence these factors differently at different duction and food prices in chapter 2, or
time horizons. Emissions-reduction policies, the future intensity of heat waves in
even those implemented today, cannot signifi- chapter 3.
cantly affect the rate and magnitude of cli- • Socioeconomic scenarios. To represent
mate change by 2030, so that the uncertainty the uncertainty on the exposure and
about the hazard comes only from the scien- vulnerability, linked to d evelopment
tific uncertainty: at this time horizon, reduc- and adaptation policies, we also intro-
ing climate change impacts can be done only duce two socioeconomic scenarios, the
by reducing exposure and vulnerability. But poverty and prosperity scenarios, which
for 2050 and beyond, greenhouse gas emis- describe different possible evolutions of
sions and climate policies have a large impact the world until the end of the century,
on the climate change hazard: the scientific in the absence of climate change. The
uncertainty and the policy uncertainty matter prosperity scenario is optimistic, assum-
for the long-term climate change hazard. To ing that the World Bank’s twin goals
account for these differences, this report uses of extreme poverty eradication and
4 2 SHOCK WAVES
or stay out of poverty. This chapter different scenarios of future development, and
is a review of existing work, bringing thus at worlds with different levels of expo-
together the literature on the economic sure and vulnerability (Rozenberg and
impact of disease and poor health and Hallegatte, forthcoming). Encouragingly, it
what we know about the potential effects finds that, if socioeconomic trends and poli-
of climate change on health. cies manage to minimize the exposure and
vulnerability of poor people to climate change
These three chapters also explore the pol- by 2030, a large fraction of the negative
icy options within each of these sectors that impact of climate change on poor people can
can help reduce impacts—a discussion that be prevented. These results highlight the win-
is expanded upon in chapter 5 to include dow of opportunity to act now to promote
cross-sectoral options such as social protec- rapid, inclusive, and climate-informed devel-
tion and migration. Chapter 5 investigates opment and reduce the future impacts of
various tools and support systems, looking c limate change that cannot be avoided
at whether poor people have access to them, through mitigation measures.
and reviews recent innovations to make How development is done, and in particu-
financial instruments, social safety nets, and lar how low carbon it is, will determine the
remittances more efficient and useful for longer-term impacts of climate change on
poor people. It also discusses the role of poverty. This means moving quickly now to
governance systems in designing these decarbonize development to make poverty
instruments and the policies that drive pov- reduction and climate change stabilization
erty reduction and risk management and compatible (box 1.2). Multiple reports have
adaptation to climate change. New insights been published on mitigation policies.
from four background papers are presented The recent IPCC report reviews possible
here. The first explores the social inequali- pathways toward zero net carbon emissions
ties that shape the ability to cope with and and discusses the policies that can be imple-
adapt to climate change, especially for the mented to follow these pathways (IPCC
poor and nonpoor (Tschakert, forthcom- 2014c). Three other reports—the World
ing). The second models the performance of Bank’s Decarbonizing Development, the
different designs of social protection OECD’s Aligning Policies for a Low-Carbon
schemes in protecting poor people under Economy, and the Global Commission on the
increasing climate change (Carter and Economy and Climate’s Better Growth,
Janzen, forthcoming). And two case studies Better Climate (Fay et al. 2015; OECD 2015;
examine how social protection can protect NCE 2014)—also explore policy options,
poor people against natural hazards and from carbon pricing to innovation, environ-
environmental changes, looking at Ethiopia mental performance standards, and land use
and its Productive Safety Net Program and and urban planning.
the Philippines and its response to Typhoon In this report, we do not present a
Haiyan (Bowen, forthcoming; Johnson and detailed discussion of mitigation policies,
Bowen, forthcoming). but chapter 2 touches on the impact of
Chapter 6 brings all of the findings land-based mitigation policies (like fighting
together to highlight the extent to which over- deforestation) on poverty, and chapter 6
all development patterns will condition how explores how to design mitigation policies
climate change affects poverty. Based on a that do not slow down poverty reduction—
background paper for this report, it presents in particular by combining mitigation poli-
the results of a novel modeling exercise that cies with measures to protect poor and
examines how climate change would affect vulnerable people against potential nega-
extreme poverty in 2030 looking across tive impacts.
4 4 SHOCK WAVES
The scientific reality is that as long as human soci- (Rozenberg et al. 2015). As a reference, the car-
eties release CO2 in quantities greater than natural bon intensity of global GDP today is around 360
carbon sinks (such as forests and other vegetation) gCO2 /$. There is no country—except those that
can absorb, the climate will continue changing, with outsource emissions (like Singapore or Hong Kong
corresponding risks for well-being, development, and SAR, China)—whose carbon intensity of GDP today
poverty reduction (IPCC 2014a). This is why the approaches 100 gCO2 /$. This is true even of coun-
international community committed to the goal of tries that produce most of their electricity from non-
keeping global temperature increases below 2°C, and fossil energy sources (such as Brazil and France).
thus to the full decarbonization of the global econ- Moreover, delaying action locks the global econ-
omy (UNFCCC 2010; G7 2015). omy into a carbon-intensive pathway—where it
Because energy consumption and related emis- becomes increasingly more difficult and expensive to
sions are unlikely to decrease by themselves, main- reduce CO2 emissions sufficiently to stay within a low
taining global warming below 2°C, or even 3°C, budget of cumulative emissions—because of the long
requires immediate action. This requires a radical lifetime and relatively high capital cost of energy infra-
change in development patterns. For instance, a structure. Each year that additional mitigation efforts
background study for this report finds that it will are delayed (that is, we continue along the current
be very difficult to remain below a 2°C warm- path), the required carbon intensity of new production
ing if the carbon intensity of new development decreases by 20 to 50 gCO2/$ for a 2°C budget.
exceeds 73 gCO2 /$ (grams of carbon dioxide emit-
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Bad Seed: Climate Change,
Agriculture, and Food Security 2
Main Messages
• Climate change impacts on agriculture are • Climate change adds to the stress on eco-
already evident in vulnerable regions, such as systems and makes them even more fragile.
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, even as Impacts for poor communities dependent on
they remain globally limited. Future impacts ecosystem-based livelihoods can be large—
are highly uncertain, but are expected to be cutting their subsistence production and
significant—even when accounting for adap- removing one of their safety nets—but are
tive behaviors and trade. Land-based mitiga- still impossible to quantify.
tion can also bring risks for food production • In the shorter term, food stocks, better access
and prices. of poor farmers to markets, improved technolo-
• Production and price impacts—whether gies, and climate-smart production practices can
triggered by climate change or climate reduce climate impacts. Over the longer term,
p olicies—significantly affect poor people. negative impacts can be avoided only through
Net-consumers of food products will be mitigation actions, including in agriculture, for-
harmed, while those who depend on agricul- estry, and other land uses. These actions can be
tural wages and profits will experience mixed designed to avoid negative impacts or even to
impacts. benefit local production and incomes.
49
5 0 SHOCK WAVES
This chain of events is expected to occur large and well-designed mitigation policies are
because climate change will seriously affect the only way to reduce longer-term risks.
land and water productivity. This, in turn,
will increase food prices and affect wages and
incomes, especially in the agriculture sector. Climate change and climate
The impact of such changes in prices and
earnings on households depends on their con-
policies will impact food security
sumption basket and income sources. Food Agriculture is one of the most important eco-
dominates the consumption basket of poor nomic sectors in many poor countries. It is
households, whose livelihoods—particularly also directly critical to households’ food
in poor countries—are often derived from security. Unfortunately, it is also one of the
agriculture and other environmental goods most sensitive to climate change given its
and services. dependence on weather conditions, both
This chapter explores how climate change directly and through climate-dependent
and climate policies could affect poor people stressors (pests, epidemics, and sea level
through these channels. Importantly, these rise). In fact, some of the most severe pov-
effects can be triggered either by short-lived erty impacts of climate change are expected
natural disasters or by more gradual, long- to be channeled through agriculture.
term changes in climate conditions. While In its latest report, the Intergovernmental
natural disasters are discussed at length in Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that
chapter 3, this chapter focuses on long-term there is high confidence that all aspects of
changes and trends that threaten poor people. food security will be negatively affected by
But the line is often blurred between shocks climate change (IPCC 2014). However, the
and trends, and the two interact closely. For extent to which yields and prices will be
instance, tight agricultural markets—due affected is hard to predict. Uncertainty
notably to limited food stocks—make it more about future precipitation and temperature
likely that a relatively small event in one change are compounded by uncertainties
region (such as a drought in a major export- regarding the likely response of crop
ing country) translates into a food price crisis, growth to changes in climate conditions.
as illustrated by the consequences of the 2010 Further, the magnitude of CO2 fertilization
Russian drought. (that is, the process through which higher
We begin by reviewing the possible impacts CO 2 concentrations directly accelerate
of climate change and mitigation policies on plant growth) is still unknown. As a result,
food security—in terms of agricultural yields, climate change impacts on crop yields and
food prices, and food availability—and the prices are highly uncertain and vary across
consequences for poor households of such regions, crops, and adaptation scenarios,
changes and the associated impacts on ecosys- depending on crop models, economic mod-
tems the poor depend on. We then examine els, and underlying assumptions (Nelson
how socioeconomic development, improved et al. 2014).
technologies, better infrastructure and market This chapter adds to the rapidly growing
access, and well-designed land mitigation knowledge on climate change and agriculture
policies could help. by presenting the results of new modeling
Our main message is that climate change exercises undertaken for this report—one on
can have significant impacts on agricultural hunger vulnerability (Biewald et al., forth-
yields and food prices, as well as ecosystem- coming) and one on food prices (Havlík et al.,
based livelihoods, which will particularly affect forthcoming). These exercises combine a crop
poor consumers and rural people. However, model for biophysical yield impacts with an
impacts will remain globally limited (but economic and trade model to calculate pro-
locally significant) until 2030 and can be duction and price impacts under a variety of
largely managed through good policies during scenarios, including with and without CO2
this period. Beyond 2030, impacts can become fertilization, and distinguishing between
B ad S eed : C limate C hange , A gric u lt u re , and F ood S ec u rit y 51
short-term (until 2030) and longer-term (until FIGURE 2.1 Climate change could sharply reduce crop yields
2080) impacts.1 (Change in yields compared to no climate change)
5
Climate change could reduce yields in 0
many places, especially the poorest
BOX 2.1 Climate change could pose major hurdles for Africa’s leading cocoa and
coffee producers
Climate change can modify the suitability of particu- History suggests that specialized economies
lar locations for agriculture production, which could find it difficult to recover from the collapse of their
be a major challenge for agriculture-dependent econ- main activity. For instance, one study shows that
omies. In Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire, areas suitable regions affected by the Dust Bowl in the United
for cocoa production could be negatively affected by States in the 1930s never returned to their pre-
climate change—a major problem for two countries drought production levels, with most adjustment
whose economies depend critically on employment taking place through outmigration toward other
and revenues from this export crop (map B2.1.1). areas (Hornbeck 2012). Since production of such
Similarly, in Uganda, the leading coffee producer in cash crops will be affected slowly, a well-prepared
Africa, significant declines in most areas suitable for transition toward other production—in agricul-
coffee production are possible (Jassogne, Läderach, ture, manufacturing, or services—would be well
and van Asten 2013). advised.
MAP B2.1.1 Ghana and Côte d’Ivoire could experience a loss of area suitable for cocoa
production by 2050
Biophysical impacts affect prices and and the productivity gap between developing
food availability and developed countries decreases quickly.
The poverty scenario is more pessimistic,
The biophysical impacts on crop yields will
assuming high population growth, low eco-
also trigger changes in production and food
nomic growth, and greater inequalities
prices. The impact of these changes will
between and within countries (see chapter 1
depend on how farmers and countries adapt
for a discussion of the scenario approach
to them. Farmers can adjust input use (fertil-
used in this report).
izer and irrigation) and cultivated area to
Over the long term, the risks of harmful
compensate for some of the yield losses; and
price impacts could be high, especially with-
countries can buffer their production deficit
out CO2 fertilization. The simulations carried
by increasing their food imports. (These are
out for this report (figure 2.2) suggest that in
the adaptation options used in the back-
scenarios with continued high emissions and
ground modeling for this chapter.) Food
no CO2 fertilization, climate change would
prices will evolve depending on the interplay
increase world agricultural prices by 4 to
of demand and supply of food, which may
5.5 percent in 2030. Over time, these impacts
be affected by public policies regarding food
increase and could be as large as 30 percent
stock management and trade policies as well
by 2080.2 With CO2 fertilization, impacts on
as management of losses during storage and
global prices remain limited even with high
transport.
emissions.
What happens to agricultural prices is par-
Regions are affected very differently by
ticularly critical for poverty given their impact
climate change induced price changes, with
on poor households’ budget and income.
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia the most
According to the IPCC, changes in tempera-
severely impacted (figure 2.2). Impacts on
ture and precipitation are likely to result in
prices could be as high as 12 percent in 2030
higher food prices by 2050, but the magni-
and 70 percent by 2080 in Sub-Saharan
tude remains highly uncertain with increases
Africa in a worst-case scenario (poverty and
ranging from 3 to 84 percent without CO2
high emissions without CO2 fertilization). In
fertilization effects, and between decreases of
the same worst-case scenario, prices would
30 percent and increases of 45 percent with
rise by 5 percent by 2030 and 23 percent by
CO2 fertilization (IPCC 2014). These esti-
2080 in South Asia, 4 percent and 9 percent
mates may be optimistic in that they do not
in East Asia and the Pacific, and 3 percent and
account for impacts of pests, diseases, interac-
12 percent in Latin America. Even with CO2
tion with local pollution, and extreme
fertilization, in 2080 prices would be 29 per-
weather events. Extreme events in particular
cent higher in Sub-Saharan Africa and 16 per-
could put global food systems at risk (U.K.–
cent in South Asia.
U.S. Task Force 2015).
As for food availability, unmitigated cli-
Impacts also depend on socioeconomic
mate change has the potential to cancel out a
trends, including technological change and
large fraction of the food security gains from
population growth. This is why all simula-
technological change and economic growth
tions are performed under two socioeco-
and can be a threat in regions that already
nomic scenarios—labeled prosperity and
have low levels of food intake per capita and
poverty—that represent different evolutions
will experience high levels of population
of the world’s population and economy. The
growth.
prosperity scenario is optimistic, assuming
Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are
that the World Bank’s twin goals of extreme
particularly vulnerable. In those regions,
poverty eradication and shared prosperity
without climate change, per capita food avail-
are met by 2030, that population growth is
ability could increase at least to a level equiv-
slow in developing countries, education lev-
alent to 80 percent of the current food
els and labor productivity increase rapidly,
availability in developed countries by 2080,
5 4 SHOCK WAVES
FIGURE 2.2 Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia are the most vulnerable to climate-induced increases in agricultural prices
(Climate change impacts on agriculture prices)
a. World
40
Change in agriclutural prices (%)
–20
2000 2030 2050 2080
0 0
–20 –20
2000 2030 2050 2080 2000 2030 2050 2080
20 20
0 0
–20 –20
2000 2030 2050 2080 2000 2030 2050 2080
20 20
0 0
–20 –20
2000 2030 2050 2080 2000 2030 2050 2080
even in a poverty scenario (figure 2.3). It can contribute by reducing direct non-
However, in the high-emissions scenario, cal- CO2 emissions of existing agricultural pro-
ories per capita grow until 2030 and then duction, and, even more important, by
stagnate, remaining 7 to 10 percent lower avoiding deforestation, increasing carbon
than in the no climate change world even sequestration through afforestation, and pro-
when adaptation and trade possibilities are ducing biomass for energy generation. The
accounted for. What is particularly worrisome IPCC estimates that land-based mitigation,
about these simulations is that in Africa and including bioenergy, could contribute 20 to
South Asia, the increases in daily calories pla- 60 percent of total cumulative abatement up
teau at levels far below those of developed to 2030, and 15 to 40 percent up to 2100
countries today. In other regions and in the (Smith and Bustamante 2014). Distributing
prosperity scenario, impacts are much smaller mitigation efforts in a cost-efficient way
and appear more manageable because of the across sectors could require a decrease in
much higher baseline levels. emissions from AFOLU by 64 percent in
2030, compared to their 2000 level (Havlík
et al., forthcoming).
Ill-designed land-based mitigation
Yet such mitigation efforts could affect
policies can also be a threat for food
food prices and availability given the critical
security
role of land in agricultural production. The
In the longer term, countries will need to IPCC concludes that large-scale, land-based
look into well-designed land-based mitiga- mitigation at the global scale, especially bio-
tion policies to stabilize climate change (see energy expansion, can reduce the availability
chapter 6 for a discussion of mitigation of land for food production, with implica-
needs and policies). Here, the agriculture, tions for food security (Smith and Bustamante
forestry, and other land uses (AFOLU) sector 2014). Many studies show that regional
will be a key player, in addition to fulfilling and local commodity prices (like food, tim-
its already critical role in providing food and ber, and energy) could rise as a result (Chen
supporting rural livelihoods. et al. 2011; Golub et al. 2013; Kuik 2013).
FIGURE 2.3 Climate change can significantly reduce food availability in poor regions
(Impact on daily calories per capita)
80 80
in 2015 (%)
in 2015 (%)
70 70
60 60
2000 2030 2050 2080 2000 2030 2050 2080
No climate change Low emissions High emissions High emissions without CO 2 fertilization
Food price impacts could be severe for large- Poor people are vulnerable to
scale bioenergy deployment—especially when
combined with protecting natural forests
climate impacts through prices
(Calvin et al. 2013; Popp et al. 2011; Wise and ecosystems
et al. 2009). How are the poor affected by climate-related
The simulations carried out for this report impacts on food production and prices?
show that mitigation policies implemented Increased agricultural prices will affect con-
through a uniform global carbon price, which sumers through higher expenditure for basic
does not account for food production impli- goods, but will benefit net sellers and those
cations, would hurt crop and livestock pro- who earn wages from agricultural employ-
duction and result in lower food availability ment. However, the increase in prices may be
compared to a hypothetical baseline without the result of a decline in productivity that
climate change and climate policies (Havlík would reduce returns from farm activities
et al., forthcoming).3 Such policies could even and agricultural wages, so that the net effect
have price impacts that are larger than those on sellers will depend on the interplay
of climate change (figure 2.4). Other, more between prices and output. In addition,
carefully designed, policies, however, could many poor people—especially those in rural
lead to price impacts that are smaller than areas—do not buy or sell consumption
those caused by unmitigated climate change goods in markets, but produce them from
(Lotze-Campen et al. 2014). Nevertheless, ecosystems to meet subsistence needs (for
these findings warn against climate policies example, nontimber products provided by
that would not be sensitive to food security forests, production of crops, or small fishery
issues, and emphasize the need to protect catches), which may be extremely climate
poor people against the negative side effects sensitive.
of land-mitigation policies.
Poor people will be affected by higher
FIGURE 2.4 Ill-designed land-mitigation climate policies could agricultural prices as consumers and
sharply increase agricultural prices producers
(Impact on agricultural prices)
Because climate change and climate policies
are likely to affect the prices of basic goods—
Limited biomass particularly food—they will alter the pur-
Climate policies
FIGURE 2.5 Poor households spend a higher share of their expenditure on food than nonpoor
households
(Expenditure for food and beverages)
70
60
Share of total expenditure (%)
50
40
30
20
10
0
Sub-Saharan Europe and South Asia Middle East and East Asia and Latin America and
Africa Central Asia North Africa Pacific Caribbean
Poorest Poor Middle Wealthier
a rise in food prices increases poverty rates in rise to a 5.8 percentage point poverty increase;
most countries due to the negative impacts on and a 100 percent price rise to a 13 percent-
consumers. Simulations suggest that a 10 per- age point poverty increase (Ivanic and Martin
cent price rise in food prices—with no change 2014). The severity of poverty impacts will
in agriculture productivity—leads on average vary among countries—with Guatemala,
to a 0.8 percentage point increase in extreme Pakistan, Sri Lanka, Tajikistan, and Yemen
poverty headcount rates; a 50 percent price being the worst hit (figure 2.7).
Accordingly, food price spikes in the past
already had significant poverty impacts. In a
FIGURE 2.6 In poorer countries, agriculture plays a vital role for sample of 28 developing countries the global
poorer households’ incomes
(Agricultural participation of the bottom 20% and country GDP)
price spikes between June and December
2010, which increased food prices by an aver-
age 37 percent, increased the number of peo-
70
ple in extreme poverty by 44 million (Ivanic,
Share of bottom 20% in agriculture (%)
FIGURE 2.7 Food price rises could lead to big increases in extreme poverty in most countries
(Poverty change under 10%, 50%, and 100% food price increases)
35
Change in poverty rate (%)
25
15
5
0
5
–15
.
P a ov a
Rw ma
Be a
or e s h
N i da
Za ria
V i bi a
Ta nam
ia
d a
ra a
si a
Pa ala
Sr stan
en a
ji k n
ep
at ia
Ug e
ng ire
do ne
Ch a
A l i na
A r ni a
Ma ia
Ec eru
Mo dor
Cô cara r
Ne i
P l
te gu
m nk
Mo est
liz
er goli
Ni ge
law
di
Ta ista
pa
an
Gu Ind
en
an
an
,R
Ba ’Ivo
In Leo
ge
ne
em
na
ba
m
bo
Tim lad
Ye i La
ld
ua
Ni
-L
nz
i
et
m
k
n
m
Ca
Si
Cambodia, China, and Vietnam, while more wealthier households, and by 20 percent in
extreme price shocks would have a poorer ones (Hill and Mejia-Mantilla 2015
poverty-reducing impact only in Cambodia and figure 2.8). Interestingly, however,
and China. Modest price increases could lift a the average consumption decrease was the
group of net-selling farmers out of poverty, same in both sets of households—about
while larger price rises would drop other 4 percent—suggesting the poorer ones made
groups into poverty. significant efforts to preserve consumption.
In the longer run, wage and production Nevertheless, even small shocks can also
adjustments are possible, but the net impact push vulnerable households below the pov-
depends on productivity impacts. In the lon- erty line.
ger run, rising food prices will increase mar- In addition, chapter 4 discusses the impact
ginal returns from agriculture, which raises of high temperature on labor productivity.
agricultural wages. While the effects of com- These effects are not accounted for in the
modity price changes on rural wages could agriculture models that are used in this
take some time to materialize, several studies chapter, but they could have significant effects
have actually found that these adjustments on returns from all outdoor occupations, and
could mediate poverty impacts of increased especially agriculture.
consumption prices (Devarajan et al. 2013; The net effect of climate change on pov-
Ivanic and Martin 2014; Jacoby, Rabassa, erty, which is the combination of impacts on
and Skoufias 2014). The wage response productivity, consumption prices, and
depends on the elasticity of the agricultural incomes, is likely to be negative in many
wage with respect to land productivity. The countries. In the 15-country sample used by
more limited the supply of labor to agricul- Hertel, Burke, and Lobell (2010), climate-
ture, the more responsive the agricultural induced price rises increase extreme poverty
wage to price shock, as seen in India (Jacoby, by 1.8 percentage points—driven mostly by
Rabassa, and Skoufias 2014). Such responses the negative impacts in countries with large
may be observed if workers cannot easily populations (including Bangladesh and coun-
move between sectors and if spatial mobility tries in Sub-Saharan Africa, such as Malawi,
is limited. Mozambique, Uganda, and Zambia).
Moreover, in the longer run, farmers
respond to changing prices by adjusting their
production. In some cases, they can switch
land toward producing those items whose FIGURE 2.8 Rainfall shocks in Uganda take a big
prices have risen relative to others or by toll on crop income, less so on consumption
(Impact of rainfall shock on income and consumption)
increasing overall agricultural production
through expansion of agricultural land or
increases in other outputs. With these long- 20
run adjustments and no change in productiv- 15
Reduction (%)
Climate change modifies not only average The analysis in chapter 6 also suggests
climate conditions but also climate variabil- that—even in the long run—the negative
ity, with potential effects on poverty. One impacts through consumption prices and
study estimates that by 2080, an increase in yields dominate the positive impacts on agri-
the intensity of extreme dry events would lead cultural incomes in almost all scenarios, and
to a rise of extreme poverty by 0.53 percent- the net effect of climate change is very likely
age points in 16 developing countries with to increase global poverty. A net decrease in
Bangladesh (1.35 percentage points), Mexico poverty is not impossible, though, if many
(1.76 percentage points), and Zambia (4.64 poor households stay in agriculture (the case
percentage points), most severely affected in our poverty scenario) and if the impact of
(Ahmed, Diffenbaugh, and Hertel 2009). climate change remains moderate. That said,
Other significant effects would affect poor it occurs only in a small fraction of the
farmers through impacts on livestock, which scenarios—and only if institutions and labor
are not only a source of income (box 2.2) but markets are such that the extra revenue from
also used as an asset by poor households. higher prices is distributed fairly across work-
Nonagricultural households, which are net ers and landowners. These results parallel
buyers of food—especially those in urban those of a study on India, in which higher
areas—will be the worst affected. A climate- agricultural wages help poor households and,
induced rise in food prices could increase pov- if the negative impacts of climate change on
erty rates of nonagricultural households by agricultural productivity impacts remain low,
20 to 50 percent in parts of Africa and Asia could even benefit them (Jacoby, Rabassa,
(Hertel, Burke, and Lobell 2010). Similarly, a and Skoufias 2014). But with greater produc-
once-in-30-year climate extreme would most tivity impacts, climate change will be increas-
severely affect urban laborers with a dramatic ingly likely to contribute to a global increase
increase in poverty rates within this group in in poverty.
Bangladesh (31 percent), Malawi (111 per-
cent), Mexico (95 percent), the Philippines
The poorest will be directly affected by
(32 percent), and Zambia (102 percent)
impacts on ecosystems
(Ahmed, Diffenbaugh, and Hertel 2009).
With increasing urbanization rates, food price Besides higher agricultural prices, the poor-
increases could have an even more severe est people will also be directly affected by
poverty impact. climate change through its impacts on
BOX 2.2 Climate-driven livestock diseases can have high economic costs
Livestock plays a vital role in the economies of In Somalia, Rift Valley fever epidemics prevented
many developing countries. Globally it accounts 8.2 million small ruminants, 110,000 camels, and
for 40 percent of agricultural production, employs 57,000 cattle from being exported, corresponding
1.3 b illion people, and creates livelihoods for to economic losses for the livestock industry esti-
1 billion of the world’s poor. Livestock products pro- mated at $109 million in 1998–99 and $326 mil-
vide one-third of human protein intake. lion in 2000–02. In Kenya, the annual cost of East
Climate change affects many of the environmen- Coast fever is estimated at $88.6 million; in Malawi,
tal variables that can lead to livestock diseases—and $2.6 million; in Tanzania, $133.9 million; and in
climate-sensitive livestock diseases already have Zambia, $8.8 million.
high economic impacts (via income losses), as well
as costs to prevent and control disease outbreaks. Source: Bouley and Planté 2014.
B ad S eed : C limate C hange , A gric u lt u re , and F ood S ec u rit y 61
FIGURE 2.9 Ecosystem-based incomes explain most rural income in (sub)tropical smallholder systems
(Income shares across income quintiles and regions)
80
70
60
Share of total income ( %)
50
40
30
20
10
0
Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5 Q1 Q2 Q3 Q4 Q5
Latin America South Asia East Asia Sub-Saharan
Africa
incomes. Similar to findings in Damania et al. households that have little other means to
(2015), ecosystems boost incomes of wealth- secure subsistence needs.
ier households, for example through cash These subsistence incomes from ecosystems
crops or work on commercial plantations, help to keep a considerable share of rural peo-
and provide last resort incomes for poor ple above the poverty line. If smallholding
households in (sub)tropical forest landscapes
could not complement their income through
FIGURE 2.10 Without environmental incomes poverty rates could forests and other environmental resources and
be much higher were unable to find alternative income
(Poverty rate in [sub]tropical smallholder systems)
sources, an additional 14 percent of all sam-
pled households would fall below the extreme
60
poverty line (figure 2.10). Besides providing
50 goods that directly contribute to cash or sub-
sistence incomes, ecosystems can also indi-
40 rectly benefit poor people (box 2.3).
Poverty rate (%)
BOX 2.3 The wider functions of ecosystems and biodiversity in rural livelihoods
Ecosystems and biodiversity can support humans sheds support hydrological services that benefit local
through nonprovisioning services (such as regulating, water supply for domestic use or agricultural activi-
supporting, and cultural services) that are of critical ties (Klemick 2011; Pattanayak 2004).
importance for poor people in rural areas (MEA 2005). In addition, ecosystems provide an important role
Studies that assess the links between such nonprovi- in protecting livelihoods against climate risks. Trees
sioning ecosystem services and poverty have been very on steep slopes protect rural villages from landslides
rare (Roe et al. 2014; Suich, Howe, and Mace 2015). when heavy rains fall, and mangroves provide pro-
Ecosystem services can support incomes and tection to coastal livelihoods during storm surges
livelihood activities in many indirect and often (Badola and Hussain 2005; Das and Vincent 2009).
invisible ways. For instance, the establishment of a Moreover, ecosystems can contribute to climate sta-
protected area in Costa Rica has increased tourism- bilization. For example, higher forest cover helps
based incomes and accounted for two-thirds of the reduce the occurrence of droughts (Bagley et al.
poverty reduction achieved in the area (Ferraro and 2013; Davidson et al. 2012)
Hanauer 2014). Forests provide pollination services A new research agenda is emerging to better
that benefit nearby farming activities (Olschewski understand the services provided by ecosystems and
et al. 2006; Ricketts et al. 2004). And intact water- who benefits from them (Bennett et al. 2012).
B ad S eed : C limate C hange , A gric u lt u re , and F ood S ec u rit y 63
least modest weather and livelihood shocks et al. 2015). Unfortunately, such responses,
without falling deeper into poverty. as well as the general overextraction and
One way to smooth income volatility is by overuse of ecosystems resources, can lead to
extracting ecosystem resources. Incomes from increasing degradation of ecosystems,
resource stocks that grow continuously over which undermines the sustainability of such
years (like timber and fish) are less sensitive to strategies.
weather fluctuations than those that depend Climate change adds to the stress on eco-
on annual cycles (like crops). Hence forest systems and undermines rural livelihoods.
resources can help smooth consumption Despite the importance of ecosystems for
between seasons and years (Locatelli, poor people, the link between climate-
Pramova, and Russell 2012). Although envi- induced ecosystem changes and poverty has
ronmental extraction was the primary coping not been systematically assessed. This is due
strategy for only one out of 12 households in in part to the difficulty in disentangling eco-
(sub)tropical smallholder systems, forest system changes driven by climate change
incomes are a substitute for agricultural from those driven by other factors. The
incomes and can stabilize total income existing peer-reviewed literature suggests
when weather anomalies hit (Noack et al., that the ecosystem-related impacts of climate
forthcoming). change will affect poor people mostly
As rural households are used to dealing through hazard regulation, soil and water
with climate variability, weather anomalies regulation in low elevation coastal zones,
are probably not perceived as shocks that and dryland margins (Howe et al. 2013). In
require emergency responses, but as tacit many regions, there are a number of risks
changes in production conditions that that are relevant for the rural poor—such as
require marginal adjustments of existing local warming in the Sub-Saharan drylands,
strategies. Thus, in India, households that which can trigger shorter growing seasons
have lower than predicted income, indicat- and shifts in areas suitable for rain-fed
ing a bad year, derive a higher income share agriculture (table 2.1). Moreover, although
from environmental resources (Damania current knowledge does not allow for a
TABLE 2.1 Climate change risks for ecosystems and potential livelihood impacts across regions
quantification of these impacts, studies sug- rural people are the most vulnerable because
gest severe livelihood impacts: of their reliance on traditional systems built
on ecosystems resources and their exclusion
• Climate-related events have been shown
from formal policy making (Hoffman and
to threaten livelihoods of poor people in a
Grigera 2013; Kronik and Verner 2010). In
variety of rural contexts—such as precipi-
the high Andes, indigenous farmers face
tation variability in the Peruvian Andes
institutional marginalization and land scar-
(Sietz, Choque, and Lüdeke 2011); floods
city compounded by delayed rainfalls, which
in Senegal (Tschakert 2007); drought in
lead to disputes over access to water and
the West African Sahel (Sissoko et al.
land (McDowell and Hess 2012). Similarly,
2010) and in Northwest China (Li et al.
after the 1998 floods, herders in northern
2013); and cyclone-related saltwater
Kenya tried to recover herd losses by raiding
intrusion in coastal Bangladesh (Rabbani,
neighboring farms (Little, Mahmoud, and
Rahman, and Mainuddin 2013).
Coppock 2001).
• Poor people can also be indirectly affected
when climate change affects ecosystems
that support their livelihoods, such as Policies can avoid negative
coastal and near-shore habitats (like wet-
lands, mangroves, coral and oyster reefs, consumption effects and
and sea grasses) (Barbier, forthcoming). increase incomes
In Bangladesh, increased salinity linked
While climate change is quite likely to hurt
to sea level rise reduced the suitability
agricultural yields and raise food prices,
of land for rice farming (Dasgupta et al.
resulting negative impacts on poor people
2014). In one Bangladeshi site, 70 percent
can be offset, at least partially, through
of farmers partially or fully abandoned
socioeconomic development, better infra-
agriculture because of saline soils over a
structure and markets, improved farm prac-
period of 10 years (Shameem, Momtaz,
tices and technological progress, and the
and Rauscher 2014).
preservation and strengthening of ecosys-
• In the most extreme form of livelihood
tems. As for land-based mitigation policies,
impacts, climate change could make eco-
they can be designed to be pro-poor.
systems completely inhabitable, forcing
out inhabitants—notably in small island
states, some of which are at risk of dis- Negative impacts on food security
appearing before the end of the century can be reduced by development and
(Burkett 2011). The low-lying Sunder- poverty reduction
bans, a coastal area between India and
Food insecurity will be determined not only
Bangladesh, are becoming a more dif-
by yield declines but also by the socioeco-
ficult place to live for its mostly poor
nomic conditions that make countries better
population, increasingly exposed to sea
prepared to respond to and adapt to such
level rise, salinization of soil and water,
declines. Biewald et al. (Forthcoming) cre-
cyclonic storms, and flooding (World
ated a hunger vulnerability index, based on
Bank 2014a).
the Global Hunger Index (GHI) from von
Conflict over environmental resources Grebmer et al. (2011).5 This index represents
may exacerbate existing vulnerabilities of in particular the fact that, as people get
poor p eople. In Latin America, climate richer, they have better access to food
change and environmental degradation, markets and can buy their food instead of
along with the rapid growth of mining, could producing it. By 2030, development and
lead to greater competition for land and increasing incomes reduce vulnerability to
water resources. Smallholding farmers, hunger in both the prosperity and poverty
indigenous communities, and other poor scenarios, with much greater progress in
6 6 SHOCK WAVES
the prosperity scenario, thanks to its rapid limited yield declines until 2030, while the
reduction in poverty. opposite is true in the Middle East and North
Socioeconomic vulnerability to hunger Africa. In India, where yield declines are mod-
combined with climate-induced yield declines est, the socioeconomic vulnerability to hunger
create potential food insecurity by 2030, is serious in the poverty scenario, but
especially in the poverty scenario. Map 2.1 decreases in parts of the country to moderate
shows where yields are expected to decrease, levels in the prosperity scenario.
suggesting a reduced ability to produce The implication then is that development
locally, and where a high level of poverty may and poverty reduction can prevent some of
make it challenging to rely on food markets the worst impacts of climate change on food
and imports. Most of the hotspots are in Sub- security but do not replace targeted interven-
Saharan Africa. For example, most of tions to increase the resilience of the food pro-
Madagascar, Sudan, and Yemen suffer alarm- duction and distribution system.
ingly high levels of yield decline and socioeco-
nomic vulnerability to hunger in the poverty
Better infrastructure and market access
scenario. Angola and the Democratic
help cope with production shocks
Republic of Congo experience high socioeco-
nomic vulnerability to hunger but only As observed during the 2010 food price cri-
sis, countries where global price increases
are matched by high rises in local prices also
experienced higher poverty increases (Ivanic,
MAP 2.1 Risks to food security would be much reduced in a more Martin, and Zaman 2012). Countries can
prosperous future insulate domestic markets from global prices
by reducing import protection or increasing
export restraints. But by doing so they both
increase average domestic food prices and
contribute to global volatility—for example,
export bans, such as those imposed by a
number of large exporters in 2008, reduced
availability on international markets and
contributed to higher prices (Anderson,
Ivanic, and Martin 2013).
Well-functioning markets can help coun-
tries cope with production shocks, although
the ability to rely on markets depends on
many socioeconomic conditions—especially
institutional barriers (like trade barriers) and
transportation costs. Rural road development
offers a strong potential to lower transport
costs and spur market activity. In Ethiopia the
incidence of poverty decreased by 6.7 percent
after farmers gained access to all-weather
Source: Biewald et al., forthcoming.
Note: Risk to food security is indicated by the combination of potential yield declines and hunger
roads (Dercon et al. 2009).
vulnerability in a Poverty (upper panel) and Prosperity scenario (lower panel). Lighter colors indicate A productivity shock at the local level can
lower risks and darker colors represent higher risks. Results for yield decline are based on the Lund-
Potsdam-Jena managed Land (LPJmL) model and results for hunger vulnerability are based on the
lead to much greater price fluctuations if local
spatial Vulnerability-to-Hunger Index (VHI) adapted from von Grebmer et al. 2011. Yield decline markets are isolated. For example, a recent
results compare a scenario with climate change to a scenario without climate change. The legend
values are as follows: EI = Extremely high impact: decline of 10 percent or more, HI = High Impact:
study examines the statistical effect of road
−10 to −2 percent, SI = Strong Impact: −2 to 0 percent; NNI = no negative impact: >0 percent. quality and distance from urban consumption
The Hunger Vulnerability index ranks spatial units on a 100-point scale. Zero is the best score (no
hunger), and 100 is the worst: EA = Extremely alarming: ≥30, A = Alarming: 20 to 29.9, S = Serious:
centers on maize price volatility in Burkina Faso
10 to 19.9, LM = Low to moderate: below 9.9. (Ndiaye, Maitre d’Hôtel, and Le Cotty 2015).
B ad S eed : C limate C hange , A gric u lt u re , and F ood S ec u rit y 67
It finds that maize price volatility is greatest in increases on consumers, like food stamps
remote markets, suggesting that enhancing (Larson et al. 2013).
road infrastructure would strengthen the links Thus, one solution appears to lie in coordi-
between rural markets and major consump- nating measures aimed at limiting price vola-
tion centers, thereby also stabilizing maize tility with actions to make farm practices
prices in the region. more resilient. Together, these actions can sig-
In addition, between 2006 and 2008, low nificantly mitigate the impact of a shock, as
food stocks may have exacerbated food price occurred in Bangladesh in 1998 (box 2.4).
volatility (Gilbert and Morgan 2010), Countries can also implement social protec-
although an empirical analysis only confirms tion schemes to ensure that vulnerable people
this effect for wheat since 2000. The absence are protected against food price volatility
of impact for other crops suggests that food (see chapter 5).
stocks alone do not have a direct impact on
price volatility but can amplify the effects of
Improved farm practices and
other factors (Tadesse et al. 2014). But while
technologies can mediate negative
adequate food stocks can help to reduce price
impacts
volatility and food insecurity, they can be
costly and difficult to manage. And building Climate-smart agricultural practices can
food stocks can lead to increased grain scar- increase productivity and make agricultural
city and thus even higher prices in the short production more resilient. In countries most
run. In the case of a large importing region— exposed to climate variability and change,
the Middle East and North Africa—one study disaster preparedness and resilient and
shows that a strategic storage policy at the diverse farming systems go hand in hand
regional level could smooth global prices but (World Bank 2011). For instance, Vietnam is
is much more costly than a social protection improving its water resource management to
policy that dampens the effects of price make its cropping and aquaculture regimes
The large-scale floods that hit Bangladesh in 1998 In addition to infrastructure, government policies
had the potential to cause a major food security encouraged private-sector participation in the grain
disaster, but short-term and long-term policies played market. In the early 1990s, the liberalization of rice
key roles in preventing such a disaster. Starting in and wheat imports enabled private sector imports
the 1980s, public sector investment in agricultural to quickly supply domestic markets and stabilize
research and extension, combined with private sec- prices following the floods. Other policies—such as
tor investments in small-scale irrigation, substantially the removal of the import tariff on rice in 1998 and
increased yields of wheat and boro rice. These invest- better port clearance of private sector food grain
ments reduced vulnerability to floods by increasing imports—also provided clear signals of government
total food grain production, reducing the length of support for the private grain trade. These private
time between major crops from 12 months to 6, sector imports proved a far less costly way of main-
and shifting away from flood-susceptible cultivation taining food grain availability than the distribution
practices. of government commercial imports or public stocks.
Furthermore, long-term investments in public And the inclusion of the private sector in general
infrastructure (including roads, bridges, electricity, greatly increased food supply and stabilized food
and telecommunications) made agricultural markets prices in the aftermath of the shock.
more efficient and enabled traded grains to reach
markets throughout the country after the floods. Source: Adapted from del Ninno et al. 2001.
6 8 SHOCK WAVES
better adapted to increasing flood risk and Although many studies have shown that
salinity levels. But more productive and technological progress can limit climate
more resilient practices require a more effi- change impacts on yields and food produc-
cient use of land, water, soil nutrients, and tion costs (see figure 2.12), they usually
genetic resources (FAO 2013). assume sustained and very rapid yield gain,
Better technologies will also be needed to at odds with past yield trends. Empirical evi-
tackle future food security challenges (FAO, dence reveals plateaus or even abrupt
IFAD, and WFP 2014). These might include decreases in the rate of yield gain—for rice
improvements in crop varieties, smarter use in eastern Asia and wheat in northwestern
of inputs, methods to strengthen crop resis- Europe (Grassini, Eskridge, and Cassman
tance to pests and diseases, and reduction of 2013). Further, another study points to a
postharvest losses (Beddington 2010; Tilman general decrease in the growth rate of yields
et al. 2011). Improved crops and better use of for maize, wheat, rice, and soybeans at a
water and soil can increase both farmers’ global level, although with more optimistic
incomes and their resilience to climate shocks trends in poorer countries (Alston, Beddow,
(figure 2.11). and Pardey 2010). The low and declining
One key way to make agricultural systems levels of investment in agricultural research
more climate resilient is by developing and and development in the developing world
adopting higher yielding and more climate- can be a major constraint to realize further
resistant crop varieties and livestock breeds yield gains in poor countries (Pardey, Alston,
(Tester and Langridge 2010). In a random- and Chan-Kang 2013; Pardey and Pingali
ized control trial in Orissa, India, a recent 2010).
study shows the benefits of using a new,
flood-resistant variety of rice, which offers a
45 percent yield gain relative to the current FIGURE 2.12 Faster technological progress
most popular variety (de Janvry 2015). After would dampen long-term increases in food
a first good experience, these varieties moti- production costs
vated farmers to take more risks and adopt (Food production costs under varying assumptions regarding
technological progress)
more profitable techniques.
But the overall potential of technology
250
to increase resilience remains uncertain.
200
FIGURE 2.11 Improved cropping technologies
Difference (%)
50 50
45
40 0
Share of households (%)
35 –50
30 Sub-Saharan Middle East South Asia
25 Africa and North Africa
20 Slow Medium Fast
15
Source: Biewald et al., forthcoming.
10
Note: The values show the regional average changes in food production
5 costs for Poverty and High Emissions Scenario without CO2 fertilization
0 compared to a no climate change scenario for the year 2030 based on
Soil Drought- Agro- Heat tolerant results from the Model of Agricultural Production and its Impact on the
fertility tolerant forestry crops Environment (MAgPIE). Food production costs used in MAgPIE account
management crops (low density) for all costs, including infrastructure (irrigation systems) and research, and
thus can differ from the prices faced by consumers. Slow, medium, and
fast in the legend refer to the speed of technological progress, which is
Source: Cervigni and Morris 2015. assumed to translate directly into increase in yields.
B ad S eed : C limate C hange , A gric u lt u re , and F ood S ec u rit y 69
Technological packages, which have been successfully Nevertheless, despite these benefits, adoption is
tested in demonstration fields, are available to help farm- still uneven. In Brazil, millions of hectares are cul-
ers better prepare for climate change. For instance, con- tivated with conservation agriculture (Triplett and
servation agriculture has been promoted to address poor Dick 2008). But in Morocco, after two decades of
agricultural productivity and environmental degrada- demonstration, only 5,000 hectares are cultivated
tion, particularly in semi-arid areas that are characterized with these techniques—almost exclusively on large
by frequent droughts and dry spells (Giller et al. 2009; farms (ICARDA 2012). Low adoption rates are
Kassam, Derpsch, and Friedrich 2014). Because of its the case for most countries in the Middle East and
potential to increase yields, reduce labor requirements, North Africa and Sub-Saharan Africa, where the
and improve soil fertility, it could be a powerful adap- available evidence suggests virtually no uptake of
tation strategy (Kassam, Derpsch, and Friedrich 2014). conservation agriculture (Giller et al. 2009).
7 0 SHOCK WAVES
stress and other environmental degradation. silvopastoral systems) (Harvey et al. 2014;
Such approaches include better protection FAO 2013; World Bank 2011). For exam-
and management of natural habitat or vegeta- ple, the inclusion of trees in the farming sys-
tion, such as restoring and protecting tem dramatically increases the potential to
mangroves and dunes in coastal areas; man- store carbon, while increasing yields—as
agement of flood plains in larger river basins; shown in Africa, where farmers who have
managing forests sustainably through selec- adopted evergreen agriculture are reaping
tive logging, forest buffers, and fire preven- impressive productivity gains of up to 30
tion; and farming systems that integrate percent without the use of costly fertilizer
natural vegetation through fallow systems or (ICRAF 2012). In Ethiopia, the Humbo
agroforestry (McKinnon and Hickey 2009). Assisted Natural Regeneration Project has
Many of these strategies also provide carbon helped restore 2,700 hectares of biodiverse
sequestration benefits. native forest, which has boosted carbon
sequestration benefits and income genera-
tion based on forest products.7 Improved
Land-mitigation policies can be
tree coverage also reduced drought vulnera-
designed to benefit local incomes
bility (figure 2.13).
Land-mitigation policies can be designed to Some land-mitigation options can be
avoid—or at least minimize—harmful implemented through payments for ecosys-
impacts on agricultural production and food tem services, which compensate land users
security and poor people. Although calibrat- for any forgone production benefits and pro-
ing general mitigation policies to local con- vide them with financial incentives for pre-
texts or introducing complementary serving or increasing carbon stocks in soil or
measures may increase the overall cost of forests. More than 300 such payment
mitigation (possibly because more efforts schemes have been established worldwide to
would be required in nonagricultural sec- support carbon sequestration, biodiversity,
tors), it could actually bring significant ben- watershed services, and landscape beauty
efits in terms of improved local livelihoods (NCE 2014).
and ecosystems. Even if trade-offs are likely to occur
Careful land use planning—such as using between social goals and project efficiency,
designated degraded or less-productive areas many programs target poorer land users.
for storing and sequestrating carbon stocks—
could minimize negative impacts on food pro-
duction and even result in more productive FIGURE 2.13 Drought vulnerability is reduced by
agricultural techniques that integrate trees and
landscapes. Restoring degraded forestlands store carbon
and landscapes, as called for by the 2014 (Reduction in average annual number of drought-affected
New York Declaration on Forests, 6 could people)
yield net benefits in the general order of $170
8
billion per year from watershed protection,
Number of people (millions)
BOX 2.6 Securing local benefits from harnessing the forests to lower emissions
Increasing international attention and funding have and environmental risks are minimized and benefits
been raised for reducing emissions from deforestation enhanced (UN–REDD 2013a).
and forest degradation and for other land-related mit- Fair benefit-sharing systems that allow poor peo-
igation activities. At the 2010 Cancún meeting of the ple to receive direct (like monetary gains) and indi-
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate rect benefits (like better governance infrastructure
Change (UNFCCC), member countries agreed to provision) from REDD+ play a key role in operation-
establish an international mechanism, whereby devel- alizing safeguards (Brockhaus et al. 2014). A pre-
oped countries would pay low-income and middle- condition for such benefit sharing is tenure security
income countries in the tropics for five types of and clarity that ensure access to ecosystems and par-
forest-related mitigation activities, called REDD+: (i) ticipation rights for local people, which has become
reducing emissions from deforestation, (ii) reducing a key element of many national policies (UN–REDD
emissions from forest degradation, (iii) conservation 2013b). Under the Terra Legal program, Brazil has
of forest carbon stocks, (iv) sustainable management started a formal process of recognizing indigenous
of forest, and (v) enhancement of forest carbon. lands and granting land titles to about 300,000
Concerns about negative social and environmen- smallholders conditional on compliance with the
tal impacts—such as restricting access for local peo- Brazilian Forest Code (Duchelle et al. 2014). The
ple to forests and harming biodiversity—led to the number of studies that illustrate how REDD+ can
establishment of REDD+ “safeguards” within the increase benefits for poor people is rapidly growing
UNFCCC decisions. These safeguards require coun- (Groom and Palmer 2012; Berry, Harley, and Ryan
tries to put procedures in place to ensure that social 2013; Luttrell et al. 2013).
Brazil’s Bolsa Floresta program offers a health—but often clean energy solutions are
monthly payment to low-income households not affordable for poor people. Financing
if they commit to zero deforestation and efficient cookstoves, introducing cash trans-
enroll their children in school. Guatemala fers, and enhancing social protection schemes
offers forest incentive programs, which aim can help to protect poor people against some
to support forestry activities by poor small- of the negative impacts in the short term
holders without land title. In Colombia and (chapter 5).
Nicaragua, mainly poor land users receive If done properly, land-based mitigation
payment for ecosystem services (Pagiola, actions can create direct employment benefits
Rios, and Arcenas 2008 and 2010). In Costa for local people. Climate-smart agriculture
Rica, payments for reducing deforestation practices, land restoration, selective logging,
go mainly to poor areas (Pfaff et al. 2007). If and forest protection are labor intensive and
participation constraints (like a lack of land thus can provide jobs and revenues to poor
titles, high transaction costs, or poor con- rural households (see box 2.6). One study
nections to government institutions) can be finds that over half of some 40 REDD+ proj-
overcome, such payments could be an ects reviewed provided benefits in terms of
important livelihood element for poor peo- employment and incomes for local communi-
ple (Bremer, Farley, and Lopez-Carr 2014; ties, although these benefits have been modest
Jindal et al. 2013; Zbinden and Lee 2005). (Lawlor et al. 2013).
In other cases, mitigation actions need to
be accompanied by complementary mea-
sures. Promoting modern energy for cooking
In conclusion
can reduce the use of traditional wood This chapter has shown how climate change
b iomass—which contributes to emissions can affect agricultural production systems
through forest degradation and poor with significant implications for food prices
7 2 SHOCK WAVES
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Threat Multiplier: Climate Change,
Disasters, and Poor People 3
Main Messages
• Natural disasters push people into poverty share of their assets and income when hit by
and prevent poor people from escaping a disaster, natural disasters increase inequal-
poverty. ity and may contribute toward a decoupling
• An increase in natural hazards is already of economic growth and poverty reduction.
observed and will worsen in the next • There are many options to reduce risks for
decades. Some events considered exceptional poor people; and, although none are easy to
today will become frequent in the long term, implement, they do help reduce poverty and
threatening current living conditions. make the population more resilient to cli-
• These changes in hazards will affect poor mate change. Examples include risk-sensitive
people and our ability to eradicate poverty. land use regulation, more and better infra-
Because poor people are often more exposed structure, better housing quality and for-
to natural hazards than the rest of the pop- mal land tenure, air-conditioning, financial
ulation, and almost always lose a greater inclusion, and early warning and evacuation.
79
8 0 SHOCK WAVES
• In Bolivia, the poverty incidence rose poverty. An increase in the frequency or inten-
12 percent in Trinidad following the 2006 sity of natural disasters is expected because of
floods (Perez-De-Rada and Paz 2008). climate change—which is likely to push more
• For coastal communities in the subdis- people into poverty and increase poverty
trict of Shyamnagar in the southwest of headcounts. Another key channel, agriculture
Bangladesh, after Cyclone Aila hit in 2009, and ecosystems, was covered in chapter 2, and
unemployment skyrocketed (from 11 to a third, health, will be explored in chapter 4.
60 percent between 2009 and 2010) and How can we explain the specific impacts of
per capita income decreased sharply (from natural hazards on poor people? And what
$15,000 before the storm to $10,000 policy options are available to reduce this vul-
af ter). T he pover t y headcount rate nerability of poor people, especially in light of
increased from 41 to 63 percent between climate change? Keep in mind that we are
2009 and 2010 (Akter and Mallick 2013). referring to all climate-related natural disas-
ters, regardless of whether they are caused by
Moreover, recovery is not straightforward
natural climate variability or man-made emis-
for poor people. After Ethiopia’s 1984–85 fam-
sions, as the two are closely linked and call
ine, it took a decade on average for asset-poor
for integrated risk management strategies that
households to bring livestock holdings back to
account for climate change.
prefamine levels (Dercon 2004). While a pro-
This chapter tries to shed light on these
longed shock such as a drought can have long-
questions. It begins with a short review of
term impacts, so too can temporary shocks on
how climate change will affect natural haz-
human capital and poverty (Rentschler 2013).
ards globally, then explores how these changes
In Mexico, once children have been taken out
will impact poor people and affect the evolu-
of school, even just for a temporary shock such
tion of poverty. It draws on results from origi-
as a flood, they are 30 percent less likely to pro-
nal studies that investigate—for the first time
ceed with their education compared to children
at the global level—the exposure differential
who remain in school (de Janvry et al. 2006).
between poor and nonpoor people, looking at
Temporary spending adjustments by low-
droughts, floods, and high temperature. It
income households can result in permanent
also reviews several case studies on past disas-
shifts—at the expense of the child’s human
ters, deriving insights on the greater exposure
capital and future productivity.
and vulnerability of poor people, along with
Further, poor households exposed to unin-
policy options to reduce this vulnerability.
sured weather risk have been shown to reduce
Our main message is that the measures
investment in productive assets and select low-
and policies that could be mobilized to help
risk, low-return activities, perpetuating pov-
poor people manage natural risks in a chang-
erty (Cole et al. 2013; Elbers, Gunning, and
ing climate amount to “good development,”
Kinsey 2007; Shenoy 2013). In terms of the
which would make sense even in the absence
impact of disaster risk on poverty, these ex
of climate change—with the important caveat
ante impacts can dominate ex post impacts,
that the design of such measures and policies
that is, the losses caused by a disaster (Elbers,
needs to take into account climate change
Gunning and Kinsey 2007). This link from
and the uncertainty it creates.
natural hazard exposure to poverty may create
a negative feedback loop, in which poor house-
holds have no choice but to settle in at-risk Climate change will worsen
zones (with cheaper rents) and as a result face natural hazards in most regions
increased challenges to escaping poverty.
Natural disasters are thus one of the critical
of the world
channels through which climate-sensitive The large-scale changes in temperature,
events already affect, and can increasingly p recipitation, and other meteorological
affect, the ability of poor people to escape variables that models project as a result of
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 81
climate change suggest that all extreme in non-air-conditioned facilities during the
events related to these variables (droughts, summer. While no single heat wave or
floods, heat waves, and cold spells) will be extreme event is “caused” by climate change,
affected. These impacts have been reviewed the effect of climate change on heat waves’
in many studies recently, including in the lat- frequency and intensity is already detectable
est report of the Intergovernmental Panel on and is growing over time (box 3.1).
Climate Change (IPCC 2013) and in the Droughts. Water availability depends on
three volumes of the Turn Down the Heat more than just precipitation—seasonal cycles,
reports (World Bank 2015a). This section snow packs, and evaporation rates also mat-
briefly reviews the changes in hazards to be ter. Because of the variability in local changes
expected. in climate, the evolution of droughts will vary
Heat waves and cold spells. Climate depending on location. Overall, however,
change will not make all extremes worse in droughts are likely to become more common—
the future. Cold spells have serious conse- and it is likely that in many locations where
quences and are expected to decrease both in droughts already are an issue the situation will
frequency and in intensity. However, it is worsen (like the Mediterranean basin,
almost certain that heat waves will become Southeast Europe, North Africa, Southern
more frequent and intense in the future in Africa, Australia, South America, and Central
most regions of the world. For instance, in America). A background paper for this report
North Africa, temperatures considered excep- estimates that under a high-emissions scenario,
tional today (and that have significant harm- the number of people exposed to droughts
ful effects on ecosystem function and people’s could increase by 9 to 17 percent in 2030 and
well-being) will become a new normal under 50 to 90 percent in 2080 (Winsemius et al.,
a high-emissions (4°C) scenario (World Bank forthcoming). Even so, some regions that cur-
2014) (map 3.1). In Europe, the summer rently experience regular water stress (like East
2003 heat wave, which led to more than Africa) are expected to see an improvement in
70,000 deaths, would become an “average” water resources (map 3.2).
summer at the end of this century under a Tropical and extratropical storms. With
high-emissions scenario—meaning that by higher temperatures, atmospheric circulations
2100, every other summer would be warmer are modified, influencing winds and storms
than the 2003 one. globally. But tropical storms (present in the
In many regions, such massive changes tropics, the strongest of which are referred to
would threaten everyday living conditions— as hurricanes in the North Atlantic and
like the ability to work outside or typhoons in the Pacific) and extratropical
MAP 3.1 Continued high emissions will mean many more “broiling” summer months
(Percentage of summer months with extreme temperatures by 2100, for a low-emissions (left) and high-emissions (right) scenario)
BOX 3.1 Climate change makes extreme weather events more likely or more intense
Granted, individual events can never be fully attrib- human-caused climate change was a contributing
uted to climate change—even the most dramatic factor, even though natural fluctuations also were key
events of recent years would have been possible in a (Peterson et al. 2013). Heat waves, like the one that
climate with no human influence, simply due to the affected the U.S. midwest and northeast in July 2012,
natural variability of the climate (Hulme 2014). But are now four times as likely because of climate change.
recent trends in extreme temperature and precipita- As for the current increase in disaster losses, they
tion can now be linked with climate change. can be explained by socioeconomic evolutions—
One recent study estimates that about 75 percent especially by the increase in population and wealth
of the moderate daily hot extremes over land and 18 located in coastal and other at-risk areas. While
percent of moderate daily precipitation extremes are an impact of climate change on economic losses
already attributable to warming (Fischer and Knutti p robably exists, for now it remains undetectable
2015). And the probability of the occurrence of the (IPCC 2012).
2003 European heat wave is estimated to have been Given the close interplay between natural climate
doubled by the human influence on climate (Stott, variability and man-made climate change, disaster
Stone, and Allen 2004). About half the analyses risk management cannot be separated from climate
of extreme events in 2012 find some evidence that change adaptation.
MAP 3.2 With unmitigated climate change, total days under storms (present in the mid- to high-latitude
drought conditions will increase by more than 20 percent in most regions) may be impacted differently.
regions
For tropical storms, a best guess today is
(Change in the number of days under drought conditions by 2100 under a
high-emissions scenario) that their overall number may decrease, even
as the most intense storms may become more
frequent, especially in the North Atlantic
(IPCC 2013; Knutson et al. 2010; Ranson
et al. 2014). In addition, tropical cyclones
may start affecting new regions that are likely
to be less prepared and more vulnerable
(Hallegatte 2007; Kossin, Emanuel, and
Vecchi 2014). A review of 11 studies con-
cludes that economic losses from tropical
cyclones could increase from 9 to 417 percent
by 2040, depending on the region and the
methodology applied (Bouwer 2013).
For extratropical storms, there is little
agreement on how they will evolve, although
models suggest that their intensity will
increase and their mean trajectory will shift
Source: Prudhomme et al. 2014.
toward higher latitudes (Ranson et al. 2014).
Notes: Drought days are defined as days during which the river runoff is below 10 percent of the A review of seven studies finds that economic
1976–2005 average. Regions in white are those that experience very low runoff today and in the
future.
losses from extratropical cyclones could
increase from 11 to 120 percent by 2040,
depending on region and methodology
(Bouwer 2013). And these studies do not
account for sea level rise, which could make
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 83
extratropical storms even more destructive changes (like land subsidence for coastal risk),
(Hallegatte et al. 2013). socioeconomic changes (like higher popula-
Coastal floods. Climate change will cause tion and wealth in at-risk areas), and disaster
a global rise in sea level, with widespread preparedness. These changes will have large
consequences on coastal risks. This global impacts and are likely to dominate the effect
rise combined with local mechanisms— of climate change on economic losses from
including changes in water currents and natural hazards in the next few decades
local geological dynamics—will increase (Bouwer 2013; Hallegatte et al. 2013;
land loss from erosion, water salinization, Mendelsohn et al. 2012).
and flood risks from storm surges in most
coastal areas (World Bank 2014). Coastal
flood risks are already large, as illustrated Poor people are often—but
by the disastrous consequences of Tropical not always—more exposed to
Cyclone Sidr in Bangladesh in 2007 or the
destruction caused by Hurricane Katrina in
hazards
New Orleans in 2005, and they will only Areas at risk of natural hazards have always
increase over time (box 3.2). Multiple stud- attracted people and investment. Globally,
ies have shown how even a limited rise in there is a trend toward increased risk-taking:
sea level can significantly increase the likeli- from 1970 to 2010, the world population
hood of very destructive coastal floods grew by 87 percent, while the population in
(Jongman, Ward, and Aerts 2012; Wong flood plains increased by 114 percent and in
et al. 2014). cyclone-prone coastlines by 192 percent.
Heavy precipitation and floods. As pre- Further, the GDP exposed to tropical
cipitation changes, so will river runoff—a cyclones increased from 3.6 percent to
development that may have large conse- 4.3 percent of global GDP over the same
quences on flood risk, with increases in some period (UNISDR 2011). The same trends
places and decreases in others. Averages are hold at the country-level (Jongman et al.
weak proxies for changes in risk, as extreme 2014; Pielke et al. 2008).
rainfall or river runoff can rise even in a At-risk areas may be more attractive—in
region where average precipitation and runoff spite of the risk—when they offer economic
fall. Climate change is likely to exacerbate the opportunities, public services or direct ame-
most intense precipitation events (Min et al. nities, and higher productivity and incomes
2011), with serious consequences for urban (Hallegatte 2012a). In some rural areas,
flash floods. Under a high-emissions scenario, proximity to water offers cheaper transport,
the number of exposed people could increase and regular floods increase agricultural pro-
by 4 to 15 percent by 2030 and 12 to 29 per- ductivity (Loayza et al. 2012). People may
cent by 2080, according to a background settle in risky areas to benefit from opportu-
paper for this report (Winsemius et al., forth- nities with industries driven by exports in
coming). Under current vulnerability levels, coastal areas (box 3.2). Agglomeration
the total number of global fatalities may well externalities may attract people to cities,
double between now and 2080, based on the even if cities are more exposed than rural
latest projections of climate change, popula- areas and newcomers have no choice but to
tion, and GDP (Jongman et al. 2015). settle in risky places. In a background paper
Economic losses from river floods could prepared for this report, households in
increase by 7 to 124 percent by 2040, depend- flooded areas in Mumbai, India, report that
ing on the methodology applied and region they are aware of the flood risks but accept
considered (Bouwer 2013). them because of the opportunities offered by
While climate change matters for the future the area (such as access to jobs, schools,
of these hazards, nonclimate factors will also health care facilities, and social networks)
affect future risks. These include physical (Patankar, forthcoming).
8 4 SHOCK WAVES
The world’s 136 largest coastal cities are examples changes—c limate change and land subsidence—
of relatively wealthier places with large flood risks. would make losses soar rapidly if present protec-
A World Bank and Organisation for Economic tion is not upgraded. Even a moderate sea level rise
Co-operation and Development (OECD) study (20 cm) combined with subsidence would make it
(Hallegatte et al. 2013) estimates that average global necessary to invest massively in protection to avoid
flood losses today are about $ 6 billion per year, losses that could otherwise quickly reach levels of
despite existing flood defenses. Even though these more than $1 trillion per year. Existing protection
cities host pockets of deep poverty in slums and can rapidly prove ill-adapted to changing environ-
informal settlements, they are usually wealthier than mental conditions and generate very high risks,
the rest of the country, thanks to a concentration of which are invisible until a disaster happens.
export-led industries and skilled services. But they But even if adaptation investments (like higher dikes
are also hotspots for flood risks, with widely varying and seawalls) keep the probability of coastal floods
protection levels. While cities in rich countries have constant, subsidence and sea level rise could increase
the largest levels of risk in absolute terms, cities in global flood losses by 2050 to $60–63 billion per
developing countries experience higher relative risk year. Further, since more population and assets would
levels (in percentage of local GDP), largely driven depend on protection, the consequences of a dike
by lower protection. As map B3.2.1 shows, the 20 failure or of an event that exceeds protection design
cities with the highest relative risks are almost all would become much higher. While better protection
located in developing countries, especially in South can reduce risk, it also raises the potential for larger-
and Southeast Asia. scale disasters if protections fail or are o
verwhelmed
Current trends in urbanization and economic by an exceptional event—making it essential to
growth alone are expected to increase flood losses develop early warning and evacuation systems, crisis-
in these cities, from $6 billion per year today management preparedness, and reconstruction plans
to $52 billion per year by 2050. Environmental (Hallegatte 2012b; Hallegatte et al. 2013).
MAP B3.2.1 Most cities with the highest relative coastal flood losses are in South and Southeast Asia
(Average annual losses from coastal floods (relative to local GDP) in the 20 riskiest cities in the world)
Source: World Bank (IBRD 41909, September 2015) based on Hallegatte et al. 2013.
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 85
Within a country or region, the attractive- drought hazard data come from a global
ness of risky places means that people living model (GLOFRIS), which produces gridded
there need not be poorer than the rest of indicators of inundation depth (for flood,
the population. For instance, urban dwellers 1 km resolution) and water scarcity (for
are, on average, wealthier than their rural drought, 5 km resolution). For temperature,
countrymen. Since many cities are more we use observed spatial data on the maxi-
exposed to floods than are rural areas, the mum monthly temperature for each grid cell
urban-rural divide may make poorer people (at the 1 km resolution) from the Climatic
less exposed to floods than the wealthier Research Unit of the University of East
urban population. However, at a more local Anglia, which provide gridded estimates of
scale and especially in urban areas, land and temperature extremes from 1960 onward.
housing markets often push poorer people to This state-of-the-art hazard data were
settle in riskier areas. Where markets factor combined with spatially explicit poverty data
in hazard risks, housing is cheaper where risk using a global dataset of household surveys in
is higher. And, because poorer people have 52 countries from the Demographic and
fewer financial resources to spend on housing Health Surveys (DHS). These surveys contain
and a generally lower willingness and ability data on each household’s location and wealth
to pay for safety, they are more likely to live status. By calculating the flood, drought, and
in at-risk areas. temperature indicator at the household level,
The bottom line is that the “opportunity it is possible to examine whether and how
effect” attracts both rich and poor people to this exposure is different for poor and non-
risky areas, even though land markets push poor households. Poor people are defined as
poor people into riskier areas within a city. those in the lowest quintile of the population
Whether poor people are more or less exposed in terms of the “wealth index” provided in
than nonpoor people is an empirical question the surveys, which is a measure of the assets
on which so far there has been little research. that a household owns.
That is why this report explores the differen- Combining hazard and socioeconomic
tial exposure of poor and nonpoor people, data, a poverty exposure bias can be used to
drawing on national studies and local measure whether poor people are more
surveys. exposed to a hazard. For a given area, the
One of our background papers examines poverty exposure bias is the share of poor
poverty-specific exposure to floods and people exposed to a hazard, divided by the
droughts in 52 countries (Winsemius et al., share of the total population exposed, sub-
forthcoming). It provides new insights by tracted by 1. A positive bias means poor peo-
assessing if and where poor people are more ple are more exposed than average; a
exposed, and how this may change with a negative bias implies poor people are less
changing climate. Using the same socioeco- exposed than average. With this definition in
nomic data, another background paper exam- hand we ask whether poor people are more
ines the exposure of poor people to extreme exposed to floods, droughts, and high tem-
temperatures (Park et al., forthcoming). peratures within the 52 countries for which
To understand whether poor people are we have data.
more exposed to floods, droughts, and Floods. For river floods at the country-
extreme temperatures we need “geo- level, we find mixed results as illustrated in
referenced” information (where people live, map 3.3, panels a, b, and c, which show the
their income levels) and hazard maps—which poverty exposure bias for floods with a return
have only recently become available at the period (or 10 percent annual probability of
global level and at high resolution (Ward occurrence) of 10 years (other return periods
et al. 2013 and Winsemius et al. 2013 for show similar results). In Latin America and the
floods; Prudhomme et al. 2014 and Schewe Caribbean and Asia, no pattern emerges: some
et al. 2014 for drought). Our flood and countries exhibit a positive bias (poor people
8 6 SHOCK WAVES
MAP 3.3 Poor people are more exposed to river floods in many countries, especially in urban areas
(Poverty exposure bias for floods at national level (top) and in urban areas only (bottom))
Source: World Bank (IBRD 41905 and 41902, September 2015) based on Winsemius et al., forthcoming.
Note: Exposure was calculated for the 10-year return period (results are similar for other return period events for floods).
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 87
In July 2005, Mumbai experienced an unprecedented almost completely absent from at-risk areas. Second,
flood, causing 500 fatalities and direct economic more households overall are likely to be exposed
damages of $2 billion (Ranger et al. 2011). The flood to flood risks under the clim ate change scenario.
took a toll on low-income and marginalized people— Third, the distribution of expos ure across poor
with their losses estimated at about $245 million, and nonpoor people is similar for both scenarios:
of which almost $235 million came from household additional exposure (of climate change) has the same
asset losses and the rest from informal business losses distribution as current exposure.
(Hallegatte et al. 2010). While these impacts are large
in and of themselves, they are likely an underesti-
mate. Actual impacts on marginalized populations, MAP B3.3.1 Mumbai’s poor are over-represented in
especially health impacts and out-of-pocket expendi- the Mithi River Basin flood zone
tures, were probably much larger.
Are Mumbai’s poor people more exposed than
nonpoor people to current and future floods? To
answer these questions we explore the exposure of
poor and nonpoor people to similar floods in the
Mithi River Basin flood zone, drawing on a city-level
household survey (containing each household’s loca-
tion and income) and two flood maps (one based on
today’s climate and the other based on the climate
projected in a high-emissions scenario by 2080), as
illustrated in map B3.3.1.
T hree results stand out. First, under both
scenarios, households in lower-income levels are
disproportionately exposed, with 75 percent of those
Note: Dots represent households (with associated monthly income in Indian
exposed reporting a monthly income of 7,500 rupees rupees), overlaid with flood extent (blue is historical; purple is climate change
or less (table B3.3.1)—and the richest households impacts for 2080).
Household income Share of population Share of population exposed Share exposed with 2080
Rs./month in survey (%) in 2005 (%) climate (%)
< 5,000 27 44 43
5,000–7,500 28 33 34
7,501–10,000 22 16 17
10,001–15,000 12 5 5
15,001–20,000 6 1 1
> 20,000 6 1 1
Source: Calculations based on Baker et al. 2005 and Ranger et al. 2011. Thanks to Risk Management Solutions for production of flood maps. Household
income shown in Rs. (rupees). The share of population exposed in 2005 and 2080 is based on modeling exercises.
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 89
poverty exposure bias is more evident: most important mechanisms and small-scale dif-
people (85 percent of the analyzed popula- ferences, from one block to the next.
tion) live in places with an overexposure of Another way to examine whether poor peo-
poor people to droughts. ple are more exposed to natural hazards is
Temperatures. We find that poor people through in-depth case studies of actual past
are often more exposed to higher tempera- events, analyzing household survey data.
tures: 37 out of 52 countries (representing While many studies of disaster impacts are
56 percent of the population) exhibit a posi- available, only a few look at the exposure of
tive bias (map 3.5). In Africa, most countries poor and nonpoor people separately. We
have a positive poverty exposure bias, with provide the first systematic review of their
regional patterns similar to those found for findings.
floods and droughts, with the positive bias At the local scale, poor people seem much
particularly strong in western Africa (Benin, more likely to be affected by natural hazards.
Cameroon, and Nigeria) and southern Africa In Bangladesh, after Cyclone Aila hit in
(Angola, Namibia, and Zambia). In Asia, the 2009, a postdisaster survey of 12 villages on
results for temperature are regionally consis- the southwest coast finds that 25 percent of
tent, with most countries exhibiting zero or poor households in these villages were
negative bias; in Central America, results are exposed to the cyclone while only 14 percent
again sporadic. of nonpoor households were (Akter and
Also worrying is that many of the 37 Mallick 2013). In Vietnam, a similar pattern
countries that exhibit a poverty exposure emerges for the Mekong Delta: 38 percent of
bias for temperature are already hot. If we the region’s poor but only 29 percent of the
plot the poverty exposure bias against a region’s nonpoor live in frequently flooded
country’s average annual temperature from areas (Nguyen 2011).
1961 to 1999 (to represent average climate), However, this pattern is not universal.
we find that hotter countries have a higher A postdisaster survey after the 1998 Great
exposure bias (figure 3.1, panel a). At the Flood in Bangladesh finds similar exposure:
same time, cooler countries exhibit a smaller 75 percent of poor people and 71 percent of
bias, and in some cool countries, a negative nonpoor people were affected (del Ninno
bias. This occurs because, in these cool coun- et al. 2001). After the 2011 floods in Kenya,
tries, nonpoor people tend to settle in areas almost everyone in the Bunyala District was
with higher temperatures because they are affected (Opondo 2013). In the Middle East
climatically more desirable. and North Africa, a study of five countries
The results for temperature suggest a sort- finds that the percentage of households
ing of the population into desirable and less- reporting being affected by a disaster in the
desirable areas within a country, with last five years is high at 90 percent, but does
wealthier households typically living in not vary based on poverty status (Wodon et
desirable areas and poorer households al. 2014). And in at least one documented
in less-desirable ones. This is investigated in case, poor people were less exposed: after
Nigeria, one of the hottest countries in our Hurricane Mitch struck Honduras in 1998,
sample. We run a regression to estimate a more than 50 percent of nonpoor households
household’s wealth index conditional on the were affected, but only 22 percent of poor
hottest monthly temperature a household households were (Carter et al. 2007).
experiences. Including socioeconomic and Our conclusion is that most studies
climatic controls, we find a clear signal find that poor people are more exposed
that poorer households within Nigeria (f igure 3.2). However, the relationship
tend to live in hotter (less desirable) areas between poverty and disaster exposure is con-
(figure 3.1, panel b). text specific and depends on the type of haz-
One problem with studies of exposure at ard, local geography, institutions, and other
the national scale is that they may miss mechanisms.
9 0 SHOCK WAVES
MAP 3.4 Sub-Saharan Africa’s and Asia’s poor tend to be more exposed to droughts than the nonpoor
(Poverty exposure bias for droughts at national level)
Source: World Bank (IBRD 41906, September 2015) based on Winsemius et al., forthcoming.
Note: Exposure was calculated for the 100-year return period (results similar for other return period events for droughts).
MAP 3.5 Poor people in most countries are more exposed to higher temperatures than nonpoor people
Source: World Bank (IBRD 41907, September 2015) based on Park et al., forthcoming.
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 91
FIGURE 3.1 Poor people in hotter countries—like Nigeria—live in reconstructing their homes (Patankar and
hotter areas, but in cooler countries, less so Patwardhan, forthcoming). A survey of 1,168
households shows that, while nonpoor people
a. Poor people in hotter countries live in had higher absolute losses, poor people lost
hotter areas, but in cooler countries less so more as a percentage of income, across all
three loss categories (table 3.1). When com-
1.5 bining income, asset, and repairs, the total
Poverty exposure bias for temperature
60
Poor people hold more vulnerable and
lower-quality assets
50
The typical asset portfolio of a poor and a
nonpoor person are very different. Poor
40 people tend to have less diversified portfo-
lios: they hold a larger percentage of their
30 assets in material form and save “in kind.”
The first “savings” of poor urban dwellers
28 30 32 34
are often through investments in their
Hottest month temperature experienced by household (°C) home, which are very vulnerable to floods
(Moser 2007), while many rural poor use
Source: Park et al. forthcoming; World Bank 2015b. livestock as savings in spite of their vulner-
Note: Panel a plots country-level poverty exposure bias for temperatures against each
country’s current climate. Panel b plots household-level wealth and temperature within a coun- ability to droughts (Nkedianye et al. 2011).
try—Nigeria. Nonpoor people, with higher financial
access, are able to spatially diversify and
save in financial institutions, and their sav-
the poor compared to 11 percent for the ings are thus better protected from natural
nonpoor. hazards.
In Mumbai, the 2005 floods not only In addition, the quality of assets owned by
caused direct losses to households’ assets but poor people is lower. Take for instance hous-
also meant that the inhabitants lost income ing stock. Households living in slums or
and spent large amounts on repairing or informal settlements made out of wood,
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 93
bamboo, and mud on steep slopes will suffer FIGURE 3.2 When disasters hit in the past, poor people were more
more damage compared to individuals in likely to be affected
(Percentage of poor and nonpoor people affected by a disaster)
housing made out of stone or brick. In coastal
communities in southwest Bangladesh, fol- Exposure
lowing Cyclone Aila, 76 percent of house-
holds in “kacha” houses (traditional homes
lad 1
at 2
Gu a
na
Ho iti
as
rth as a
r d
l
gu or
Vi a
m
ba
n S pa
al
No e E ny
alp
Af t an
ng sh,
Gu sh,
injury—on average, 0.28 people per kacha
Ha
na
Te lvad
ur
M ica
ya
em
um
Sa Ne
dl e
nd
cig
et
Ba ade
a
house were injured or killed from the cyclone,
l
ng
Ba
id
compared to 0.13 per pucca house.
M
Poor Nonpoor
Source: Based on del Ninno et al. 2001 for Bangladesh (1) and Akter and Mallick 2013 for Bangladesh
Poor people depend on fragile (2); Tesliuc and Lindert 2003 for Guatemala; Pelling 1997 for Guyana; Fuchs 2014 for Haiti; Carter et
infrastructure and are not well al. 2007 for Honduras; Opondo 2013 for Kenya; Wodon et al. 2014 for MENA; Baker et al. 2005 and
Ranger et al. 2011 for Mumbai; Gentle et al. 2014 for Nepal; Fay 2005 for San Salvador and Teguci-
protected galpa; and Nguyen 2011 for Vietnam.
Note: Each study has a different definition of “poor” and “nonpoor” people; further, exposure differs
Besides private income and asset losses, based on the type of hazard and context in which it occurs.
,2
,3
i
ba
ra
sh
sh
sh
um
nd
e
ad
ad
ad
M
Ho
l
l
ng
ng
ng
Ba
Ba
TABLE 3.1 Poor people in Mumbai suffered higher relative losses from the 2005 floods
450,000 15 143,000 3 7 21 32
Source: World Bank calculation based on Patankar and Patwardhan, forthcoming. Around the time of the flood, 50 Rupees was equivalent to about US$1.
Numbers rounded for clarity.
sometimes spend a lot of time and effort lob- Chapter 2 discussed the fact that poor peo-
bying local authorities to invest in their com- ple, especially in rural areas without func-
munities to provide basic infrastructure tioning markets, are highly dependent on
(such as roads, piped water, and sanitation) agricultural income and ecosystems, and are
(Moser 2007, 85). Nevertheless, households therefore vulnerable to the impacts of cli-
with little social capital will be unable to mate change on yields and ecosystems’
“invest” in public goods and improve their health and functioning. Here we focus on
quality of life. how this dependency translates into a higher
In Mumbai, impacts from a lack of vulnerability to natural hazards.
appropriate infrastructure can be pervasive Large-scale events can wreak havoc on
(Patankar, forthcoming) (box 3.4). Many natural capital. In 2008, Cyclone Nargis hit
low-lying and reclaimed areas across the southwest Myanmar, killing an estimated
city get flooded, especially when heavy rains 140,000 people, and recovery is still far from
combine with high tide or storm surges, complete (World Bank 2015c). A major rea-
with the added difficulties due to unsanitary son is the damage to embankments and
methods of solid waste and sewage disposal streams from the cyclone, which resulted in a
and problems with the drainage systems. reinforcing chain of events for affected farm-
After flooding, more than 75 percent of sur- ers. Erosion and destroyed embankments
veyed households report electrical disrup- made fields more prone to flooding. Further,
tions, a lack of local transport and clean the duration of daily and monthly tides
drinking water, and sewage and garbage in became longer after Nargis, making fields
their homes—all of which magnified the more saline and prone to pest infestation.
impacts of floods (Patankar and Without funds for repair, affected farming
Patwardhan, forthcoming). Although many villages became more prone to these external
people were affected, poor people were the events—flooding, saline intrusion, and pest
ones with fewer options to cope with infra- infestation. As a result, yields decreased, as
structure damage. did income. Households have attempted to
borrow money but this has led only to more
indebtedness.
Many poor people depend on
Furthermore, natural capital often serves
agricultural and ecosystem incomes
as a safety net after a disaster, when not
that are particularly vulnerable to
depleted (Barbier 2010). In Bangladesh after
hazards
Cyclone Aila hit in 2009, households living
Another source of vulnerability is the reli- closest to the coast, while more exposed and
ance on agricultural and ecosystem incomes. vulnerable to the storm (and poorer), had a
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 95
BOX 3.4 Hidden costs of recurrent hazards for poor people in Mumbai and Ho
Chi Minh City
Large-scale events make the news, but repeated small One implication is that households lose workdays:
adverse events such as regular floods often have seri- on average 2.5 per year because of poor infra-
ous implications for poor people, affecting their live- structure (more than 50 percent cite unavailabil-
lihoods and their ability to accumulate assets. To get ity of transport or flooded roads)—implying a loss
a better sense of the “hidden costs” of such events, of income and productivity and sometimes jobs.
take the following two cases. Second, almost 40 percent of households report
Recurrent floods in Mumbai. Mumbai is prone someone in the family experienced health impacts
to recurrent floods during the monsoon season, with from diarrhea yearly due to floods, with this fig-
significant impacts on poor people (see a background ure rising to 64 percent for malaria and 86 percent
paper for this report, Patankar, forthcoming). Based for viral fever. Between 2001 and 2011, the num-
on the experience of recurrent floods, the authori- ber of reported cases of malaria has increased by
ties have identified 40 chronic flood spots (low-lying 217 p ercent, mainly due to lack of sanitation in
areas) and 200 localized flood spots (where water- slums and water accumulation during the monsoon
logging is due to inadequate drainage and poor land season (Public Health Department 2015).
use planning). When we combined this spatial data Recurrent floods in Ho Chi Minh City. A survey
with land use maps (Planning Department 2015), we of three flood-prone districts in Ho Chi Minh City
found that land use in the flood-prone wards sug- finds health impacts to be pervasive (World Bank
gests an unplanned mix of residential, commercial, and Australian AID 2014). Regular floods in a heav-
and industrial activities coexisting without clear ily polluted environment have led to many a ilments—
zoning. As a result, recurrent floods expose a large including skin and intestinal diseases, rheumatism,
number of residents, including those in the many bronchitis, and chronic coughing, especially among
low-income slum settlements, who report floodwa- children under five. Every year, more than two-
ters entering their houses many times during the thirds report that they are suffering from health
monsoon season. issues, with more than half suffering from a water-
A survey of 200 households yields two key borne (55 percent) or respiratory disease (52 percent)
insights. First, households regularly report prob- directly related to local flood conditions. These
lems with transport, drinking water, power supply, impacts also take a significant toll on employment
and food and fuel availability because of the floods. and income, especially for poor people (table B3.4.1).
TABLE B3.4.1 The health of Ho Chi Minh City’s poor is especially vulnerable to flood impacts
Source: Based on World Bank and Australian Agency for International Development 2014.
more resilient income because the proximity paper for this report (Noack et al., forthcom-
to mangrove reserves offered higher income- ing), climate change impacts on these ecosys-
generation opportunities than for inland tems may impair their ability to serve as a
inhabitants (Akter and Mallick 2013). As safety net and to smooth consumption in the
stressed in chapter 2 and in a background face of shocks.
9 6 SHOCK WAVES
Poor people are more vulnerable to agricultural land, decimating production and
rising food prices after a disaster sending prices of wheat upward of 50 percent
above the preflood level.
Another point that was made in chapter 2 is
How does poverty fit into the picture? In
that poor people in developing countries
Bangladesh, after the 1998 Great Flood, a
spend on average between 40 and 60 percent
study shows that consumption levels differed
of their household budget on food—far more
based on exposure and poverty status (del
than the 25 percent spent by nonpoor peo-
Ninno et al. 2001). There was no difference
ple. This makes them more vulnerable than
in calorie consumption between exposed and
the rest of the population to increases in
nonexposed households in the top quintile,
food prices (although net food producers
but in the bottom quintile the difference was
could gain, if they can maintain their pro-
11 percent. For those exposed, bottom-
duction level). Here, we show that this vul-
quintile households on average consumed
nerability matters in postdisaster situations.
1,400 calories per capita, and 80 percent fell
After tropical Storm Agatha struck
below the minimum daily caloric require-
Guatemala in 2010, per capita consumption
ment of 1,800; however, the average calories
fell 13 percent, raising poverty by 18 percent;
consumed for exposed top-quintile house-
in particular, food expenditures fell
holds remained above 3,000. In addition,
10 percent, accounting for 40 percent of the
two-thirds of bottom-quintile households
total consumption drop (Baez et al. 2014).
spent more than 70 percent of their budget
This stemmed from a major loss in food infra-
on food. As a result, 48 percent of the house-
structure and transport, resulting in a
holds in the poorest quintile were deemed
17 percent increase in food prices 10 months
food insecure after the flood, compared to
after the storm. Agatha thus caused a logisti-
an average of 16 percent across all quintiles
cal problem rather than a decline in domestic
(table 3.2).
production, since it occurred in the middle of
the first planting season, at a benign time with
respect to local agricultural cycles.
Children are particularly vulnerable to
Natural disasters can also result in food
indirect impacts through health and
price spikes as a result of supply shocks.
education
Disasters can destroy crops and seed reserves,
destroying productive assets in agricultural Building human capital through better health
communities and sparking food price shocks, and education is a vital component of escap-
as occurred after the unprecedented 2010 ing poverty, but natural disasters can worsen
floods in Pakistan (Cheema et al. 2015). The health and education outcomes, especially
floods destroyed 2.1 million hectares of for children (chapter 1).
TABLE 3.2 Bangladesh’s poor became food-insecure after the 1998 Great Flood
(Percentage of affected households reporting food security impacts by expenditure quintile)
Quintiles
Poorest Q2 Q3 Q4 Richest All
Spending more than 70% on food 66 59 66 51 0.4 49
There are acute health effects on children could improve the resilience of poor people.
from the direct impact of disasters and lower The benefits of these actions could be signifi-
postdisaster consumption, especially after cant, even without man-made climate
droughts. In Ho Chi Minh City, in the Thanh change. An increase in the frequency or
Xuan Ward of District 12, a majority of intensity of natural hazards due to climate
children experience fevers, coughing, and change would make these benefits even
flu during a high-tide period (World Bank larger, provided that policies and measures
and Australian AID 2014; and box 3.4). are designed to account for climate change
Following weather shocks in Sub-Saharan and the uncertainty it creates.
Africa, asset-poor households provide chil-
dren with lower-quality nutrition and are less
Risk-sensitive land use regulations:
likely to take sick children for medical
Critical but challenging to implement
consultations, with long-term impacts on
child development and prospects (Alderman, A major reason why poor people often live
Hoddinott, and Kinsey 2006; Dercon in riskier areas is cheaper housing. In Ho Chi
and Porter 2014; Jensen 2000; Yamano, Minh City, qualitative surveys suggest
Alderman, and Christiaensen 2005). flooded areas can be much cheaper than
Impacts on education are also prevalent. In nonflooded areas for the same quality of
Africa, children affected by droughts are less accommodation (World Bank and Australian
likely to complete primary school (Alderman, AID 2014). In addition, recent experience of
Hoddinott, and Kinsey 2006; Dercon and a flood can reduce housing prices by around
Porter 2014), and similar impacts have been 9 percent (Husby and Hofkes 2015).1
found in Asia, Latin America, and elsewhere In developing countries with informal mar-
(Baez, de la Fuente, and Santos 2010; Maccini kets, land scarcity can be particularly acute
and Yang 2009). and land markets function poorly (Durand-
Moreover, women are particularly vul- Lasserve, Selod, and Durand-Lasserve 2013).
nerable as they often take greater responsi- In these places, it may not be the prices that
bility for household chores, increasing their push poor people into risky places, but simply
hardships during floods. This is in addition the availability of land with appropriate
to time taken off work (sometimes for a cou- access to jobs and services. Informal settle-
ple of months) to care for children who ments are often located in hazard-prone loca-
become sick because of living in flood condi- tions, such as on hill slopes, close to
tions, which can be especially punitive for riverbanks, or near open drains and sewers,
factory workers. Women also spend more as in Pune, Dhaka, Caracas, Rio de Janeiro,
time at home to clean after a flood, making and Mumbai (Lall and Deichmann 2012;
them more likely to contract waterborne Lall, Lundberg, and Shalizi 2008; World
diseases. Bank 2007).
Land use regulations can help by ensuring
that new development occurs in places that
The reasons why poor people are safe or easy and cheap to protect. They
are more at risk point to possible can also avoid unchecked urban development
that leaves too little porous green space and
policy solutions further increases runoff and flood risk (Lall
So, if poor people are disproportionately and Deichmann 2012). But doing so remains
affected by disasters—and here the evidence challenging for a number of reasons.
is compelling—what can be done to make First, countries need appropriate data on
them less exposed or vulnerable? This sec- risk and hazard to identify places that are too
tion builds on the insights of the previous risky to develop, or where development is
one to identify six examples of policies that possible provided that buildings and
9 8 SHOCK WAVES
infrastructure are built following strict rules. are the considerably cheaper rents in risky
Unfortunately, access to risk information still areas and proximity to work (usually in facto-
varies greatly and is quite limited in low- ries) for late return at night. Thus, to be effec-
income environments. To address this issue, tive, flood zoning should be accompanied by
the World Bank and the Global Facility for investment in transport infrastructure to
Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) make it possible for people to settle in safe
are investing in risk information. The places while maintaining access to the same
GFDRR’s Open Data for Resilience Initiative (or comparable) jobs and services.
supports the creation of GeoNode, a web- Fourth, countries need to remember that
based open source platform that makes it land use regulations can have unintended
easier to develop, share, manage, and publish consequences, particularly for poor people.
geospatial data (www.geonode.org). Such ini- Restrictive flood zoning policies can increase
tiatives can make a difference locally, by mak- housing costs, making it more difficult for
ing risk information freely available not only rural poor people to move to cities and cap-
to professionals but also to the public. ture the opportunities of an urban life (like
Second, countries need strong institutions better-paying jobs and better health care and
that can ensure that land use plans are actu- education). Restrictive policies can also
ally enforced. In most of the world today, worsen risks. In Mumbai, because of strict
risk-sensitive land use plans face strong politi- regulations, buildings have been held to
cal economy obstacles, and are only rarely between a fifth and a tenth of the number of
enforced (World Bank 2013, chapter 2). One floors allowed in other major cities (Lall and
of the main obstacles is the asymmetry Deichmann 2012). The resulting low-rise
between the costs and benefits of risk-sensitive topography contributes to land scarcity,
land use planning. The costs of flood zoning higher housing prices, and slum formation,
are immediate, visible, and concentrated, in including in flood zones.
the form of reduced land values for landown-
ers and higher housing costs for tenants
More resilient infrastructure and
(Viguie and Hallegatte 2012). In contrast, the
protection systems that serve poor
benefits occur through avoided losses—which
people
nobody can see—sometimes in the future, and
go to unknown people. In such a context, the Poor people suffer from frequent disasters
opponents to flood zoning are usually vocal because they lack the type of protective
and well organized while beneficiaries are infrastructure that is common in wealthier
absent, making the policies difficult to pass countries. As described in box 3.2, lower
and enforce. protection levels are the main reason why
Third, countries need to design land use flood risks are higher in relative terms in
plans in a way that accounts for the reasons poor than in rich coastal cities (Hallegatte
why people decide to live in risky places— et al. 2013). And the difference is even more
primarily, access to jobs and services. obvious within cities: for instance, poor
When asked what it would take to consider households are often exposed to recurrent
relocating to a safer, less flood-prone area, floods because of the lack of infrastructure,
44 percent of households in Mumbai cited or its poor condition, especially drainage
transport, along with the availability of health systems (box 3.4). Solving this problem
services, schools, and social networks requires investing more and investing
(Patankar, forthcoming). In Ho Chi Minh better.
City, local and migrant households do not Investing more. Governments in both
have any plans to move despite high flood developed and developing countries already
risk and health impacts (World Bank and struggle to finance infrastructure. Millions of
Australian AID 2014). The reasons, accord- people in developing countries still lack access
ing to most of the 246 survey respondents, to safe water, improved sanitation, electricity,
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 99
and transport. Even disregarding climate con- The challenge of addressing the long-term
cerns, developing countries need substantially risks from climate change in development
more infrastructure to grow and address pov- projects is multifaceted. First, there is high
erty, inequality, and unemployment uncertainty as to how global climate change
concerns. will translate into local changes in environ-
Little data exist on how much is being mental conditions, especially for extreme
spent on infrastructure, but the World Bank events. Second, climate change is often an
Group estimates that at least $1 trillion per exacerbating factor of other development
year would be needed in developing countries stressors (such as poverty, urbanization,
to close the infrastructure gap, with about water degradation, increasing population,
$100 billion for Africa alone. resource use, and existing natural hazards).
This lack of infrastructure is an obvious Third, if investment in disaster risk reduction
multiplier of natural hazard consequences, or climate adaptation is designed to maximize
and one that could be closed through economic returns, it will be concentrated
increased investments. But infrastructure toward areas with highest asset values—that
does not attract enough capital, especially in is, toward wealthier groups (Füssel 2012;
developing countries: long-term, largely illiq- Tschakert, forthcoming).
uid investments are not perceived as attrac- Fortunately, there are innovative ways to
tive destinations for global capital. Many manage the long-term, uncertain risks of cli-
countries are simply too poor to generate mate. These approaches seek to identify
domestically the needed pool of savings. robust decisions (those that satisfy decision
Many others lack local capital markets that makers’ multiple objectives in many plausible
are sufficiently developed to transform local futures and over multiple time frames) rather
liquidity into the patient capital that is needed than being optimal in any single best estimate
for longer-term investments. Further, public of the future (Bonzanigo and Kalra 2014;
spending is limited by a low tax base (10–20 Kalra et al. 2014; Lempert et al. 2013).
percent of GDP in many countries) and low Decision making under uncertainty starts
debt ceilings. with the options available—from infrastruc-
Recommendations typically include lever- ture to early warning systems—and does not
aging private resources to make the most of attempt to predict the most likely future(s).
available capital, which involves well-known The performance of each option is then tested
steps like improving the investment climate against many different possible future condi-
(making sure regulations are clear and pre- tions to identify its vulnerabilities. Those
dictable and the rule of law and property future conditions include climate, political,
rights are enforced), developing local capital and socioeconomic risks.
markets, and providing a pipeline of “bank- At that point, it becomes possible to evalu-
able” projects (Fay et al. 2015). Official ate the trade-offs among the different options
development assistance (ODA) can play a (using different measures of success, like eco-
catalytic role in mobilizing additional nomic return, number of people benefiting,
resources, but it is constrained by donors’ fis- whether poor or nonpoor people are the main
cal constraints and remains limited relative to beneficiaries) and to identify policies that
overall needs—at its highest around 2011, it reduce the vulnerability of future investments.
reached about $90 billion. Often, these methods favor soft and flexible
Investing better. New and additional options over hard ones—including monitor-
investments will reduce the long-term vulner- ing systems to make sure risks are systemati-
ability of the population—and especially the cally assessed throughout the life of the
poorest—only if new infrastructure is project, so that solutions can be adjusted over
designed so that it can absorb climate change time. They also encourage decision makers to
and remain efficient in spite of changes in cli- look beyond within-sector interventions, and
mate and environmental conditions. combine prevention and reactive actions
1 0 0 SHOCK WAVES
BOX 3.5 In an uncertain future, developing into the wetlands of Colombo is dangerous
Colombo faces recurrent floods that largely affect The analysis determined that, if all urban wet-
low-income populations and threaten the city’s long- lands across the Colombo catchment were lost, in
term development. Its urban wetlands have been some scenarios the metropolitan area would have
identified by local agencies as a critical component to cope with annual average flood losses of about
of its flood protection, but wetlands have declined 1 percent of Colombo’s GDP in the near future, with
rapidly in recent years because of continuous infill- significant impacts on the poorest populations—a
ing, unmanaged development, and land dredging for level of risk considered unacceptable by local deci-
lakes. In collaboration with government agencies, sion makers and stakeholders.
NGOs, and local universities, a World Bank analysis For long-term strategies, trade-offs between
was conducted to examine the value of Colombo’s urban development, lake creation, and wetland con-
urban wetlands in the short term and long term servation were weighed, with active management of
and to identify the most viable strategies available urban wetlands emerging as the lowest regret option.
to increase the city’s flood resilience in an uncertain The analysis also found that, faced with c limate
future (in terms of climate change, urban develop- change and fast urban development, wetlands would
ment patterns, and the resilience of poor communi- not be sufficient to protect Colombo against severe
ties). This involved the use of numerous hydrological floods. This means that proactive urban planning
and socioeconomic scenarios as well as the evalua- and land use management are essential to protect
tion of some wetlands benefits (such as ecosystem existing wetlands, provide incentives for vulnerable
services for the populations who fish in the wetlands, populations to move to safe areas, and reduce future
wastewater treatment, or recreational services). exposure of people and assets.
within a consistent strategy. Projects follow- the communities they serve more resilient to
ing these methodologies that are being piloted natural hazards, with a strong focus on the
by the World Bank include water supply in enforcement of building norms. It supports a
Lima, flood risk management in Ho Chi Minh safety diagnostic of schools in Lima, Peru,
City and Colombo (box 3.5), hydropower and provides technical assistance in
investment in Nepal, and road network resil- Mozambique to optimize the delivery of
ience in Peru and across Africa. resilient schools at the local level—targeting
Finally, better-designed infrastructure and both government and community construc-
public investment will translate into reduced tion. Similar actions exist in other sectors.
vulnerability only if infrastructure designs are For example, the World Health Organization,
respected during the construction phase. the International Strategy for Disaster
Studies show that most of the deaths after Reduction, and the World Bank partnered in
earthquakes occur in countries with a high 2008 in the “Safe Hospitals” initiative to
level of public sector corruption, where build- help health facilities withstand natural
ing norms are not enforced, and where public shocks.
buildings are often not built according to the
designed standards (Ambraseys and Bilhan
Improved property rights to incentivize
2011; Escaleras, Anbarci, and Register 2007).
resilience investments
The same is likely true for climate-related
disasters such as floods and storms, although One reason why poor people lose a larger
data are not available. share of their assets and income is that they
The Global Program for Safer Schools, live in buildings with low resistance to natu-
created by the World Bank and the GFDRR, ral hazards. In Latin America, a 1993 inven-
aims at making school facilities and tory found 37 percent of its housing stock
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 101
TABLE 3.3 Mumbai’s poor spend a lot to regularly repair their dwelling
(Share of households undertaking recurrent measures to protect against flooding, by income group)
provided inadequate protection against with low levels of household income, is the
disaster and illness (Fay 2005). Since then, main reason for underinvestment in housing
rising trends in urbanization, settlements in infrastructure, according to a survey of two
risky areas, and the low quality of those set- informal settlements without tenure security
tlements have likely increased this share (Lall (van Gelder 2010). In contrast, in Tanzania,
and Deichmann 2012). as figure 3.4 shows, households with home
In Mumbai, both poor and nonpoor ownership (and especially those holding
households undertake short-term and recur- some form of documentation) invest signifi-
rent measures to reduce the intensity of cantly more in their dwelling (Rentschler
flooding in their premises (Patankar, forth- 2013).
coming). This includes cleaning surround- The lesson here is that better tenure secu-
ings and gutters choked with garbage, rity encourages investment in housing, includ-
repairing leaking roofs, overhauling vehi- ing risk reduction. In Peru, starting in 1996,
cles, and house repairs. But the difference the government issued property titles to over
between poor and nonpoor is visible in the 1.2 million urban households, which at the
type of action undertaken (table 3.3). Poor time was the largest titling program targeted
people undertake repairs for roofs and at urban squatters in low-income countries.
houses in larger numbers than the nonpoor, A study on the impact of this program on
because their houses are made of more vul- housing renovations found that households in
nerable material. Such repairs have to be program neighborhoods invested significantly
undertaken annually, are financed without more than those in nonprogram ones (Field
much support from the government, and 2007). In addition to better housing, access to
end up being more costly than building high- services (water) rose, and crowding was
quality roofs in the first place. These reduced as households enlarged their homes
expenses place another financial burden on and increased the number of rooms—thereby
poor households. stimulating the rental market (Mosqueira
The lack of clear and effectively enforced 2003).
land and property rights discourages poor
households from making more robust and
Efficient and sustainable
durable—but also costlier—investments.
air-conditioning to reduce vulnerability
Facing the permanent risk of eviction, they
to extreme heat
are unlikely to invest in the physical resilience
of their homes (like retrofitting to strengthen In May 2015, a major heat wave swept across
homes against disasters) (Rentschler 2013). India, with temperatures hitting highs of
In Buenos Aires, the fear of eviction, along 118°F (48°C) in some parts. Official statistics
1 0 2 SHOCK WAVES
FIGURE 3.4 Home ownership in Tanzania encourages home likely to die compared to people with access
investment to air-conditioning (Semenza et al. 1996). In
(Average annual expenditure on repairs and improvement of dwelling by ownership
fact, the strongest protective factor found was
category)
air-conditioning: more than 50 percent of the
200,000
deaths related to the heat wave could have been
prevented if each home had a working air con-
ditioner. And a meta-analysis of heat wave
Tanzania shilling (T Sh)
150,000
studies finds working home air-conditioning
reduces the odds of death by 23 to 34 percent
100,000
(Bouchama et al. 2007).
Thus, access to air-conditioning, which
50,000 implies reliable electricity production and dis-
tribution, could be a critical tool to reduce
0 health impacts from heat waves—but only if
Owner occupied- Owner occupied- Rented
Some form of No documentation it reaches the most vulnerable segments of
documentation of of ownership the population. In France, programs like the
ownership National Heat Wave Plan set up after the
Repairs Improvements 2003 heat wave are designed to provide air-
conditioning shelters in community centers
Source: Rentschler 2013. and in senior citizen homes to reach these
Note: Based on household survey data (Living Standards Measurement Surveys). US$1 is equal to
about 20,000 T Sh. populations. For those working outdoors, air-
conditioning is unlikely to help much. Thus,
adaptations such as flexible work hours (like
reported more than 1,100 deaths (Al Jazeera not working during direct sunlight) and
2015). Elderly people, as in most heat waves, shorter shifts may become necessary in more
were among the most vulnerable, along places.
with low-income workers, employed out- One caveat is that increasing air-conditioning
doors, in jobs from rubbish collection to is likely to have a significant environmental
farming and construction. In the state of cost. First, air-conditioning in buildings
Andhra Pradesh, which experienced the increases street temperatures, increasing the
greatest impacts from the heat wave, a potential impact on homeless persons or those
majority of the 900 reported victims were working outside. Second, air-conditioning
elderly or low-income workers (Al Jazeera consumes energy: stabilizing climate change
2015; Vice News 2015). Homeless people, will thus require that air-conditioning equip-
who are unable to find shelter, are also ment be extremely efficient and electricity low
among the most vulnerable: according to a carbon (zero carbon in the longer term).
Delhi-based nongovernmental organization A recent study for Mexico tried to quantify
(NGO), of the 186 people who died in the the potential climate impacts from air-
capital, 80 percent were homeless (Vice conditioning, drawing on household-level
News 2015). But these figures may underes- data (Davis and Gertler 2015). It finds that on
timate the death toll, since reliable statistics hot days there is a large increase in electricity
are difficult to find (The Economist 2015). consumption: above temperatures of 21°C,
In Chicago, a lack of air-conditioning was a usage increases nonlinearly; and, for every
critical risk factor for death after the 1995 heat additional day above 32°C, usage rises by
wave, which resulted in over 700 deaths, con- 3.2 percent.
centrated among the poor and elderly The negative impacts of air-conditioning
populations (Whitman et al. 1997). People who can be mitigated by additional measures. For
did not have a working air conditioner, access instance, urban planning, improved housing
to an air-conditioned lobby, or visited an air- quality, highly reflective materials for roads
conditioned place were 20–30 percent more and buildings, and irrigated parks can
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 103
minimize heat waves and reduce energy FIGURE 3.5 Poorer people lack sufficient access to financial
demand for air-conditioning (Chapman et al. instruments
(Fraction of poor and nonpoor people with savings at a financial institution)
2009; Masson et al. 2013 and 2014).
80
Improved financial inclusion and 70
Over the past 15–20 years, the situation of many hydromet agencies were more developed. And the
hydrometeorological services in developing coun- ability to monitor local climate and increases in nat-
tries has worsened, primarily because of underfund- ural risk has eroded, making developing countries
ing, low visibility, economic reforms, and in some less able to anticipate and adapt to climate change.
instances military conflict. As a result, many hydro- Globally, more than 100 countries—over half
meteorological services do not function well, with of which are in Africa—need to modernize their
some lacking the capacity to provide even a basic hydrometeorological services. How much will
level of service. Observation networks have deterio- modernization cost? A conservative estimate of high-
rated, technology is outdated, modern equipment priority investment needs in developing countries
and forecasting methods are lacking, the quality exceeds $1.5–$2.0 billion. In addition, a minimum
of services is poor, support for research and devel- of $400 –500 million per year will be needed to
opment is insufficient, and the workforce has been support operations of the modernized systems
eroded. (staff costs plus operating and maintenance costs).
In Central Asia, for example, observation systems National governments should cover these recurrent
deteriorated dramatically after 1985. In the Kyrgyz costs, but few are ready to do so. Moreover, the
Republic, the number of meteorological stations has amount of international support for the national
been cut by 62 percent, and in Tajikistan the num- hydrometeorological services is significantly below
ber of hydrological stations and posts has been cut what is needed just for the high-priority items.
by 41 percent. In both of these countries and Turk- It has been estimated that upgrading all hydrome-
menistan, upper-air observations—which are very teorological information and early-warning capacity
important for forecasting but are expensive—have in developing countries would save an average of
been completely abandoned. These trends are also 23,000 lives annually and would provide between
observed in the rest of the world. $3 billion and $30 billion per year in additional eco-
As a result, substantial human and financial losses nomic benefits related to disaster risk reduction.
have occurred, which could have been prevented if
Source: Rogers and Tsirkunov 2013.
T hreat M u ltiplier : C limate C hange , D isasters , and P oor P eople 105
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Under the Weather: Climate
Change, Health, and the 4
Intergenerational Transmission
of Poverty
Main Messages
111
1 1 2 SHOCK WAVES
and are more likely to depend on labor- Our main message is that economic devel-
intensive livelihoods that require good health opment—notably better access to health care
such as agriculture or construction. As a and to services such as water and sanitation
result, they incur a more severe burden of dis- infrastructure—has the potential to reduce,
ease than nonpoor people, and this burden but not eliminate, the enhanced risks that
hampers their ability to accumulate and retain climate change poses for health.
assets and improve living conditions.
Chapters 2 and 3 explored two key chan-
nels of poverty—agriculture and ecosystems, Disease and poor health
and natural disasters—noting that climate
change impacts on agriculture and ecosys-
contribute to poverty
tems and that natural disasters affect health The impact of poor health on low-income
in many different direct and indirect ways, households is already large. In Sub-Saharan
such as through undernutrition due to lower Africa and South Asia, the number of
crop productivity, or via the spread of dis- deaths in children under five is much higher
eases after a disaster. than in other regions, as shown in figure
This chapter explores how health, the third 4.1. Diarrheal and respiratory diseases, and
key channel of poverty in this report, will be malaria in Sub-Saharan Africa, contribute
affected by climate change. A changing significantly to this gap. For adults, there is
climate can reduce the quantity and quality of a striking difference in the diseases that
water resources, along with altering the sus- affect rich and poor countries. In particu-
ceptibility to, and spatial distribution of, lar, communicable diseases—including
climate-sensitive diseases. And climate change HIV—represent almost half of the cause of
is likely to amplify many of the diseases that mortality for adults in Sub-Saharan Africa,
already threaten poor households—for while in richer regions non-communicable
instance, by allowing malaria-bearing mos- diseases, including cancer and cardiovascu-
quitoes to spread in new places, or accelerat- lar diseases, dominate (WHO 2015).
ing the replication of pathogens in water. Over 40 percent of the global burden of
Even climate change adaptation measures can disease attributed to environmental factors
contribute to worsening health conditions. falls on children under five years of age, most
Irrigation dams, water storage receptacles, of them living in developing countries. An
and other land use and water management estimated 800,000 out of the annual 2 million
practices can create suitable conditions for deaths among children under the age of five
vectors and pathogens to reproduce, thereby caused by respiratory infections is due to
worsening the incidence of disease (Asenso- indoor air pollution; another 760,000
Okyere et al. 2011; Keiser et al. 2005; children die as a result of diarrhea (WHO
Medlock and Vaux 2011). 2013a). These deaths could be prevented with
These potential impacts of climate change minimal health care and better hygiene, shift-
on health are important in and of themselves, ing toward cleaner fuels, and by better access
as they could directly cause a massive reduc- to safe water and improved sanitation.
tion in well-being. But they could also affect Diseases—and more generally poor
households in economic terms, magnifying health—increase poverty for several reasons.
the initial impact on welfare. This chapter Health expenditures can absorb a large share
begins by reviewing the evidence on the of a household’s income. Diseases reduce pro-
impact of health shocks and poor health on ductivity because of missed work and school
poverty. It then summarizes what we know days, caregiving responsibilities, or reduced
about the health impacts of climate change productivity. And in the long term, they can
and concludes with options to minimize these impair children’s development and reduce
impacts, including better health infrastructure their ability to learn, which can affect
and universal health coverage. earnings.
Under the W eather : C limate C hange , H ealth , and the I ntergenerational T ransmission of P overt y 113
FIGURE 4.1 Diarrheal diseases, respiratory diseases, and malaria contribute to record child mortality
rates in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia
(Mortality rates by cause and region for children under 5)
Sub-Saharan Africa
South Asia
High income
0 10 20 30 40 50 60 70 80 90 100
Deaths per 1,000
Perinatal conditions Respiratory diseases Malaria Diarrheal diseases Other
FIGURE 4.2 In poorer countries, half of all health expenditures are paid out of pocket, unlike in
richer ones
100
Share of health care expenditure (% of total in 2011)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
Low income Lower-middle Upper-middle High income Global
income income
Out-of-pocket expenses External resources Other private expenditure
Private health insurance Other government expenditure Social security
FIGURE 4.3 Health and funeral expenses are a major reason why In the extreme case where one household
households fall into poverty member dies, the economic impact on the
(Percentage of households citing health and funeral expenditures as a principal reason
other members can be large, not only through
for their descent into poverty)
the loss of income but also through funeral
expenses. Household surveys in India, Kenya,
100 Peru, and Uganda find that in some places
funeral expenses represent a significant cause
of poverty, sometimes comparable to health
Percentage of households
75
expenditures (figure 4.3) (Krishna 2007).
50
Forgone wages, reduced productivity,
and caregiving responsibilities increase
25
poverty
Missed days of work as a result of illness—
0
and resulting wage forgone—can also have a
a ,
ny rn
di t,
In des ra
di an
an ern d
In jara
Pe ar nd
di h,
Ke este
Pr ndh
Ug est l an
In sth
ru ca
a
jam o a
Gu
ja
W ntra
W
A
Ca un
a
Ra
da
TABLE 4.1 Many days of work are lost because of malaria episodes
average 22 working days per year to the dis- This lack of access to health care for chil-
ease (Ajani and Ashagidigbi 2008). For diar- dren matters greatly because illness has par-
rhea, which can reach 3 to 7 days per episode, ticularly severe impacts on children.
it is usually the caregiver who is missing Children—particularly those under the age of
work, since it mostly affects children (Hutton five—are in critical periods of their develop-
and Haller 2004). And missed days of work ment so that illness and malnutrition can
can be even more detrimental if people are affect lifelong health, educational attainment,
fined or even fired when they miss work and labor market outcomes. And when poor
(World Bank and Australian AID 2014). families cannot protect their children from
Disease can also lower productivity or result these effects, poverty can be transmitted from
in the complete inability to work. In agrarian one generation to the next, depriving children
households in Africa, repeated malaria illness of a fair chance to escape poverty.
has led to a decline in farm output and income Illness can lead to irreversible effects on
and contributed to greater incidence of poverty cognitive function, either because it affects the
(ESPD 2005). In Ho Chi Minh City, frequent supply of nutrients to the brain or because of
floods were found to be a cause of chronic responses in the immune system that damage
respiratory disease, rheumatism, and skin and the structure of the brain (Jukes 2005). This is
intestinal diseases, especially for children under particularly true of illnesses that affect the
five, rendering affected people and caregivers central nervous system (such as severe cere-
unable to work (World Bank and Australian bral malaria), which lead to lifelong cognitive
AID 2014; this report, chapter 3). impairment in survivors. In Kenya, children
aged six to seven who had suffered cerebral
malaria were found to be 4.5 times more
Impacts on child development result in
likely than their peers to suffer cognitive
the intergenerational transmission of
impairments (ranging from mild challenges to
poverty
severe learning difficulties) (Holding et al.
Children, with less mature immune systems, 1999). Similar results were found in Senegal
are more susceptible to illness—and tend to among children between the ages of 5 and 12
have less access to health care when they most who had suffered cerebral malaria with coma
need it after a shock. In Côte d’Ivoire, the before the age of 5 (Boivin 2002).
share of children taken to a health practitio- Chronic undernutrition is associated with
ner fell from 50 percent to around 33 percent impairment in the development of cognitive
in areas of extreme rainfall (Jensen 2000). In functions in young children, with subsequent
Nicaragua, after Hurricane Mitch, children in effects on sociability and educational attain-
affected communities were 30 percent less ment (Grantham-McGregor 1995; Whaley
likely to be taken to health care facilities et al. 1998). In Jamaica, children who suffered
when ill (Baez and Santos 2007). from severe undernutrition between 6 and 24
1 1 6 SHOCK WAVES
months of age lagged behind their adequately estimate that by the year 2030, climate
nourished peers in overall IQ, vocabulary, change could be responsible for an addi-
and education tests, even when accounting tional 38,000 annual deaths due to heat
for differences in backgrounds (Grantham- exposure among elderly people, 48,000 due
McGregor et al. 1994). to diarrhea, 60,000 due to malaria, and
More generally, reduced access to educa- about 95,000 due to childhood undernutri-
tion associated with health shocks and disas- tion. Morbidity (incidence or prevalence of a
ters impact lifelong prospects. Children who disease) would also increase, with the conse-
are withdrawn from school to earn income quences for poverty we described above
and support their households are particularly (Hales et al. 2014). These estimates assume
at risk for long-term effects on their earning that socioeconomic development will reduce
potential (Asenso-Okyere et al. 2011). mortality rates, so numbers may be higher if
Children exposed to extreme natural disasters development is slower or adaptation is less
tend to spend fewer years in school and have efficient than expected.
lower educational achievement, delayed This section explores five health issues—
development, behavioral issues, and lower IQ (i) vectorborne diseases (malaria); (ii) water-
(Caruso 2015; Currie 2009; del Ninno and borne diseases (diarrhea); (iii) stunting;
Lundberg 2005; Victora et al. 2008). (iv) mental disorders; and (v) productivity
But these impacts are not unavoidable—as loss due to high temperatures—that are likely
evidenced by the fact that long-lasting impacts to be sensitive to climate effects and to lead to
on children’s health are only observed in a large impacts on the well-being of the poor.
small share of the population and chronic Other issues, like diseases related to air pollu-
impacts are not manifest in more than 30 per- tion, are also likely to worsen with climate
cent of those affected by a disaster (Bonanno change (box 4.1).
et al. 2010). Many of these impacts can be
avoided or managed by strategic prioritiza-
Climate change threatens to reverse
tion, sufficient allocation of resources, and
progress made on vectorborne
political will to manage transient shocks and
diseases such as malaria
increase the resilience of individuals and
households. Policies that reduce the exposure The first major health issue is vectorborne
and vulnerability of children to risks and facil- diseases, accounting for over 17 percent of
itate recovery after shocks will be essential to all infectious diseases and causing more than
manage the impacts of climate change, par- 1 million deaths annually. Vectorborne dis-
ticularly in poor communities (see chapter 5). eases are caused by an infectious microbe
transmitted to people mainly by bloodsuck-
ing insects. Their spread is determined by a
Climate change magnifies combination of environmental and social
threats to health, especially for factors. In recent years, globalization of
travel and trade, urbanization, and environ-
poor people mental challenges have had a significant
So health matters for poverty, and the impact on transmission. Climate change also
evidence is growing that climate change mat- partly explains changes in the spatial distri-
ters for health. We know that higher temper- bution of these diseases (Beugnet and
atures, varied rainfall patterns, and more Chalvet-Monfray 2013).
frequent droughts and floods will affect Malaria is the most prevalent vectorborne
health in many ways—through heat expo- disease in the tropics and subtropics and prob-
sure, undernutrition, natural disasters, and ably the most important for developing coun-
increased proliferation and transmission of tries where insufficient health infrastructure,
illnesses that affect poor households (such as favorable climate, drug resistance, and poverty
malaria and diarrhea). Hales et al. (2014) have made it difficult to control. It occurs all
Under the W eather : C limate C hange , H ealth , and the I ntergenerational T ransmission of P overt y 117
Air pollution is already a challenge for human the contribution of outdoor air p ollution to pre-
health—exposure to pollution can lead to heart and mature mortality could double by 2050 (Lelieveld
lung disease as well as increased hospital visits and et al. 2015). One study that looks at the impact
mortality (Peel et al. 2005; Peel et al. 2007; Hoyt of climate change–induced changes on p remature
and Gerhart 2004; Moore et al. 2006). Globally, mortality estimates that there could be an increase
about 3.3 million premature deaths occur every year of 100,000 premature deaths associated with small
because of outdoor air pollution, predominantly in particulate matter exposure and 6,300 premature
Asia (Lelieveld et al. 2015). Those who spend a lot of deaths associated with ozone exposure annually
time outdoors and engage in physical activities (like (Fang et al. 2013). The incidence of cardiovascular
outdoor workers, children, and athletes) and those and respiratory illnesses is also expected to increase
who already suffer from respiratory diseases are the as a result of climate change (Takaro, Knowlton,
most vulnerable. and Balmes 2013; D’Amato et al. 2014).
Will climate change make the situation worse? Possible solutions lie in air surveillance systems
We know that higher temperatures and lower rain- and information campaigns to encourage adaptive
fall are likely to lead to a worsening of air quality behavior. In addition, certain technologies can be
in some areas. It may increase exposure to ground used to reduce emissions of many pollutants at the
level ozone, small particulate matter, and air con- combustion source (like air filters or fuel switching).
taminants such as allergens and spores (Hogrefe Some health cobenefits can also be expected from
et al. 2004). emissions-reduction policies (see chapter 6).
Model projections indicate that, without green-
house gas (GHG) emissions-reduction policies, Source: Based on Kinney 2008; Ebi and McGregor 2008; Tibbetts 2015.
over the world, with an estimated 3.3 billion malaria could be associated with a 0.3 per-
people exposed to the risk of infection. In 2013 cent increase in annual growth (Gallup and
alone, around 198 million cases occurred, Sachs 2001). Conversely, a study in Africa
leading to 584,000 deaths, mostly among chil- found that a 1 percent increase in malaria
dren. The challenge is greatest in Sub-Saharan morbidity leads to a reduction in real GDP
Africa, which accounts for over 90 percent of growth of 0.4 percent in Ghana (Okorosobo
malaria-related deaths—78 percent of which et al. 2011). In Kenya, 2–6 percent of produc-
occur in children under the age of five (WHO tion loss could be attributed to malaria inci-
2014). Four out of every ten people who die of dence (Leighton and Foster 1993).
malaria live in the Democratic Republic of Fortunately, since 2000, there has been
Congo and Nigeria (WHO 2014). A large strong progress in reducing the incidence of
share of the deaths occurs among poor and malaria (map 4.1). Moreover, since the launch
vulnerable communities living in rural areas, of the World Health Organization’s (WHO’s)
with limited access to health facilities. global malaria eradication program in the
At the household level, malaria is a burden 1950s, 79 countries have eliminated malaria,
on incomes, especially because of health care although mostly in temperate climates. With
costs. These household-level impacts add up the shift in focus to malaria control (as
to a significant impact on the growth and opposed to eradication) in the tropics, the
development of countries—with particularly incidence has decreased by 33 percent in
dire effects on low-income countries. At the Africa and 17 percent globally (Caminade
country level, a 10 percent reduction in et al. 2014).
1 1 8 SHOCK WAVES
MAP 4.1 Most countries on track for significant declines in the incidence of malaria
(Projected change in malaria incidence in 2015 compared to 2000)
Climate change can favor vectorborne dis- Higher temperatures could have a major
eases such as malaria. Climate variability and effect on malaria transmission. At the global
change influence the epidemiology and geogra- level, increases of 2°C or 3°C could raise the
phy of vectorborne diseases for several rea- number of people at risk for malaria by up to
sons. Rising temperatures boost the odds that 5 percent—affecting more than 150 million
climate-sensitive infectious diseases will emerge people (WHO 2003). In Africa, malaria could
in new areas—as is already being observed in increase by 5 to 7 percent among populations
the densely populated highlands of Colombia at risk in higher altitudes due to rising tem-
and Ethiopia (Siraj et al. 2014). And they perature, possibly increasing the number of
increase the likelihood of longer seasonal cases by up to 28 percent (Small, Goetz, and
transmission and higher incidence in areas Hay 2003).
with high current burdens. Variability in tem- Moreover, if adaptation measures to cope
perature and precipitation affects the survival with other consequences of climate change
and reproduction of vectors that carry disease are not designed carefully, they can also
pathogens, their biting rate, and the incubation increase malaria prevalence. In Kumasi,
rate of pathogens within the vectors—either Ghana, a study found that irrigated urban
raising or lowering transmission. Changing agriculture led to higher densities of anophe-
precipitation patterns also affect the quantity line mosquitoes (those responsible for trans-
and quality of breeding sites for vectors like mitting malaria) in peri-urban and urban
mosquitoes, and shelter and food availability locations and a subsequent higher reported
for disease-spreading rodents, affecting the incidence of malaria than in nonagricultural
odds of outbreaks (WHO 2003). parts of the city (Afrane et al. 2004).
Under the W eather : C limate C hange , H ealth , and the I ntergenerational T ransmission of P overt y 119
On the positive side, malaria is likely to The highland of east Africa is particularly
decrease in areas where warming brings very likely to experience significant impacts with
high temperatures and less precipitation—the an increase in population at risk projected by
expected case for Central America and the all models and a potential reach of over
Amazon. Above 34°C, transmission is 200 million additional people at risk of
reduced because it becomes more difficult for malaria by 2080 (Caminade et al. 2014).
vectors and parasites to survive (Smith et al. Thus, greater efforts will still be needed if
2014; WHO 2003). Already in Senegal, less current gains in the malaria fight are to be
precipitation and drought have led to the vir- maintained in spite of climate change.
tual disappearance of some mosquito species Increased transmission is most alarming in
and reduced malaria prevalence by over areas of unstable or seasonal transmission, as
60 percent (Githeko et al. 2000). these populations have no immunity and
Development and specific policies can health systems are less equipped, leading to
eradicate—or at least control—malaria. much higher mortality rates (Chima,
Despite the expected change in climate con- Goodman, and Mills 2003).
ditions, the future of malaria will be largely
determined by socioeconomic conditions,
such as access to resources and the efficient MAP 4.2 By 2050, socioeconomic development should reduce
use of existing prevention and treatment malaria incidence, even with climate change
mechanisms (Gething et al. 2010; Hales
et al. 2014).
One way to sort out the different influ-
ences is to examine the separate impacts of
climate change and economic growth on
malaria, and their combined impacts by 2050
(Béguin et al. 2011). As shown in map 4.2,
panel a, an expansion of malaria is expected
globally when only considering climate
change impacts. When only considering eco-
nomic growth, as map 4.2, panel b, shows,
malaria is expected to contract in most places
with the notable exception of large areas of
Sub-Saharan Africa. And what would hap-
pen if we combined the two factors? We still
expect to see a contraction of malaria by
2050, as map 4.2, panel c, shows. But cli-
mate change—even if it does not reverse the
positive impacts of development—could still
significantly slow down the contraction of
malaria, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa and
India. By 2030, the same study finds that if
both economic growth and climate change
are present, an estimated 3.6 billion people
could be at risk of malaria, including
100 million because of climate change. This
number is about 30 percent lower than the
estimate for the population at risk if eco- Source: Based on Béguin et al. 2011.
Note: Map of projected areas of malaria presence for 2050. Areas where the malaria status changes
nomic growth were absent, which is around between the baseline and the scenario period are shown in color. Absent means the model predicts
5.2 billion. no malaria transmission by 2050 in any scenario.
1 2 0 SHOCK WAVES
BOX 4.2 Dengue’s future hinges on whether development or climate change prevails
Over the past 50 years, there has been a 30-fold drought conditions when households store water
increase in global cases of dengue fever, with an annual in containers suitable for mosquito breeding. This
incidence of 390 million infections, mostly manifested means that if these extreme events occur more often,
in the Asia-Pacific region (Smith et al. 2014). it may extend the suitability of the areas for dengue.
Economic development and better infrastructure are As a result, the dengue risk is likely to become more
expected to reduce dengue in the future. But will significant in parts of Europe (Bouzid et al. 2014)
climate change undercut some of that progress? And and Africa.
will it affect dengue’s spread to other regions? Predominantly an urban disease, dengue will be
At this point, there is still a lot of uncertainty a greater risk in urbanized areas with poorly man-
about how climate change will affect the distribution aged water and solid waste systems. Though climate
of dengue. This uncertainty is related partly to the change may extend the suitability of areas for den-
fact that there are other important factors—notably gue, economic development—including better access
urbanization and migration—besides climate change to piped water, strong vector control programs, and
(Hales et al. 2002; Wilder-Smith and Gubler 2008). air-conditioning—can counter this effect. But in
However, several studies show that its incidence Africa, climate change could undermine the prog-
is correlated with the weather, even though the ress that has been made thanks to higher economic
effects are delayed for weeks or months (Hii et al. growth, making it more challenging to eradicate
2009; Johansson et al. 2009). Dengue fever seems dengue and reduce its impacts on welfare and pov-
to proliferate under both heavy precipitation and erty (Åström et al. 2012).
Malaria prevalence can be reduced by Valley fever, the plague, and chikungunya
measures such as mosquito control, improved fever (Bouley and Planté 2014; Smith et al.
access to bed nets and malaria treatments, 2014). Less is known about the relationship
and better buildings with air-conditioning. In between climate change and these diseases,
Oman, in 2000, malaria was pervasive except even though they could have significant and
for high-altitude and desert areas (Gallup and increasing impacts on well-being and
Sachs 2001), but in 2014, thanks to strategic poverty.
intervention and significant resources, there
are no indigenous cases of malaria (WHO
Diarrhea and other waterborne diseases
2014).
are also expected to increase because of
Successful elimination requires organiza-
climate change
tion, resources, and strategies. Exposure is
usually highest in remote and rural areas Poor water and food quality continue to
where vector control (removal of larvae pose a major threat to human health, espe-
breeding sites and residual indoor spraying) is cially for the poor. Soil-transmitted helmin-
difficult or impossible, making developing thes and schistosomes (parasitic worms) are
countries—like those in Africa where urban- some of the most prevalent chronic diseases
ization and connectivity are quite low—more in poor regions, with serious and insidious
vulnerable (WHO 2003). Also, medicine effects on health and nutrition (Stephenson,
(such as chloroquine) has become ineffective Latham, and Ottesen 2000). Diarrhea alone
in many areas, and new drugs are often unaf- is responsible for 1.5 million deaths every
fordable for poor populations. year (WHO 2013a).
Climate change is also expected to impact Diarrheal outbreaks can occur after drink-
other vectorborne diseases—like dengue ing water becomes contaminated and are
(box 4.2), encephalitis, Lyme disease, Rift often reported after flooding and related
Under the W eather : C limate C hange , H ealth , and the I ntergenerational T ransmission of P overt y 121
because of unsatisfactory hygiene conditions episodes among children under five, but only if
that are related to a lack of infrastructure combined with other behavioral interventions
(WHO 2008). The Global Monitoring Report to promote good hygiene (Jalan and Ravallion
2014 (World Bank 2015a) shows large differ- 2003). Similar results are found elsewhere with
ences in access across groups even within low- an emphasis on the importance of systemic
income countries, with access to improved effects: for a family, gains from access to sani-
sanitation for the poorest 40 percent of the tation are relatively small; most of the benefits
population everywhere much worse than for arise when the entire community gains access.
the richer 60 percent (figure 4.4). Within poor communities, children living in a
The prevalence of diarrhea decreases with household with access to improved sanitation
income, across and within countries, but there in a village with complete coverage manifest
is a large variance at low-income levels 47 percent fewer cases of diarrhea than chil-
(figure 4.5), suggesting that even poor countries dren living in a household without access to
can do much to reduce the prevalence of the improved sanitation in a village without sani-
disease among poor people. In rural India, tation coverage. One-fourth of this benefit can
access to piped water can significantly reduce be attributed to household effects and the rest
the frequency and duration of diarrhea is due to community gains (Andres et al. 2014).
FIGURE 4.4 For poorer countries, access to better sanitation for the bottom 40 percent is much worse
than for the top 60 percent
100
90
Percentage of population with access to basic sanitation
80
70
60
50
40
30
20
10
0
M C ep.
L a
Lib ia
Ni o
o, pu n
-B o
ya n
an he
an
lad e
Ha h
Ug nya
M da
M Eth nea
Ca biq a
Sie mb ue
nz e
in ia
Co can Be ria
m lic
Bu om au
Ga Bu ar
in T ar
r
Af bia, di
ali
Ke iti
Ba bab al
Gu wi
ag ad
rra odi
ge
am pi
ea og
as
ng w
Ta eon
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M ista
es
an
rk al
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c
De b
m p
m un
ist
an
gh T
iss
.R
M
ala
oz io
aF
as
ad h
i
Zi Ne
jik
S
Ta
Gu
fri
lA
ra
nt
Ce
Climate change can exacerbate stunting FIGURE 4.5 As incomes rise, the prevalence of diarrhea for
children under five falls
Despite international efforts in the last 15
years—and large progress in Latin America,
some parts of Asia, and northern Africa— 40
0
to having had five or more episodes of diar-
,00
,00
,00
,00
10
20
30
40
rhea before the age of two (Checkley et al.
Average income earned by quintile (US$, PPP 2011)
2008). The consensus among scientists is that
the damage to physical growth, brain devel- Source: Based on data from World Bank 2014, 2015b.
opment, and human capital formation that Note: Each dot represents one income quintile in one country; the figure therefore shows
differences across and within countries. PPP = purchasing power parity.
occurs in the period before pregnancy to
24 months of age is largely irreversible (World
Bank 2006; Black et al. 2008). undernutrition (Black et al. 2013). And 165
Stunting in childhood has been associated million children under five years of age are
with a greater risk of noncommunicable dis- stunted, 85 percent of whom live in 20 coun-
eases and lower economic productivity in tries, mainly in South Asia and Sub-Saharan
adulthood. The medium- and long-term Africa (UNICEF 2013).
effects of an increase in stunting among chil- Climate change will likely be a strong
dren could significantly reduce their ability to obstacle to the eradication of stunting. Its
cope with shocks. Moderate stunting impacts on food production and ecosystems,
increases the risk of death by 1.6 times and and natural disasters (like droughts or floods)
severe stunting by a staggering 4.1 times force poor and uninsured households to
(Black et al. 2008). Even when not mortal, reduce their food intake and quality—which
severe stunting brings a higher risk of morbid- in turn can lead to more frequent manifesta-
ity and significantly reduces future education tions of undernutrition and stunting, particu-
and earning potential (Victora et al. 2008; larly among children. Modeling studies
Maccini and Yang 2009; Maluccio et al. suggest that unabated climate change could
2009). Stunting therefore contributes to pov- significantly challenge the increase in avail-
erty and its intergenerational transmission. able calories per capita in Sub-Saharan Africa
Over 800 million people are currently and South Asia. Such an impact would
undernourished, according to the Food and directly affect food intake and health. Poorly
Agriculture Organization (FAO 2015). designed land-based mitigation policies could
Children are highly represented in these magnify these issues by increasing competi-
numbers, with over a third of the burden of tion for land, and thus reducing food avail-
disease in undernutrition attributable to chil- ability and contributing to undernutrition and
dren under five (Black et al. 2008). In 2011, stunting (see chapter 2).
around 45 percent of deaths among children Regardless of socioeconomic development,
(3.1 million deaths) could be attributed to climate change will largely increase severe
1 2 4 SHOCK WAVES
stunting among children (figure 4.6). An addi- than 2 billion people are affected.2 Climate
tional 7.5 million children are expected to be change could reduce the nutritional quality of
stunted by 2030, of whom 3.9 million would food and worsen this issue (Myers et al.
be affected by severe stunting (a 4 percent 2014), but no quantified estimate of the
increase). A WHO report estimates this num- impact is available.
ber will rise in 2050 to about 10 million addi- In Sub-Saharan Africa, there is evidence
tional children stunted, with an increase of that households provide lower-quality nutri-
moderate stunting to about 6 million children tion to children in response to weather shocks
(Hales et al. 2014). These estimates include (Alderman, Hoddinott, and Kinsey 2006;
assumptions on improved public health due Dercon and Porter 2014; Hoddinott 2006;
to technology and economic development, Yamano, Alderman, and Christiaensen 2005),
but they do not include nonagricultural inter- which in turn increases the likelihood that
ventions, like water and sanitation provision. they will suffer illness (Dercon and Porter
Climate change could lead to an increase in 2014). These household behaviors and trends
severe stunting of up to 23 percent in Sub- have significant and long-lived impacts on
Saharan Africa and up to 62 percent in South physical health, particularly for younger chil-
Asia, compared to scenarios without climate dren and women. In Ethiopia, as early as six
change (Lloyd et al. 2011). These increases months following a disaster, households that
correspond to an absolute increase in the reduced the nutritional quality of their food
number of stunted children in some parts of intake displayed lowered growth among chil-
Sub-Saharan Africa, with the negative effect dren under two years by 0.9 cm (Yamano,
of climate change outweighing the positive Alderman, and Christiaensen 2005).
effect of e conomic growth.
The quality of the diet is also essential. At
Climate-related shocks and disruptions
least half of children worldwide aged six
can increase mental disorders and may
months to five years suffer from one or more
exacerbate the “cognitive tax”
micronutrient deficiencies (iron, iodine, vita-
min A, folate, and zinc), and globally more The evidence is growing that poverty is asso-
ciated with mental disorders, even though the
FIGURE 4.6 Stunting projections for 2030 and causality is unclear (Patel and Kleinman
2050 suggest that regardless of the socioeconomic 2003). In developed countries, rates of mental
scenario, climate change will increase severe disorders are much higher among low-income
stunting among children under 5 and homeless people than the rest of the pop-
ulation (Bassuk et al. 1998; Fazel et al. 2008).
Stunting in children under 5 attributable
8
ciation between a range of poverty indicators
6
4
and mental disorders (Lund et al. 2010).
2 We know that natural disasters can cause
0 high levels of stress and mental disorders.
–2 Anxiety, depression, and post-traumatic
–4 stress disorder (PTSD) have been reported
–6
L B H L B H
in populations affected by flooding and dur-
2030 2050 ing slow-onset events such as droughts
Severe Moderate (Ahern et al. 2005; Paranjothy et al. 2011). In
Nicaragua, a study of adolescents half a year
Source: Hales et al. 2014.
Note: The bars show the additional number of children under 5 stunted
after Hurricane Mitch found instances of
because of climate change in 2030 and 2050 under low-growth (L), PTSD, stress, and depression, particularly
base-case (B), and high-growth (H) socioeconomic scenarios. Moderate
stunting decreases in 2050 in the low-growth scenario mostly because
among those in most affected communities
stunting becomes more severe, not because fewer children are stunted. who suffered the highest impact and those
Under the W eather : C limate C hange , H ealth , and the I ntergenerational T ransmission of P overt y 125
who experienced a death in the household mental health effects after exposure to extreme
(Goenjian et al. 2001). In Sri Lanka, children weather events. After Hurricane Katrina in the
between the ages of 8 and 14 in areas affected United States, those with anxiety prior to the
by the 2004 tsunami had rates of PTSD rang- storm were more likely to experience PTSD
ing from 14 to 39 percent within a month of symptoms afterward, and younger children
the event (Neuner et al. 2006). These trends had more symptoms (Kronenberg et al. 2010;
can lead to chronic distress and increased Weems et al. 2007). In the longer term, flood-
incidence of suicide (Berry, Bowen, and ing affects perceptions of security and safety
Kjellstrom 2010; Hanigan et al. 2012; and can lead to depression, anxiety, PTSD,
Keshavarz et al. 2013). To mitigate impacts, and other chronic and severe mental health
psychosocial and psychological interventions disorders (Ahern et al. 2005; Berry, Bowen,
must be incorporated into disaster response and Kjellstrom 2010; Fritze et al. 2008;
and recovery management interventions. Paranjothy et al. 2011). Higher temperatures
The worry is that climate change may exac- and extreme rainfall also raise concerns about
erbate mental disorders and stress. It could do more frequent conflicts, which tend to impede
so directly through greater exposure to trauma poverty reduction (box 4.3).
(from floods and other disasters) but also indi- Risks and stresses also affect cognitive per-
rectly through impacts on physical health, formance and decision making. Planning for
household dynamics, and community well- contingencies (for example, because of a
being. Poor households, already strained by shock), unpredictable income, and constant
the pressures of poor living conditions and worry about the financial situation create
scarce resources, could be more prone to larger stress and depression for the poor, which
BOX 4.3 The uncertain triangle of climate change, conflict, and poverty
Conflict, fragility, and lack of security and stability change will increase murders, assaults, rape, and
are fundamental barriers to poverty reduction and the other violence (Ranson 2014). In developed coun-
well-being of the poor (World Bank 2011). This is tries, studies typically cite psychological factors for
illustrated by the increasing share of poor people liv- this correlation (such as people become more aggres-
ing in conflict environments. In the 33 countries (rep- sive during heat waves). In less developed countries,
resenting half a billion people) classified by the World like India, the trigger may be lower income from
Bank as fragile and conflict-affected states, the poverty higher temperatures, which in turn can raise crime
headcount is 51 percent. Similarly, within c ountries, rates (Iyer and Topalova 2014).
poor people are also more exposed to crime: in Cape
Intergroup conflict: A large body of literature sug-
Town, South Africa, 44 percent of all homicides occur
gests a link between weather or climate and conflict,
in three neighborhoods that are among the city’s
especially in low-income areas. A meta-analysis sug-
poorest (World Bank 2013, chapter 4).
gests that intergroup conflicts increase by 11 percent
What type of impact does the environment—and
when temperatures increase one standard deviation
potentially climate change—have on conflicts? This
and by 3.5 percent when rainfall deviates one stan-
is an area of active research (Burke, Hsiang, and
dard deviation (Hsiang, Burke, and Miguel 2013;
Miguel 2014), which can be split into studies cover-
Burke, Hsiang, and Miguel 2014). However, a vig-
ing conflicts from either the interpersonal level (like
orous debate has emerged around the robustness of
assaults and rape) or the intergroup (national) level
these results (Buhaug et al. 2014; Hsiang, Burke, and
(like civil conflicts, wars, and riots).
Miguel 2014), with the IPCC noting that “collectively
Interpersonal conflicts: There is a strong correlation the research does not conclude that there is a strong
in the United States between crime and violence and positive relationship between warming and armed
temperature, raising the question of whether climate conflict” (Adger et al. 2014).
1 2 6 SHOCK WAVES
reduces focus, lowers productivity, and inter- benefits. Health effects from extreme heat
feres with making long-term decisions exposure are expected to result from both
(Banerjee and Duflo 2012). Poor people may higher average seasonal temperature and more
have little time or energy to think about the frequent and intense extreme heat wave events
future, as their day-to-day economic lives are (Huang et al. 2011; IPCC 2014). Chapter 3
more consuming of cognitive control than for discussed exposure to heat waves, showing that
the rich (Banerjee and Duflo 2012). This poor individuals are more likely to be exposed
effect has been referred to as the “cognitive to higher temperature, especially in hot coun-
tax”: the high level of stress of poor people tries. It also showed that poor people are par-
acts like a tax that reduces their productivity ticularly vulnerable to high temperatures,
and earnings, contributing to their poverty. because of their living conditions, the poor
Already today, natural risks are a major quality of their housing, and a lack of access to
source of stress. In flood-prone wards of air-conditioning. Here, we explore the conse-
Mumbai, 71 percent of the households sur- quences of this exposure to high temperature,
veyed cited flooding as a critical stressor, sec- looking at direct health consequences and their
ond only to “hectic life,” and more important impacts on performance and productivity.
than stress from transportation or congestion Heat-related problems will not be limited
(figure 4.7) (Patankar, forthcoming). Against to developing regions. It is projected that,
the background of anticipated more frequent globally, by 2030, without accounting for
natural hazards due to climate change, this adaptation, there could about 100,000 addi-
cognitive tax for poor people may increase. tional deaths annually in 2030—and 250,000
annual deaths in 2050—among those aged
High temperatures are a health hazard 65 and over (Hales et al. 2014). Of course,
and affect labor productivity humans adapt, so adaptation may lower these
estimates. But these estimates do not include
Though extreme cold-related deaths will morbidity and mortality in other age groups
decrease in temperate regions, the negative and among vulnerable people, nor do they
effects of heat waves will likely outweigh these factor in extreme heat wave events.
Most heat wave–related deaths occur
FIGURE 4.7 Poor households in Mumbai face multiple stresses,
with a key one the risk from floods
among poor elderly people and people who
have existing illnesses (such as cardiovascular
80
or chronic respiratory diseases and mental
illness) (WHO 2003). Urban dwellers are
70
% of households reporting stress
ng
ks
s
s
ti o
lif
ti o
ti o
or
s ti
di
ic
ss
ni
rta
di
llu
w
oo
ge
ct
yi
tu
n
et
po
He
co
Fl
n
ar
or
ln
Co
et
r
pp
g
an
ci a
Ai
in
so
M
o
Ho
No
which can reduce this effect while taking FIGURE 4.8 If it gets too hot, productivity falls
advantage of shade provision, solar heat man- significantly
agement, and other measures that use thermal
insulation to minimize energy consumption 1.00
(Masson et al. 2013; Masson et al. 2014;
Relative performance
0.95
Stone, Hess, and Frumkin 2010). Additionally,
well-designed early warning and surveillance 0.90
systems can help detect and respond to heat
waves. These must be adapted to the levels of 0.85
risk so as to have a significant impact on
reducing mortality (Ebi et al. 2004; Schmier 0.80
and Ebi 2009). 15 20 25 30 35
High temperatures reduce labor produc- Temperature (°C)
tivity and can thus increase poverty. A well-
established medical and task productivity Source: Seppänen, Fisk, and Lei 2006.
1994–2004 for the automobile sector, a study Since then, numerous cross-country analy-
found that hot days are associated with lower ses have suggested that hotter countries have
output across the board. At the extreme, a tended to grow more slowly on average. Many
week with six or more days above 32°C have noted that hotter countries tend to have
reduces that week’s production by about 8 per- lower income levels generally—with a gradient
cent (Cachon, Gallino, and Olivares 2012). of roughly minus 8.5 percent per capita income
Poorer households are more likely to be per °C hotter average temperatures (Dell,
affected by the downsides of higher tempera- Jones, and Olken 2009; Horowitz 2009).
tures because they are less likely to benefit However, it is likely that unobservable effects
from air conditioning and more likely to play an important role (like institutions, levels
work in sectors that are more sensitive to of human capital, and agricultural productiv-
temperature stress: namely, manual labor– ity) (Acemoglu, Johnson, and Robinson 2000).
intensive industries, and outdoor work– This negative relationship between temper-
intensive sectors (like agriculture and ature and income seems to hold within coun-
construction). It is also likely the case that tries, albeit to a milder extent. This suggests
manual labor and outdoor work occupations that institutional factors are not wholly respon-
pay lower wages on average. The U.S. Bureau sible for the temperature-productivity relation-
of Labor Statistics reports that the average ship and there are limits to adaptation through
construction laborer earns 25 percent less better buildings and air-conditioning. An
than the median U.S. worker, and laborers in assessment of incomes at the municipality level
the farming, fishing, and forestry sector earn for 12 U.S. counties finds that a 1°C rise in
48 percent less (BLS 2015). temperature is associated with 1.2–1.9 p ercent
It remains unclear how much can be lower per capita income (Acemoglu and Dell
expected from adaptation and how large the 2009). Similar results are found analyzing a
expected social costs of adaptation will be— larger set of counties, using U.S. income and
whether in the form of physical capital invest- payroll data from 1986–2012 (Deryugina and
ments, relocation costs, or the nonpecuniary Hsiang 2014; Park, forthcoming).
costs of changing habit patterns and social
norms. Also, the role of technological change
is unclear; the same goes for possible public Health care systems and
investment in research and development on development pathways play a
these issues.
Climate change impacts on individual
critical role
productivity could have an effect at the mac- The outcome of climate-induced health
roeconomic level. As to the toll climate effects will be determined by institutional
change might take on economic growth at structures and the combined effects of
the global and national levels, researchers parallel global changes—such as urbaniza-
have long noted a relationship between tem- tion, population growth, and demographic
perature and macroeconomic variables shifts. Also relevant are social norms and
(namely income and growth). As far back as behavior, along with differences in the vul-
Montesquieu in the 18th century (Huntington nerability of populations due to nonclimatic
1922; Montesquieu 1758), there has been a factors (Ebi and Semenza 2008; Patz et al.
suggestion that extreme climate may reduce 2005; Sutherst 2004). For instance, in devel-
economic growth. Using data from agricul- oping countries, around 43 percent of the
tural and manufacturing occupations in reduction in the number of children under-
North Carolina, a study showed that aggre- weight between 1970 and 1995 can be
gate productivity was highest in moderate attributed to greater access to education for
temperatures (fall and spring), and lower women, 26 percent to greater access to food,
in more extreme temperatures (summer, and 19 percent to improved water and sani-
winter) (Huntington 1922). tation (Smith and Haddad 2000).
Under the W eather : C limate C hange , H ealth , and the I ntergenerational T ransmission of P overt y 129
FIGURE 4.9 A lot of room to improve the quality and cost of health care in poor countries
a. Quality: Births attended by skilled health staff b. Cost: Out-of-pocket health expenditure
100 100
Share of births attended by skilled
80 80
health staff (%)
60 60
40 40
20 20
0 0
00
00
00
00
00
00
0
0
0
,00
,00
,00
,00
,00
,00
,0
,0
,0
,0
,0
,0
10
20
30
40
50
60
20
10
30
40
50
60
GDP per capita (US$, PPP 2011) GDP per capita (US$, PPP 2011)
Launched in 2010, Kenya’s Health Sector Services better reporting and accounting for user fees
Fund (HSSF) aims to expand the supply of health collected and stronger information and governance
care and strengthen primary care by providing systems. In some facilities, these funds were used
direct cash transfers to public health facilities— effectively to upgrade service delivery (such as
particularly in rural areas where health centers providing electricity in maternity wards for 24-hour
and dispensaries are a primary source of care and services) and better maintain facilities by hiring
over 80 percent of the population resides. Jointly more local staff. A successful pilot exploring the
supported by the government of Kenya, the Danish incorporation of performance-based financing in
International Development Agency (DANIDA), this program shows further potential for improving
and the World Bank, this initiative complements service quality (for example, with better prenatal
better access and transparency of resources with care and more child immunization).
sector reforms to improve the availability of The direct funding provided by HSSF has
human resources and essential medicine for service helped ensure that resources reach the periphery
delivery. The HSSF encourages transparency, of the health system at low levels of bureaucratic
community participation in decision making, and interference without compromising transparency.
accountability for resource allocation and results. A demand-based “pull system” approach that
Local communities are tasked with managing requires facilities to order supplies and commodities
the funds through representative management based on need, as opposed to centrally determined
committees and work with the staff of health allocation, has significantly reduced wastage and
facilities to improve delivery of services. expiry of drugs while increasing the reliable avail-
So far, this initiative has reached 3,000 public ability of health commodities.
primary health facilities and boosted the use of
health facilities. Preliminary observations show Source: Ramana, Chepkoech, and Workie 2013.
4,400 deaths in a subsequent 2006 heat wave to $3 billion—out of the nearly $250 billion
(Fouillet et al. 2008; Pascal et al. 2006). spent annually on health-related R&D
And research and development efforts in (Jamison et al. 2013).
the health sector should be intensified to bet- Social protection systems can also play a
ter prevent, diagnose, and treat diseases that significant role, especially in helping avoid
affect poor people, especially those that are irreversible losses from undernutrition—but
expected to increase over time, including only if they can be scaled up quickly after
because of climate change. This is especially shocks and targeted to reach the poorest and
true for the so-called “neglected tropical dis- most vulnerable (Alderman 2010; Clarke and
eases”—those diseases that thrive mainly Hill 2013; this report, chapter 5).
among the world’s poorest populations.3 Of
these, several, such as dengue, leishmaniasis,
Universal health care coverage is an
and chikungunya are sensitive to climate
adaptation priority
and likely to change in spatial distribution
with climate change. Private research and Even if skilled health care is available, its
development (R&D) alone is unlikely to affordability is not a given. Health shocks
develop the needed solutions without public tend to bring households into poverty even
intervention (Trouiller et al. 2001). Today, more where people have to borrow, often at
annual R&D spending on “infectious dis- high interest rates, creating debts that they
eases of particular concern to low-income may never be able to repay (Krishna 2006).
and m iddle-income countries” amounts only The WHO estimates that about 100 million
Under the W eather : C limate C hange , H ealth , and the I ntergenerational T ransmission of P overt y 131
people fall into poverty each year just to pay important to assess the consequences of
for health care (WHO 2013b). A big problem reforms on the nonpoor; (iii) solutions are
is that financial risk protection varies widely, best designed starting from population
with people in low-income countries having needs—including the local epidemiological
to bear very high and variable fractions of profile, major barriers to access to care,
out-of-pocket health expenditure (figure 4.9, unsatisfied demand, and major sources of
panel b). financial hardship; and (iv) highly focused
Thus, better health care coverage and interventions (such as on one barrier to
lower out-of-pocket expenses would be effi- access or one disease) can be a useful initial
cient ways to reduce the health impacts of step toward universal coverage (Giedion,
climate change vulnerability and reduce pov- Andrés Alfonso, and Díaz 2013).
erty, especially by helping the poor to man-
age catastrophic health expenditures
(Jamison et al. 2013). Providing health cov-
erage is possible at all income levels, but
In conclusion
context and implementation challenges will Health shocks and poor health bring and
determine the optimal path for countries, as keep people in poverty, and can reduce
the case in Kenya illustrates (box 4.4). lifelong earning prospects when children are
Rwanda invested in a universal health affected. Climate change is expected to
coverage system in 1994, and today over worsen many of these issues—although
80 percent of its population is insured. big uncertainties remain, such as the
Employment-based social insurance is extent to which climate change will affect
limited to the formal sector. But strategic the nutritional quality of food. Moreover,
policies that promote equitable and pro- the combined effects of multiple health
poor financing mechanisms can accelerate stressors are largely unknown, in spite of the
the p rocess toward universal health cover- importance of interactions among diseases.
age. In Thailand, the government has For instance, undernourished children are
expanded coverage to the informal sector known to be more vulnerable to malaria and
with a minimal charge of $0.70 per visit, other vectorborne or waterborne diseases,
drawing on general tax revenues. In but these interactions have not been investi-
Colombia, through a multilevel government gated yet in the context of climate change.
scheme and cross-subsidization from con- The encouraging news is that economic
tributory schemes, the poor are covered development, poverty reduction, and better
against primary care and catastrophic event infrastructure and access to health care could
costs—with coverage among the poorest compensate for many of the negative pro-
quintile rising from 3 to 8 percent in 1993 jected climate-related trends. Indeed, if
to 47 percent by 1997. In parts of Africa developing countries could achieve the pres-
and Asia, an efficient tool is community- ent level of health care access in industrial-
financed coverage schemes that pool expen- ized countries by 2030, they could avoid
diture risks at lower administrative levels. many of the impacts that would worsen
Strong community solidarity and adminis- health conditions. Child mortality could fall
trative capacity is important for these by an estimated 63 percent globally if cover-
interventions (O’Donnell 2007). age rates of effective prevention and treat-
What can we learn from past efforts to ment mechanisms rose to 99 percent (Jones
expand health coverage? Four insights stand et al. 2003).
out: (i) affordability is important but not suf- A recent Lancet Commission on Investing
ficient to achieve universal access, and mea- in Health concludes that by 2035, a “grand
sures to ensure affordability should be convergence” in mortality and morbidity
included within a broader strategy; (ii) tar- rates across the world is achievable, as is the
geting the poor is necessary, but it is also global provision of universal health care
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Watson, J. T., M. Gayer, and M. A. Connolly. “Geographic Expansion of Dengue: The Impact
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Emerg. Infect. Dis. 13: 1–5. 92: 1,377–90.
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Lend a Hand: Poor People,
Support Systems, Safety Nets, 5
and Inclusion
Main Messages
• Poor people struggle more than others to • Given the limits to how much protection the
cope with and adapt to climate change and financial system can offer, especially to the
natural hazards: not only are they more poorest, social safety nets are needed to pro-
exposed and vulnerable to shocks but the vide effective protection to poor households.
support they receive from families, commu- To be effective, safety nets must be rapidly
nities, financial system, and government is scalable, even if speed of delivery may come
also weaker, and they are often not granted a at the cost of targeting.
voice in decision-making processes. • An adaptive social protection system creates
• Financial inclusion, insurance, social safety a formal liability for the government, which
nets, and remittances complement each other may need to draw on instruments such as
in protecting different populations against reserve funds, contingent finance, reinsur-
different types of shocks. ance products, or even international aid.
141
1 4 2 SHOCK WAVES
poor people to live in the most flood-prone change and shocks arises not just from the
areas of cities, even if they are aware of the fact that they are more exposed and vulnera-
risk (chapter 3). In addition, as discussed in ble but also because they receive less support
the World Bank’s World Development from financial instruments, social protection
Report 2014: Risk and Opportunity, the schemes, and private remittances. For
ability to manage risk also depends on instance, in response to flooding and
the “support systems” available to them: the landslides in communities in Nepal in 2011,
household, the community, the enterprise only 6 percent of the very poor sought gov-
and financial sectors, and the state. ernment support, compared to almost
These support systems are also critical to 90 p ercent of the well-off (Gentle et al.
help individuals and firms adapt to the 2014). Besides suffering from larger immedi-
effects of climate change, cope with the ate shocks than the wealthier, poor people
impacts that cannot be avoided, and deal also tend to be more alone in the struggle to
with the potential adverse side effects from cope and recover.
emissions-reduction policies. The key message of this chapter is the
This chapter investigates how these sys- need for a holistic and flexible risk man-
tems support people in the face of natural agement strategy—with a range of policy
hazards, environmental changes, and eco- instruments appropriate for different disas-
nomic and policy transitions. It assesses the ters and affected populations (figure 5.1).
obstacles that prevent effective risk manage- Revenue diversification and basic social
ment and adaptation to environmental and protection, where it exists, can help house-
economic changes—and then suggests avail- holds at all income levels cope with small
able policies to help poor people adapt to shocks. But, when a shock is larger, these
climate change and cope with its conse- instruments will not be sufficient, and addi-
quences. It follows by reviewing the role of tional tools are needed. For relatively
financial instruments, social protection sys- wealthier households, savings will help;
tems and safety nets, and migrations and and market insurance can provide them
remittances, closing with thoughts on gover- with efficient protection for larger losses.
nance and the poor. However, for the poorest households, sav-
The chapter finds that poor people’s ings are often not an option; and high
d isproportionate suffering from climate transaction costs make private insurance
unattainable.
For the poorest households—and to
FIGURE 5.1 Poorer households need different types of solutions cover the largest shocks—well-targeted and
easily scalable social safety nets are needed.
More International aid
intense
These systems need to be designed so as to
events Social insurance maintain incentives to invest in long-term
and scaled-up adaptation to economic and environmental
social safety nets
Market insurance changes. Such an adaptive social protection
Government system creates a liability for the govern-
insurance and
contingent finance ment, which may need to rely on financial
Savings, credit, and instruments such as reserve funds (for
Government scaled-up remittances small-scale events), contingent finance, rein-
reserve funds
surance products, or even international aid
Smaller Basic social protection, remittances, if its capacity is exhausted. Social protec-
events and revenue diversification tion systems and financial protection have
always been needed to help people cope
Poorer Richer with individual and systemic shocks, includ-
households households
ing disease and natural disasters, but this
L end a H and : P oor P eople , S u pport S y stems , S afet y N ets , and I ncl u sion 143
need has been intensified and made more Poor people lack access to savings
urgent by climate change. and credit, but policies can enhance
financial inclusion
Saving, borrowing, and Unfortunately poor people often lack access
to formal financial instruments—possibly
insurance help people adapt to because of the cost of bank accounts, large
changes and cope with shocks, distance and time to access a financial agent,
but are not always accessible for or lack of documentation and mistrust in
banks. Some people also prefer to stay in the
poor people informal sector, or are not fully aware of the
People use financial instruments—notably benefits of using financial tools for risk man-
their savings and assets—to smooth consump- agement (Allen et al. 2012). For instance, in
tion and limit the effects of income shocks. Indonesia, more than 20 percent of house-
While evidence suggests that this smoothing is holds in the top 60 percent of the income
significant, it is also far from complete (Kinnan distribution saved at a financial institution in
and Townsend 2012; Morduch 1995). In 2011, compared to less than 8 percent from
extreme cases, households have even been the bottom 40 percent. Poor people also
found to reduce consumption to protect their have less access to credit when affected
assets, thus exacerbating consumption shocks by a shock or worsening environmental
(Zimmerman and Carter 2003). In general conditions.
however, financial instruments (such as bank What can governments do? The 2014
accounts and insurance contracts) can com- World Development Report (World Bank
plement informal risk-sharing mechanisms 2013a, chapter 6) discusses the actions that
and play a critical role in helping households governments can take to help households at
and firms adapt to climate change, prepare for all income levels gain access to financial
natural shocks, and recover when affected instruments for risk management. Two cate-
(World Bank 2013a, chapters 4 and 6). gories emerge.
We know that savings at financial institu- Financial infrastructure. To reduce costs
tions tend to be less vulnerable to natural and improve trust in the banking system, gov-
disasters than in-kind savings (chapter 3). ernments can strengthen the financial infra-
Livestock and housing can be washed away by structure (including payment and security
a flood, while savings accounts are far less settlement systems and public credit regis-
likely to be affected. Financial inclusion makes tries). Physical access to financial instruments
it possible for households to protect their sav- can be improved by using the postal network,
ings and lower the vulnerability of their asset and improving infrastructure for hosting
portfolio, so they can cope with income losses financial agents and facilitating transport
while maintaining consumption and avoiding (roads and public transit). Wide coverage by
radical coping measures, such as reduced food mobile phone networks can make financial
intake. instruments accessible virtually, by using cel-
Financial inclusion also enables people and lular banking and electronic payment tech-
firms to reduce risk in the first place. For nologies (Gupta 2013).
instance, if changes in rainfall patterns call for Competition, protection, and flexibility.
adapting farming activities, farmers will need Governments can help keep service costs low
to invest in new machines and seeds, or pos- by ensuring fair competition and consumer
sibly learn new techniques. Without access to protection, or by requiring the introduction
credit, these measures may be unaffordable, of low-cost bank accounts for vulnerable
thus locking them into activities with declin- populations. Moreover, ensuring convenience
ing productivity and income. and flexibility is critical for accommodating
1 4 4 SHOCK WAVES
the relatively high frequency at which poor The development of insurance markets
people tend to make deposits and withdraw- in low-income economies faces many
als, or take out and repay loans. For instance, obstacles
poor households benefit greatly from flexible
To cope with large shocks that affect many
loan schedules that can be readily renegoti-
people, savings or borrowing may not be
ated or forborne in “hungry months,” or paid
adequate. Instead, insurance products can
in advance when the household enjoys extra
provide protection at a lower cost. However,
liquidity. Experience from microcredit also
insurance markets are complex, and behav-
demonstrates the benefits from schemes that
iors often deviate from what theory suggests,
create self-discipline—like using planned sav-
making it challenging to provide appropriate
ing schedules (Banerjee and Duflo 2012).
insurance products to poor households or
Poor people are also less able to protect them-
small firms in developing countries, which
selves against fraud and abuse, underscoring
are often exposed to many risks (Kunreuther,
the need for adequate and accessible con-
Pauly, and McMorrow 2013).
sumer protection schemes. In Mexico and
The classical indemnity insurance products
South Africa, the government has established
are commonplace in high-income countries
financial ombudsmen to resolve disputes in
and are based on the observation of losses,
consumer finance (Brix and McKee 2010).
with insurance payments triggered once losses
While borrowing can help maintain con-
occur. Classical indemnity insurance requires
sumption in the short term, it can also create
that robust data be available for the insurer
a debt trap from which poor households have
to assess risks ex ante—something that is
trouble escaping. For instance, health shocks
often lacking in developing countries (Rogers
are more likely to push people into poverty in
and Tsirkunov 2013). And loss assessment
the presence of high borrowing costs,
may be costly if it requires that an expert visit
precisely because of such trap effects (Krishna
every victim.
2006). Stringent borrowing conditions paired
One problem with indemnity insurance
with postdisaster destitution mean that poor
is that asymmetric information results
households affected by disasters are likely to
in adverse selection and moral hazard.
quickly incur high levels of debt.
Adverse selection refers to the fact that
In Bangladesh after the 1998 floods,
if the price of insurance cannot be adjusted
borrowing was by far the most common cop-
to the level of risk that clients face—
ing mechanism chosen by a sample of 757
because the information is unavailable or
households in a postdisaster survey (del Ninno
too costly to collect—then those clients fac-
et al. 2001). Almost 60 percent of these house-
ing more risk will demand more insurance,
holds were in debt in the months immediately
threatening the sustainability of the insur-
following the floods, with average debt rising
ance scheme. But this problem can be
to almost 1.5 months of average consump-
solved by making insurance mandatory,
tion. Furthermore, 57 percent of flood-
although it will be tough to do in countries
affected households in the bottom three
with little capacity or where premiums
quintiles resorted to purchasing food on
would be particularly high.
credit. This borrowing mitigated the shock,
Moral hazard refers to the fact that people
but higher prices meant that poor flood-
protected against the negative impact of a
affected households consumed less. The
shock could choose to do less to prevent the
financial cost of borrowing was found to vary
shock or reduce associated losses. In the case
widely, with interest rates from zero (for
of insurance against natural hazards, moral
many loans from family and neighbors) to an
hazard is mitigated by the fact that house-
average of 50 percent for loans from banks
holds suffer from significant nonmonetary
and cooperatives. Better access to finance ex
uninsured losses (such as the hassle of reloca-
ante and lower interest rates could have
tion and loss of personal property if one’s
reduced the debt trap and improved recovery.
L end a H and : P oor P eople , S u pport S y stems , S afet y N ets , and I ncl u sion 145
house is flooded). In most contracts, it is miti- government, the case of France’s Cat-Nat
gated further by deductibles, which ensure storm and drought insurance (Paudel 2012).
that the insured face a portion of the losses in However, subsidizing insurance can be pro-
case of a shock. hibitively expensive, and the penetration of
Even in developed countries, penetration indemnity insurance is very low in developing
of indemnity insurance against natural haz- countries.
ards remains low, albeit with some excep- These problems have led to the develop-
tions: (i) when insurance is subsidized, as with ment of index-based insurance products, in
floods in the United States with the National which insurance payments are not made
Flood Insurance Program; (ii) when insurance based on observed losses, but when a phys-
is mandatory and backed by the g overnment— ical variable—such as a rainfall deficit or
such as the Turkish insurance against earth- wind speed—exceeds a predetermined
quakes and fires, which is an excellent threshold (regardless of the existence of
example of how insurance access can be losses). For instance, a farmer will receive
increased in middle-income countries a predefined insurance payment if rainfall
(box 5.1); or (iii) when insurance is manda- is below a minimum threshold over a one-
tory, cross-subsidized, and backed by the month period. Index-based insurance
Few countries in the world are more exposed to Insurance Pool (TCIP)—the first national catastro-
earthquakes than Turkey. Around 70 percent of its phe insurance pool in World Bank partner countries
population and 75 percent of its industrial facilities that provides a stand-alone earthquake insurance
are exposed to large-scale earthquakes. Since 1984, coverage to homeowners and small and medium
direct property and infrastructure losses due to earth- enterprises. The TCIP provides mandatory property
quake episodes in Turkey have frequently exceeded earthquake insurance for owners of private dwell-
$5 billion (in current US$ terms). The last major ings built legally on registered land. Premium rates
earthquake in the Marmara region in 1999 resulted are actuarially sound, not subsidized, and vary with
in the loss of 15,000 lives and placed an enormous construction type and property location. Covered
financial burden on the economy and the government. risks include earthquakes and fire.
Before 1999, earthquake insurance uptake The catastrophe risk financing strategy of the
had traditionally been low in Turkey (at around TCIP relies on both risk retention and reinsurance.
3 p ercent of residential buildings) because house- The TCIP absorbs the first $80 million of losses
holds traditionally relied on the government to through its reserves (initially complemented by a
finance the reconstruction of private property after $100 million World Bank contingent loan facility)
major natural disasters. This presented massive and transfers excess losses to the international rein-
challenges to government budgets. But, in the after- surance markets. The government covers losses that
math of the Marmara earthquake, the government would exceed the overall claims-paying capacity of
decided to develop a catastrophe risk insurance the TCIP, which is estimated to be able to withstand
mechanism to reduce its fiscal exposure to natural a 1-in-350 year earthquake. Economies of scale are
hazards—a rising from publicly funded reconstruc- obtained through countrywide pooling of the risk
tion of private property. In 2000, it created a com- and transaction costs, which results in more afford-
pulsory earthquake insurance system for all residen- able premium rates.
tial buildings on registered land in urban areas.
The World Bank provided financial and techni- Source: Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery (GFDRR) policy note
cal assistance for creating the Turkish Catastrophe on the TCIP. More information can be found in Gurenko 2006.
1 4 6 SHOCK WAVES
schemes have major advantages compared Overall, evidence suggests that the take-up
with traditional contracts: (i) transaction of index-based insurance requires large
costs are reduced because losses do not s ubsidies, although, as with indemnity
need to be measured; (ii) individuals are insurance, subsidies can make the schemes
still encouraged to take preventive mea- unsustainable (Brown, Zelenska, and
sures since the payout does not depend on Mobarak 2013; Cole et al. 2012; Cole
the losses or the actions taken to reduce et al. 2013).
risks (in other words, there is no moral Some of these obstacles can be removed
hazard with index-based insurance); and by improving technology, policy design,
(iii) the payment decision is simple and and adopting best practices—for example,
objective, making it easier to enforce modernizing observation systems and
contracts. improving index designs may reduce the
However, index-based insurance suffers basis risk and strengthen index-based instru-
from basis risk (that is, the difference ments (Barnett, Barrett, and Skees 2008;
between the payment received by contract Rogers and Tsirkunov 2013).
holders and the actual losses they suffer).
If the index is well correlated with actual
losses, contract holders will receive an
adequate insurance payment when (and
Social protection schemes are
only when) they have losses. But, in prac- critical for helping people adapt
tice, the correlation between losses and and cope with shocks, but must
payout can be low, because of wide varia-
tions in impacts from natural hazards and
be flexible and easily scalable
limitations of hydrometeorological obser- Against this backdrop of the poor being at
vation systems. This means that people a major disadvantage in terms of financial
may receive a payment in the absence of resources, it is critical that governments
losses, or receive nothing even in the pres- also provide social protection—that is any
ence of large losses—which would be cata- government program concerned with pre-
strophic for those close to the subsistence venting, managing, and overcoming situa-
level. t i o n s t h a t a d v e r s e l y a f f e c t p e o p l e ’s
Despite its advantages, the take-up of well-being. Social protection schemes can
index-based insurance is low, with several act as a crucial complement to formal risk
reasons being proffered (Brown, Zelenska, management tools provided by markets.
and Mobarak 2013; Cole et al. 2012; Cole They also complement informal support
et al. 2013). One is that basis risk plays a from communities and informal insurance,
key role, because a low correlation between which tend to be insufficient in the face of
losses and payout undercuts the product’s large or systemic shocks, and too often
benefits (Karlan et al. 2012; Mobarak exclude the most vulnerable (World Bank
and Rosenzweig 2013). Another is that 2013a).
index insurance typically covers only one The three main types of social protection
type of risk, while producers may be are (i) social safety nets (also known as social
exposed to many (like price risk or supply assistance), which include conditional and
chain risk). Other reasons include a general unconditional cash transfers, public work
distrust in the insurance policy, limited programs, subsidies, and food stamps;
financial literacy, and insufficient under- (ii) social insurance, which consists of con-
standing of the product. The decision to tributory pensions and contributory health
purchase an insurance contract may hinge insurance; and (iii) labor market measures,
on whether the individual has had prior which include instruments such as unemploy-
experience with it (especially having ment compensation (table 5.1) (World Bank
received a p ayout) (Karlan et al. 2012). 2012, 2015a).1
L end a H and : P oor P eople , S u pport S y stems , S afet y N ets , and I ncl u sion 147
TABLE 5.1 Social protection includes safety nets, social insurance, and labor market policies
Category Examples
Social safety nets Conditional and unconditional cash transfers, including noncontributory pensions and disability,
(or social assistance) birth and death allowances
Food stamps, rations, emergency food distribution, school feeding and food subsidies
Cash or food-for-work programs
Free or subsidized health services
Housing and utility subsidies
Scholarships and fee waivers
Social insurance Old age, survivor, and disability contributory pensions
Occupational injury benefits, sick or maternity leave
Health insurance
Labor market policies Unemployment, severance, and early retirement compensation
Training, job sharing, and labor market services
Wage subsidies and other employment incentives, including for disabled people
Source: ASPIRE documentation, World Bank 2015a.
Social safety nets can reduce the response, the incomes of those in the bottom
poverty impact of disasters and 20th percentile of the distribution would have
economic shocks fallen by over 8 percent; by expanding the
cash transfer program this fall was reduced to
A growing body of evidence shows that social
5 percent (Grosh, Bussolo, and Freije 2014).
insurance and social safety nets are efficient
Similar instruments can help poor people cope
tools to support poor people affected by
with increases in food or energy prices (due to
disasters or environmental and economic
droughts or ambitious climate policies).
shocks. In Kenya, the Hunger Safety Net
But social protection may be less effective
Program prevented a 5 percent increase in
at protecting against prolonged adverse
poverty among beneficiaries following the
trends, such as sea level rise. A background
2011 drought (Merttens et al. 2013). In
paper for this report explores how including
Bangladesh, the Chars Livelihood Program
nonpoor but vulnerable households in social
protected 95 percent of recipients from losing
protection can prevent them from falling into
their assets after the 2012 floods (Kenward,
poverty. In the long term, this reduces the
Cordier, and Islam 2012). In Mexico, benefi-
number of people in poverty, and thus allows
ciaries of Prospera, the national cash transfer
spending more to support each poor person.
program (previously known as Oportunitades
(Carter and Janzen, forthcoming). The same
or Progresa), are less likely to withdraw their
paper suggests that there is a limit: if shocks
children from the classrooms following a
become too frequent and intense, social safety
shock (de Janvry et al. 2006; Fiszbein, Schady,
nets become inefficient and livelihood changes
and Ferreira 2009; Gertler 2004).
are needed.
In the short term, social protection helps
mitigate adverse effects on livelihoods during
economic crises (Akresh, De Walque, and
Social protection can support long-term
Kazianga 2013; Handa et al. 2015) and disas-
transformations toward more adaptive
ter shocks (World Bank 2012). In Latin
and resilient societies if it does not lock
America, social safety nets played a critical
people into unsustainable locations or
role in helping poor people cope with the
activities
food, fuel, and financial crisis in 2008. In
Mexico, the expansion of the Progresa pro- Poor people, with fewer resources, tend to
gram significantly mitigated the impacts of the invest less in preventing and mitigating
crisis for the poor: without the policy adverse effects of natural hazards and
1 4 8 SHOCK WAVES
Poor people often lack coverage, employment, whereas most poor people work
or amounts are too small to make a in the informal economy. Also, poor people in
difference remote rural areas can be difficult to reach.
And conditional and unconditional cash
Unfortunately, poorer households often have
transfer programs that have revolutionized
limited access to social protection and safety
social protection over the last decade are
nets. One reason is limited coverage. Social
much easier to deploy in rural than in urban
assistance consistently reaches more poor
areas, given the challenge of targeting the
than nonpoor people (figure 5.2, left panel)—
poor in cities, where they often live next door
conditional and unconditional cash transfers
to the wealthier (Gentilini, forthcoming). As a
specifically target poor households and are
result, even social assistance shows a large
increasingly associated with good coverage
range of coverage for poor people: in many
among households in the bottom quintile
countries, coverage does not exceed 50 per-
(World Bank 2015b). But the two other types
cent, meaning that half of poor people within
of transfers (social insurance and labor mar-
a country do not receive any social assistance,
ket policies) reach poor and nonpoor house-
and even below 10 percent in many low-
holds in about the same proportion. This
income countries (figure 5.3).
does not necessarily mean that those schemes
Even when poor households are covered by
are poorly designed; some programs, such as
social protection schemes, amounts received
contributory pensions, are designed for those
are often too small to enable better coping
who can afford to contribute.
strategies. According to the World Bank’s
H o w e v e r, p o o r p e o p l e a r e o f t e n
ASPIRE database (World Bank 2015a),
excluded from programs they should bene-
within countries the average per capita trans-
fit from. Some programs are tied to formal
fer received by households in the bottom
FIGURE 5.2 Coverage of poor people is often under 50 percent, and they often receive lower transfer
amounts
(Coverage and average transfer received, by household income category)
2,000
80
1,500
60
Nonpoor
Nonpoor
1,000
40
500
20
0 0
0 20 40 60 80 0 500 1,000 1,500 2,000
Poor Poor
Labor market policies Social assistance
Social insurance
FIGURE 5.3 Poor people in the poorest countries barely covered by social safety nets
(Coverage of the poorest quintile, by social safety net program and country income group)
60
50
Percent of poor people covered
40
30
20
10
ks
In g
T
Sc e w CT
fe s
d
cw N
he g
g
SN
T
ic T
In ks
e w nd
ic s
e w ks
s
he T
SN
T
ol ind
e w CT
he s
SN
fe d
ic T
s
ol er
din
bl er
er
Ot iver
rk
UC
in
Ot -kin
UC
bl CC
Ot UC
CC
bl CC
Ot din
in
bli SS
ol in
or
r
Fe wor
Fe C
Fe U
Fe -ki
ho aiv
rS
rS
rS
wo
wo
Pu aiv
aiv
ed
ed
ho In-k
ho In-k
Pu her
fee
e
a
fe
ol
Pu
Pu
ho
Sc
Sc
Sc
quintile from social protection is lower than the flood borrowed about six to eight times
the transfer received by the four other quin- more compared to the level of government
tiles (right panel of figure 5.2). In Malawi, the transfers.
poorest quintile receives on average 0.5 cents
per day, while the richest 20 percent receives
Social protection schemes can be made
more than 17 cents. In Vietnam, transfers are
more responsive
respectively 9 cents and $1.6; in Colombia,
the poorest receive 23 cents per day and the To help the population cope with shocks,
richest more than $4.6. disasters, and environmental and economic
After a disaster, amounts can also be insuf- change, social protection programs must be
ficient when examining ad hoc schemes to designed for scalability and flexibility, espe-
support affected people. In Bangladesh fol- cially for coverage. Moreover, they need to
lowing the 1998 Great Flood, 66 percent of do so while encouraging adaptation and
households in the bottom quintile received asset accumulation, without locking benefi-
transfers, compared with 33 percent in the ciaries into unsustainable activities and loca-
top quintile; and 53 percent of the flood- tions. Thus, the choice of the right
exposed households received transfers, com- instrument is context specific. Cash transfers
pared with 34 percent of non-flood-exposed cannot ensure short-term food security if
households (del Ninno et al. 2001). While tar- food supply is limited, making the case for
geting was relatively good, however, transfer dedicated measures for food provision in
amounts were small: they represented only some emergencies (box 5.2). Similarly, it is
4 percent of total household monthly expen- futile to attempt to implement theoretically
diture for poor households, and 2 percent for optimal policies if institutional capacity is
all households. Household borrowing high- weak in practice—using simpler policy tools
lights this limit: poor households affected by may be more realistic, even if they are less
L end a H and : P oor P eople , S u pport S y stems , S afet y N ets , and I ncl u sion 151
BOX 5.2 Food provision and school feeding schemes are commonplace and effective
The distribution of food is a common measure in most common social protection and safety net sys-
situations of humanitarian emergency, following tem in the world (figure B5.2.1), even though they
disasters, severe economic crises, or conflicts, even reach less than 15 percent of the poor, on average,
if it can distort local markets and reduce local pro- in each country (World Bank 2015b). School feed-
duction. During the food, fuel, and financial crisis of ing programs are efficient in times of crisis because
2007–2008, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, and Niger they rely on existing infrastructure and human
introduced emergency food distribution and used resources—schools themselves, as well as the teach-
cereal banks to sell food at reduced prices (World ers and parents who are part of school systems
Bank 2015b). (Bundy et al. 2009). Moreover, they have the advan-
Food distribution is also widely used beyond cri- tage of discouraging parents from taking children
sis situations. School feeding programs remain the out of school in times of crises (FAO 2013).
140
120
Number of countries
100
80
60
40
20
0
rs
rs
rs
s
g
rk
er
in
fe
fe
fe
wo
aiv
ed
ns
ns
ns
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Type of transfer
efficient or less well targeted (World Bank approaches stand out: (i) increasing the
2013a). amount transferred by an existing program to
While designing effective social protection its beneficiaries or relaxing rules and condi-
can be a challenge, recent experience from tionality such that the transfers increase;
social protection systems globally offers (ii) extending the coverage of an existing pro-
encouraging and valuable lessons. It suggests gram to include new beneficiaries; and
that countries at all income levels can set up (iii) introducing extraordinary payments or
systems that increase resilience to natural haz- creating an entirely new program (Bastagli
ards. But, to do so, the systems need to be rap- 2014).
idly scalable in case of crisis and feature Increasing the amount or value of transfer.
targeting mechanisms flexible enough to This works best when beneficiaries of existing
adjust quickly to new situations. Three key social protection programs are those who are
1 5 2 SHOCK WAVES
affected the most by the crisis, the shock 4Ps cash transfers was relaxed in response to
affects primarily the poorest, and there is Typhoon Yolanda, allowing the government
already at least one large-scale social protec- to quickly release a total of P550.5 million
tion program in place with efficient delivery (US$12.5 million) between November 2013
systems for disaster response. An example of and February 2014 in temporarily uncondi-
such a program with built-in mechanisms for tional transfers (see annex 5A).
rapid scale-up in response to a shock is Expanding the coverage. In case of severe
Mexico’s Temporary Employment Public shocks and those with heterogeneous impacts
Works Program (PET). Similarly, after (such as a flood), even relatively well-off
Typhoon Yolanda hit the Philippines in 2013, households may lose enough to be pushed
external actors such as the World Food into poverty—possibly becoming poorer than
Program and the United Nations Children’s existing beneficiaries. To provide adequate
Fund (UNICEF) used the preexisting Pantawid support to such at-risk households, the
Pamilyang Pilipino Program (4Ps) conditional p rogram must be expanded to include
cash transfer program to deliver their support the people affected by the shock. In 2008, the
to affected 4Ps beneficiaries—in effect, increas- Mexican government expanded the coverage
ing the value of the transfer (see annex 5A). of the national Oportunidades cash transfer
For some shocks, such as changes in food scheme by 1 million recipients to mitigate the
prices, indexing of social transfers provides a food and fuel crisis. The total number of
method for automatically adjusting the Mexicans assisted by the program reached
amount of transfers to a changing situation, 5 million households (one out of four fami-
without a discretionary decision (box 5.3). lies) (Demeke, Pangrazio, and Maetz 2009).
It is also possible to increase transfers by In Ethiopia, the Productive Safety Net
relaxing program rules and conditionality. Program incorporates innovative features to
Disasters may make existing program rules scale up automatically and enroll additional
unpractical or inappropriate: if a disaster beneficiaries when there is poor rainfall (see
destroys schools in a region, attendance is no annex 5A).
longer an applicable condition for disbursing Creating a new program. In the absence of
conditional cash transfers. In Colombia, the an appropriate program that can be used or
cash transfer scheme Familias en Acción sus- extended to respond to the crisis, it is possible
pended conditionality temporarily in 2008 to to introduce new programs or initiatives—
accommodate the shortfalls in service provi- sometimes, a disaster or a crisis even creates
sion as a result of damaged infrastructure. In the opportunity to strengthen or reform the
the Philippines, all conditionality linked to the social protection systems. In certain cases,
Price changes pose a major threat to the smooth and services. In Malawi, two schemes—the Food
working of social protection schemes. Take, for and Cash Transfers and Dowa Emergency Cash
instance, what happened in Kenya when food Transfers—adjust the transfers before each monthly
prices rose in 2007–2008: the Hunger Safety Net disbursement based on observed prices (Sabates-
Programme’s cash transfer scheme lost more than Wheeler and Devereux 2010). Experience has shown
half of its value over 18 months (Devereux 2015). that indexing works best when there is a contin-
To avoid such risks, many countries index the gency fund to absorb changes in the program’s cost.
benefits in their social protection systems by using
inflation data or the price of a basket of goods Source: Based on Bastagli (2014).
L end a H and : P oor P eople , S u pport S y stems , S afet y N ets , and I ncl u sion 153
countries have used extraordinary payments. balance the urgency of postdisaster support
In Chile, the government paid a one-time and the need to carefully target the larger
bonus (Ch$40,000 or about US$66) in March transfers supporting reconstruction (see
2009 to 1.7 million poor families to cope with annex 5A).
the effects of the ongoing financial crisis.2 A
similar measure was introduced in March
Postcrisis responses need to balance
2010 following a major earthquake. In other
timeliness with targeting accuracy
cases, new durable programs have been intro-
duced. The 1990 Honduran Programa de In the aftermath of a crisis or a disaster, it
Asignación Familiar and the 2001 Colombian can be tough to identify those affected and at
cash transfer scheme Familias en Acción were risk of being pushed into poverty. There are
launched during recessions and macroeco- several approaches to targeting beneficiaries,
nomic adjustment periods—and transformed all of which face challenges (table 5.2).
into permanent programs, part of the national Economic shocks or disaster consequences
safety net system. In Guatemala, the food and are often heterogeneous, making geographic
fuel crisis in 2008 prompted the introduction or demographic targeting approaches diffi-
of a new program, Mi Familia Progresa. cult (Alderman and Haque 2006; Grosh
But the challenge is larger when respond- et al. 2008). Registries with socioeconomic
ing to a disaster or a crisis with immediate information and precise location are seldom
and urgent needs. Creating and rolling out a available—and, as in Nepal, there may not
new program takes time—this is why coun- even be a reliable street address system.
tries with existing scalable programs are more Usual targeting methods (like proxy-mean
resilient and better placed to respond to crises testing) are based on slowly changing house-
and disasters. hold characteristics (like assets) and are slow
To extend support to new beneficiaries— and expensive to implement—meaning that
whether through an existing or a new they cannot capture sudden changes in
program—it is necessary to be able to iden- income and consumption. And affected pop-
tify them rapidly. A challenge is to strike a ulations are often displaced in camps or with
balance between providing rapid support family or friends, and thus hard to reach.
when needed and targeting precisely the Because these approaches will always have
most in need. Case studies suggest that the inclusion and exclusion errors, grievance
cost of a drought to households can increase appeal mechanisms are critical. In Pakistan,
from zero to about $50 per household if the grievance redress system in the second
support is delayed by four months, and to phase of the Citizen’s Damage Compensation
about $1,300 if support is delayed by six to Program cut exclusion errors from an initial
nine months (Clarke and Hill 2013). This 61 percent to 32 percent (see annex 5A).
rapid increase is due to irreversible impacts Options to manage this challenge include
on children and distress sales of assets (espe- developing—before a crisis occurs—large and
cially livestock). flexible social registries that include both
Thus, most postdisaster responses have potential and existing beneficiaries, the use of
multiple stages, with initial (survival-related) self-targeting methods, and the use of
support delivered quickly even at the subsidies.
expense of targeting and accuracy, and Social registries. These are crucial because
reconstruction support provided later with they facilitate quickly identifying households
more effort to target support appropriately that are vulnerable to being pushed into pov-
(de Nicola 2015). In Pakistan after the 2010 erty by a disaster. Social registries should
floods, the government implemented the include demographic, socioeconomic, and
Citizen’s Damage Compensation Program location information on households that
(CDCP), a rapid response cash grant pro- can potentially be supported by a social
gram that included two phases to better program.
1 5 4 SHOCK WAVES
TABLE 5.2 Methods for targeting beneficiaries with social safety nets are more or less appropriate during
a crisis or after a disaster
In Brazil, the Cadastro Unico registry Self-targeting. This approach, which does
includes households with a per capita not necessitate much institutional capacity,
income below half the national minimum can be done via work programs—which pro-
wage, a threshold that is higher than the vide jobs and income by putting in place
income eligibility threshold of existing social public projects (like road construction, main-
programs. As a result, the registry includes tenance, irrigation infrastructure, reforesta-
households that are not currently beneficia- tion, soil conservation) or, especially in
ries of social protection but are considered postdisaster situations, reconstruction tasks.
to be vulnerable to economic shocks or It usually works by offering a below-market
disasters. Moreover, individuals can register wage; people join only if alternative income
at any time based on self-reported income, sources are lacking (Cazes, Verick, and
thereby reducing transaction costs (Bastagli Heuer 2009). In Côte d’Ivoire, the Highly
2009). Such a design ensures that the Bolsa Labour Intensive Works Program was cre-
Familia cash transfer scheme can be rapidly ated to support and rehabilitate 35,000 for-
adjusted when shocks occur, thus acting as mer combatants via road building and
an insurance facility for vulnerable reconstruction work. The key drawback is
households. that works programs fail to reach those who
Large social registries make it possible to face constraints that prevent them from
introduce dynamic targeting, in which poten- working (like those facing disabilities, sick-
tial beneficiaries are segmented—before a ness, and exclusion) and who are often the
disaster or a crisis—into multiple categories, poorest (McCord 2013).
based on their income, assets, location, or The use of works programs as a social
occupation (like farmers and fishermen). protection measure in postdisaster situations
Then, the different categories receive a vary- requires that cost-effective and socially benefi-
ing level of support depending on the situa- cial projects be readily identified before a cri-
tion. For instance, potential beneficiaries can sis strikes. In practice, however, extreme
be ranked starting from the poorest, and the natural events, such as storms or floods, are
number of people provided with support typically associated with obvious and signifi-
(“how far you go down the list”) can depend cant labor needs. Reconstruction of public
on the situation, for instance to provide more infrastructure and buildings and the clearing
people with support during a drought. The of rubble are examples of needs that can be
level of support in each category can even be met by works programs, which can benefit
based on an objective rule or a weather index affected poor and vulnerable people (even
(like using cumulative rainfall or a trigger those with low skills), as well as the wider
based on wind speed). community.
When social registries are not available, Subsidies. These are widely used to help
an alternative is combining geographical tar- poor people, especially in the absence of other
geting (to concentrate resources in the most social protection programs, and not least
affected municipalities or communities) with because they can be simple and quick to
community targeting (to use local knowl- implement. The Egyptian food subsidy pro-
edge to concentrate resources on the most gram was expanded in 2008 to include 15
affected households). Pakistan used this million additional beneficiaries (Jones et al.
approach in the first phase of the CDCP 2009)—thereby avoiding an increase in the
after the 2010 floods, when timeliness was a poverty rate from 22 percent to 31 percent
priority and there was no reliable data on due to food price increases. Indonesia used a
the distribution of losses. The second system of generalized subsidies as a safety net
phase—less urgent but with larger trans- during the 1997 financial crisis.
fers—put a stronger emphasis on targeting, But the drawbacks of subsidies are many.
using housing damages as a proxy for liveli- They can lead to waste and corruption. For
hood losses (see annex 5A). instance, analyses of India’s Public Food
1 5 6 SHOCK WAVES
FIGURE 5.4 Providing safety nets in the Horn of Africa and Sahel is affordable, but the cost is very
volatile
(Cost of providing safety net coverage)
4
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BOX 5.4 Private insurance and social protection schemes are complements, not substitutes
The different instruments for managing risk and cop- mechanisms: one cannot insure against regularly
ing with crises—from private insurance to uncondi- recurring events. Similarly, self-insurance and risk
tional cash transfers—are not substitutes: they are retention will be preferred for some risks, while con-
part of the toolbox available to governments, individ- tingent finance, private insurance, and risk sharing
uals, and firms, and can be used together, depending will be preferred for rarer events. As a result, the opti-
on the context and the considered risks. For instance, mal risk management strategy for a government or
some tools can be more appropriate and efficient an individual typically consists of a series of tools,
than others, depending on the probability with which combined within a consistent and holistic strategy.
a natural hazard turns into disaster. It is widely Moreover, the adequacy of different tools depends
accepted that risk-reduction investments—such as not only on the risk itself but also the varying char-
physical protection against floods—are more effi- acteristics of individuals and firms. While the middle
cient at dealing with frequent events than risk-sharing class and formal firms can have access to private
box continues next page
1 5 8 SHOCK WAVES
insurance markets, providing insurance products direct access: if higher-income households are cov-
adapted to poor people’s needs can prove extremely ered by private insurance schemes, public funds for
challenging—for them, social protection schemes postdisaster relief can be better focused on supporting
may be a more effective alternative to private insur- poorer households. In Turkey, the fact that all dwell-
ance. Thus, protecting a population against shocks ers in urban areas are covered by an insurance prod-
may require both developing a stable and competitive uct (the TCIP) makes it easier for the government to
insurance market and providing social safety nets. focus public resources on rural areas, which are poorer
Well-established private insurance markets can and where market insurance would be challenging to
be beneficial for poor populations, even if they lack introduce.
poorer if resources are scarce. In two case Managing such increases in social expen-
studies on Thailand, it was found that the ditures can be a challenge for governments
majority of post-flooding government support who often face reduced tax revenues follow-
was benefiting the well off, with 500 Bahts ing a disaster (Noy and Nualsri 2011;
per capita (about US$14) going to the richest Ouattara and Strobl 2013). To cover these
quartile, compared to 200 Bahts for the poor- liabilities created by natural hazards and
est quartile (Noy and Patel 2014). other environmental risks, different instru-
ments have been developed and imple-
mented (Mahul and Ghesquiere 2007;
Scalable social protection creates a
Ghesquiere and Mahul 2010; Hochrainer-
formal liability for the government, but
Stigler et al. 2014; Cardenas et al. 2007).
contingent finance and insurance are
The optimal choice of instruments is coun-
available to manage it
try specific and depends on both costs and
Just how costly is social protection? Certainly, timeliness (Clarke and Poulter 2014). These
the cost of providing coverage to vulnerable instruments include:
people affected by natural hazards changes Reserve funds. The Risk Financing
from year to year. In the case of the Horn of Mechanism in Ethiopia is a fund dedicated to
Africa and Sahel regions, protection costs can scaling up social protection, which allows the
increase by a factor of four in a year of severe PSNP to disperse additional transfers to exist-
drought, compared to an average year (figure ing recipients or temporarily expand its cov-
5.4). For other (rarer) disasters or shocks, the erage to reach beneficiaries not enrolled in the
impact on social protection costs can be even regular PSNP program, but who are affected
larger. In Bangladesh in 1998, households by a shock (see annex 5A). In the Philippines,
had to borrow at high costs to cope with the National Disaster Risk Reduction and
floods, with long-term impacts on welfare Management Fund finances a range of
and poverty (del Ninno et al. 2001). Avoiding disaster-related expenditures but is not able
such emergency borrowing would have to disburse rapidly in the case of crisis; this is
required a transfer of approximately Tk why the government created the Quick
5,000 (approximately US$90 at the time) for Response Fund, which focuses on emergency
each of the indebted households. For the gov- response (see annex 5A). Mexico’s Natural
ernment, total costs would have amounted to Disasters Fund (FONDEN) was created as a
more than $1.5 billion (3.5 percent of GDP), budgetary tool to rapidly allocate federal
a significant impact on public finances and funds for rehabilitation of public infrastruc-
social program budgets. ture affected by disasters.
L end a H and : P oor P eople , S u pport S y stems , S afet y N ets , and I ncl u sion 159
areas (Wodon et al. 2014). In the future, as the is adopted, the provision of information is
effects of climate change intensify, environ- critical—both on the procedure of how to
mentally induced migration is expected to remain in the program and on the location of
increase although no robust global estimates registration offices.
are available (Adger et al. 2014). A study Modern technologies can help simplify
investigating this question in five countries access to benefits, at least when the program
in the Middle East and North Africa region involves cash transfers rather than vouchers
concludes that a significant deterioration of and in-kind transfers. The Bolsa Familia pro-
climatic conditions would lead to an increase gram in Brazil provides beneficiary cards that
of about one-tenth to one-fifth of current can be redeemed at outlets across many urban
migration levels (Wodon et al. 2014). centers. A similar system exists in Ecuador,
Climate change and climate policies can but with mobile vendors that visit beneficia-
also impede migration—whether through ries. While effective and secure, such systems
constraints on urban development and higher can be costly to implement at a large scale.
housing costs linked to natural risks (higher Mobile money programs can be an efficient
construction costs due to stricter building alternative, as they are typically low-cost and
norms or restrictive flood zoning) or through have a wide reach (Aker et al. 2014; Vincent
increased conflict and exclusion (crime and and Cull 2011).
violence or civil unrest). In that case, climate
change would diminish the opportunities that
Domestic and global remittances are
individuals and households can capture. In
key to increase recipients’ resilience
addition, the ability to migrate depends on
household assets (including land tenure), the Remittances—that is, the private transfer of
ability to sell assets, information and social money by a foreign worker to individuals in
capital, financial resources, and human his or her home country—are estimated at
capital. $584 billion in 2014. They are a vital
Given the importance of mobility as an resource for developing countries and sig-
instrument for poverty reduction, climate nificantly exceed official development assis-
change adds to the rationale for portable tance and foreign direct investment
social protection benefits (Holzmann, Koettl, everywhere except China (Ratha et al.
and Chernetsky 2005; Kuriakose et al. 2013): 2015). Fragile and conflict-affected coun-
safety nets that are linked to specific locations tries, in particular, have large diaspora sav-
could tie poor people to places that may no ings as a share of GDP: some 81 percent in
longer support livelihoods. Safety net pro- Somalia, and 53 percent in Haiti (Ratha
grams must thus consider the portability of et al. 2015). In addition, domestic remit-
benefits—that is, help households or individu- tances can play an important role, especially
als to remain engaged in programs and to in rural areas. In India, the domestic remit-
maintain their benefits even as they move tance market was estimated to be $10 billion
(Gentilini, forthcoming). in 2007–08, with 80 percent of that being
For portability of participation, in the directed toward rural households for whom
absence of a central registry, programs require this represents a large fraction of total con-
systematic tracking of beneficiaries. Some sumption (Tumbe 2011).
programs place the responsibility on International remittance flows are a stable
beneficiaries to inform programs of their source of finance that are generally not corre-
migration. In the Philippines, beneficiaries lated with capital flows and that can help
must declare a change in residency and notify hedge against shocks (Bugamelli and Paterno
the program six months in advance of a move. 2009; Chami, Hakura, and Montiel 2009;
Alternatively, many countries have program World Bank 2006, 2015c). After natural,
offices in major urban centers where migrants economic, financial, and political shocks,
can register upon arrival. Whichever strategy these flows have been found to either remain
1 6 2 SHOCK WAVES
stable or even increase (Clarke and Wallsten FIGURE 5.5 Within a country, remittances tend
2004; Fagen 2006; World Bank 2006). to be higher for the wealthier
(Remittance transfers for poor and nonpoor people)
Unsurprisingly, countries with a larger stock of
emigrants as a share of the home population
tend to experience a greater surge in remit- Private tranfers received ($US 2005 PPP/year)
300
tances following natural disasters (Mohapatra,
Joseph, and Ratha 2009).
250
Remittances can help smooth consumption
and finance recovery and reconstruction.
After the 1998 flood in Bangladesh, consump- 200
tion was higher in remittance-receiving house-
Nonpoor
holds (Mohapatra, Joseph, and Ratha 2009). 150
In the Philippines, it was estimated that remit-
tances compensated for nearly 65 percent of 100
lost income after rainfall shocks (Yang and
Choi 2007). Despite disruptions in transfer 50
channels and financial services, remittances
remained relatively stable after disasters hit 0
Pakistan and Indonesia, and they were an 0 50 100 150 200 250 300
important factor in recovery and reconstruc- Poor
tion (Suleri and Savage 2006; Wu 2006). In
Indonesia, households that received remit- Source: ASPIRE database, World Bank 2015a.
Note: Each dot represents a country for which adequate data exist.
tances in the Aceh region recovered faster
from the 2004 tsunami, despite disruptions in
financial services and informal transfer chan-
nels (Wu 2006).
However, international and domestic Sustainable Development has proposed
remittances tend to benefit the wealthier reducing remittance costs to 3 percent, which
within a country (figure 5.5). They also have would translate into savings of over
sometimes been shown to lower government $20 billion annually for migrants. Commonly
spending through a substitution effect available technologies (like instant money
between private insurance provided by remit- transfers through cell phones) could play a
tances and public insurance provided through key role in streamlining processes and reduc-
government expenditures (Kapur and Singer ing transaction costs.
2006). But policies that encourage and facili-
tate the use of remittances for investments can
also promote microsaving and microinsur-
Voice and governance
ance, and lead to cobenefits such as enhanced When it comes to adaptation and coping,
financial integration. the affected populations must have access
To support the positive impacts of remit- to and some control over the country’s
tances, adequate financial and banking infra- economic, social, and institutional
structure and frameworks are essential. resources. Because poor communities lack
Globally, the burden of transfer costs stood human and social capital (like social net-
at 7.7 percent of overall transfers in 2014— works and influence on policies and strate-
and they tend to be the highest in Sub- gies that impact well-being), they are
Saharan Africa, where they average typically excluded from accessing such
11.5 percent (Ratha et al. 2015), partly reflect- resources. A background paper for this
ing limited competition among service pro- report argues that only with inclusive and
viders. The UN Open Working Group on participatory decision-m aking processes
L end a H and : P oor P eople , S u pport S y stems , S afet y N ets , and I ncl u sion 163
can policies be designed to protect the poor A narrow focus on poor people’s
and vulnerable effectively (Tschakert, v ulnerabilities to climate change can lead to
forthcoming). When such processes fail, as the justification of top-down interventions
in conflict-affected states, g overnments that undermine the role of communities
may be unwilling or unable to support (Tschakert, forthcoming). Adaptation strate-
those affected, with poor people being the gies that fail to account for the needs and cir-
first to suffer. cumstance of marginalized groups (including
women or ethnic minorities) can exacerbate
risk dynamics (Vincent et al. 2014). In con-
Vulnerability to climate change
trast, well-designed adaptation projects can
interplays with many other
promote equity, as in India’s Karnataka
vulnerabilities
watershed project—which increased income,
Efforts to improve the ability of poor peo- employment, and agricultural productivity
ple to cope with climate shocks can be among the poorest participants (Olsson et al.
more effective if they address the broader 2014).
issues related to power relations within When social dimensions are disregarded,
societies, instead of narrowly focusing on climate change and climate policies can sys-
one particular shock (such as disasters or tematically reinforce and exacerbate inequali-
changes in agricultural yields). It may be ties along with other drivers that amplify
more effective to boost income-generating vulnerability. Gender impacts can be rein-
activities for the poor to enable them to forced leading to differential access to social
afford living in safe areas, rather than to and environmental adaptation resources and
implement strict land use regulations that exclusion from decision making and planning
prevent destitute people from settling in (Vincent et al. 2014). In Ghana, observations
flood-prone areas. Assessments of vulnera- show that some husbands seek to maintain
bility need to go beyond analyzing physical their power positions by preventing women
assets and location, and on to exploring from cultivating their own plots, even though
the structural drivers of poverty (like social it could compensate for yield losses due to
capital, institutional arrangements, and shifting precipitation patterns (Carr 2008).
governance). Overlooking local marginalized groups has
Poor people are often confronted with major implications for the efficacy of climate
multiple dimensions of inequality (including policies and the ability of these communities
gender, age, race, caste, ethnicity, and disabil- to cope and adapt. Natural r esource-dependent
ity), with implications for their capacities and communities—including indigenous groups—
opportunities to cope and participate in adap- often have extensive knowledge and long-
tive decision making (Tschakert, forthcom- lasting traditions for adapting to changes in
ing). These inequalities can marginalize the climate and environment, but are over-
specific groups and further aggravate their looked in policy-making and planning pro-
vulnerability. In Benin, while progress in the cesses. These cultural practices are at risk of
multidimensional poverty index can be disappearing because of the effects of climate
observed for most ethnic groups, no reduc- change on the livelihoods and identities of
tion in poverty was observed among the Peul, these communities. Other factors exacerbate
the poorest ethnic group (Alkire, Roche, and this risk further, sometimes because of the
Vaz 2014). These types of inequalities not dependencies created by policies, inadequate
only reinforce systematic constraints to mar- entitlements and rights, obstacles for intergen-
ginalized groups’ access to opportunities, but erational knowledge transmission, and the
they can also be a source of conflict that fur- lack of inclusion in formal decision-making
ther amplifies the stress caused by climate processes (Adger et al. 2014; Tschakert,
impacts (Stewart 2010). forthcoming).
1 6 4 SHOCK WAVES
Poor people need a voice in decision- of different vulnerabilities, rather than just
making processes—community-based their consequences.
development and strong institutions One study, which analyzes how gover-
can help nance structures affect the variety of coping
strategies for hurricanes in the Mexican
When poor people are excluded from gover-
Caribbean, finds that regions with less hege-
nance and have no say in the d ecision-making
monic political structures have developed
process, the policy options discussed in pre-
more diversified coping strategies, compared
vious sections are unlikely to be implemented
to regions with strong top-down management
in a timely and adequate manner. This issue
that discourages participation (Manuel-
is closely linked to the values and criteria
Navarrete, Pelling, and Redclift 2011).
that determine which segment of the poor
Another study shows that community-driven
population is considered “deserving” of sup-
development projects have in various cases
port and the openness, inclusiveness, and
succeeded in helping communities deal with
fairness of the decision-making processes.
disaster and climate risks (Arnold et al. 2014).
Decision-making processes matter.
A cost-benefit analysis of adaptation invest-
ments would favor policies that protect
h i g h e r- i n c o m e a s s e t s r a t h e r t h a n
In conclusion
less-productive assets. Without an explicit This chapter provides evidence that poor
focus on the poor and vulnerable, such an people suffer more from economic and envi-
efficiency criterion may fail to help poor ronmental shocks than does the rest of the
communities and instead concentrate sup- population—and not only because they are
port and resources on the wealthier. more exposed or vulnerable to the impacts
A recent study assessing impacts of sea level discussed in chapters 2 (agriculture and eco-
rise on U.S. coastal communities found that systems), 3 (natural disasters), and 4 (health).
99 percent of the most vulnerable popula- Another crucial difference between poor
tions in the gulf region of the United States and nonpoor people is the strength and scope
live in areas where protection from inunda- of “support systems” available to them: fam-
tion (such as sea wall construction) is not ily, friends, communities, financial institu-
cost-effective, compared to only 8 percent tions, and the government. These systems
of the most resilient segments of the popu- provide tools for people to manage risks or
lation (Martinich et al. 2013). Protecting cope with disasters and shocks (such as social
only areas where the benefits from avoided safety nets, market insurance, savings, access
property loss exceed the costs of protective to credit, and remittances). They are crucial
measures is a sure way of directing protec- for reducing vulnerability and adapting to
tive investments toward rich areas. Explicit changing environmental and economic condi-
choices to support or compensate poor tions (World Bank 2013a). And they are criti-
communities are thus necessary to ensure cal for complementing other climate change
that adaptation policies support communi- adaptation measures—and preventing (at
ties with the least adaptive capacities. least partially) the associated harmful impacts
And yet for poor people the ability to influ- on poverty.
ence such decisions is often limited, thus con- The chapter calls for a comprehensive
tributing to their vulnerability to climate strategy, combining multiple tools that can
change and climate mitigation policies— protect against a variety of events (like small
which, in turn, aggravates preexisting poverty and frequent shocks, rare extreme disasters,
(Lawson and Elwood 2014). That is why par- and adverse long-term trends in
ticipatory decision-making processes can precipitation)—and remain suitable and acces-
improve the diversification of coping strate- sible for various income and demographic
gies for disasters and help address the causes groups. For instance, developing market
L end a H and : P oor P eople , S u pport S y stems , S afet y N ets , and I ncl u sion 165
insurance for the middle class to protect agricultural assets) and a Direct Support
against relatively frequent events helps gov- component (provides social assistance to
ernments concentrate resources on the poorest the poorest).
and vulnerable people and on hedging against • Household Asset Building Program
exceptional shocks that exceed the capacity of (HABP): This is designed to empower
private insurers. While the private provision r u ral households to increase thei r
of insurance for the very poor is associated incomes, food production, and assets, by
with large challenges, governments can supporting livelihood activities, extension
p rovide quasi-insurance via tax-financed services, and access to financial services.
social protection schemes, and in turn reinsure
against the resulting liability. But, for such Households that receive support from
protection strategies to be effective, they must these programs are expected to “graduate”
rely on a good understanding of the benefits from chronic food insecurity to food
of different tools for the poor and facilitate self-reliance. The FSP is implemented by the
participation in the decision-making process. Ministry of Agriculture (MoA) and is largely
Now that this report has underscored the funded by international donors and financial
vulnerability and exposure of poor people to institutions.
the adverse effects of climate change—and the PSNP targets the poorest and fights
various channels through which this can chronic food insecurity.The PSNP uses a mix
occur—we can ask what the overall impact of geographic and community-based target-
on poverty will be by 2030. The next chapter ing to identify chronically food-insecure
tackles this question, along with weighing the households in chronically food-insecure
implications of these results for climate woredas (or districts) in rural areas. The
change mitigation and its role in contributing greater use of c ommunity-based targeting has
to poverty reduction. led to more participatory and accountable
targeting processes. As a result, there is a gen-
eral consensus among the highlands commu-
nities that the PSNP targets the poorest
Annex 5A. Case studies of social
households. In fact, it is considered better tar-
protection and risk management geted than any other African safety net pro-
in Ethiopia, the Philippines, and gram (Coady, Grosh, and Hoddinott 2004;
Coll-Black et al. 2013).
Pakistan
The PSNP provides cash or food transfers,
Ethiopia: Moving from crisis and typically for six months each year, coinciding
humanitarian response to resilience with the lean season (between June and
building and proactive risk August). The transfer value from the program
management3 launch in 2005 to June 2015 equaled 15 kg of
cereals per household member per month, or
Given the persistence of food insecurity in
its cash equivalent. Households with able-
Ethiopia, the government of Ethiopia
bodied adults contribute to developing their
launched the Food Security Program (FSP) in
communities through public works activities
2005. The FSP was designed to institute a
(such as soil and water conservation mea-
movement away from ad hoc responses to
sures, school room construction or rehabilita-
food insecurity—as characterized by a major
tion, water point development, and road
drought in 2002—to a planned and system-
r ehabilitation). Households with no
atic approach. It includes two programs:
able-bodied adults are considered “permanent
• Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP): direct support” households and are not
This is the primary program, which required to undertake public works activities.
includes a Public Works component The PSNP can also scale up in a crisis, by
(builds community infrastructure and drawing on contingency budgets.
1 6 6 SHOCK WAVES
BOX 5A.1 How the PSNP helped households cope with Ethiopia’s 2011 food crisis
The risk financing procedure was set in motion fol- intervals built into public works transfers and to pre-
lowing several successive inadequate seasonal rains vent households from neglecting agricultural activi-
and local crop failures—made worse by a sharp rise ties during this period.
in food prices during the main PSNP transfer period. Over 80 percent of 11.1 million people identified
Initially, the cash value of the transfer was raised as experiencing transitory food insecurity in 2011
from 10 to 15 birr (US$0.50 to $0.75) for a wage were brought into the PSNP, leaving only 20 per-
day doing public works (and the same increase for cent to be covered by emergency operations. Of the
direct support beneficiaries). Next, a detailed assess- total 9.26 million people to be assisted from con-
ment was done for the size and distribution of a tingency funds, 6.5 million (70 percent) were PSNP
contingent risk financing operation (GFDRE 2011). clients and 2.8 million (30 percent) were humanitar-
It found that 9.26 million PSNP and nonPSNP cli- ian recipients. Since a total of 11.1 million people
ents in hotspot woredas would require risk financing were determined to need transitory assistance in
support to meet consumption needs for up to three Ethiopia as a whole, this highlights the size of the
months between September and November 2011. It potential humanitarian caseload shifted from emer-
also found that risk finance payments should be pro- gency operations to contingency funding thanks to
vided as unconditional transfers to avoid payment risk financing.
FIGURE 5A.1 Multiple programs answer different needs in postdisaster contexts in the Philippines
Community-driven
National community-driven development
Core shelter assistance program
Emergency shelter assistance
Shelter
Temporary shelter
assistance
Programs
affected area as compliant to the 4Ps’ beneficiaries, whether they are vulnerable
National Project Management Office. If (like older persons or lactating mothers),
approved at the level of the Secretary, bene- and their estimated monthly income.
ficiaries will be deemed compliant for a Humanitarian agencies were encouraged
maximum of three consecutive compliance by the government to adopt the DAFAC
verification periods (three months). This is as their primary tool for monitoring their
not an unprecedented procedure, with the programs to increase coordination
Bolsa Familia program in Brazil having between the government agencies and
undertaken similar steps to deliver uncondi- humanitarian programs.
tional payments to beneficiaries affected by • The Listahanan is a national registry
flooding in 2011. Using the preexisting 4Ps used to target beneficiaries of the national
system in this way, DSWD was able to conditional cash transfer program and
quickly release a total of P550.5 million other government social programs. In
(US$12.5 million) in unconditional cash 2011, it contained information on 11 mil-
transfers to Yolanda-affected 4Ps beneficia- lion households, but it is only updated
ries between November 2013 and February every four years. A process was created
2014 (DSWD 2014). for humanitarian agencies to coordinate
Considerable effort was also made to with the Listahanan, thereby helping the
coordinate the large number of cash trans- DSWD to meet its mandate to increase
fer providers with the government cash- the 4Ps coverage by 20,000 poor house-
based response programs—with some holds affected by Typhoon Yolanda.
positive results. In the case of Yolanda, • The 4Ps Beneficiary Update List (BUL)
both the World Food Program (WFP) and is a subset of the Listahanan. Updated
UNICEF used the 4Ps system to deliver every two months, it contains informa-
additional cash transfers to affected house- tion on poor households (as identified
holds. The WFP and UNICEF “topped up” using the Listahanan and a Proxy Means
the amount delivered by DSWD to house- Test targeting method) that are also ben-
holds in affected areas, effectively scaling eficiaries of the national 4Ps program.
up the conditional cash transfer grant A number of humanitarian cash transfer
amount during a time of increased need for programs directed assistance directly to
affected beneficiaries. This was an innova- 4Ps households using this up-to-date ben-
tive and replicable practice illustrating the eficiary information.
potential efficiency gains of delivering post- • The 4Ps Grievance Redress System (GRS)
disaster grants through a national cash is a component of the 4Ps that allows any-
transfer program to pretargeted poor and one to direct queries, clarifications, com-
vulnerable households. Finally, DSWD and plaints, grievances, and appeals to the
the UN Office for the Coordination of appropriate 4Ps committees at the com-
Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) also munity, provincial, regional, and national
encouraged the humanitarian cash transfers levels (UNOCHA 2014).
to leverage existing social protection and
other systems to increase coordination in The extent to which these recommenda-
their delivery, including: tions were adopted by the interagency
humanitarian response remains unclear, and
• Disaster Affected Family Assistance Card details on lessons learned are yet to emerge.
(DAFAC) is the primary tool for monitor- Nevertheless, the potential value of a more
ing the receipt of all benefits by affected unified overall response facilitated by preex-
households, including cash. It records isting SP information systems is clear, and
basic information pertaining to whether further research into the streamlining of these
the beneficiaries’ houses were damaged information systems into future interagency
(partially or totally), whether they are 4Ps response would add much value. Ultimately,
1 7 0 SHOCK WAVES
(World Bank 2013b). Eligible households were provided with cash payments that could
were given a one-off cash grant in the be used to meet any recovery needs (like
amount of PRs 20,000 (about US$213), reconstructing houses, restoring livelihoods,
based on funds available to cope with the or repaying accumulated debt). The size of
urgent needs of a very large flood-affected the grant to eligible households was doubled
target population. to PRs 40,000 (around US$426), a more suit-
The provincial and regional governments able amount to support recovery, provided in
identified CDCP beneficiaries in two ways. A two installments of PRs 20,000 each.
geographical targeting system was used in Measures were taken from the outset to
Punjab, Sindh, and Balochistan. Entire com- address the targeting issues found in Phase I.
munities were identified as calamity affected These changes meant that not all Phase I ben-
through notification by each province of the eficiaries were eligible for Phase II support,
flood-affected areas (determined by visually and some people excluded from Phase I were
calculating that at least 50 percent of houses included in Phase II. Housing damage was
or crops were lost). A Rapid Housing Survey adopted as a proxy indicator for livelihood
was used in Khyber Pakhtunkwa (KP) prov- losses nationwide, rather than the geographic
ince and the autonomous territories of Gilgit targeting method previously used in
Baltistan and AJK, with families living in Balochistan, Punjab, and Sindh. This meant
flood-affected housing units, rather than that the existing Rapid Housing Surveys
communities, being identified as flood could be used for targeting in KP and the
affected. autonomous regions, whereas new surveys
The findings from the Phase I evaluation needed to be conducted in the other three
showed that the funds helped households provinces.
cover their needs at a crucial time (World The eligibility criteria were further refined
Bank 2013b), with the grants mostly used to filter out the wealthier and to include par-
for food, health needs, housing repair, and ticularly vulnerable households by adding
debt repayment (Hunt et al. 2011). However, two new eligibility criteria:
the amount was insufficient for the flood-
• Well-off households are excluded from
affected households to recapitalize their
receiving the Phase II transfer. Wealth is
damaged or lost assets. The evaluation also
measured by a combination of proxies—
suggested that for every 100 potentially eli-
such as those having bank accounts in
gible family heads, only 43 had received the
international banks, frequent interna-
Watan card. Inclusion and exclusion errors
tional travel activities, and executive
explain these results. Geographical targeting
jobs.
missed households that suffered from dam-
• All legitimate vulnerable beneficiaries
ages but lived in a weakly affected commu-
(defined as female- and disabled-headed
nity; and the Rapid Household Surveys
families in the NA DR A's database)
missed some damages and were conducted
included in Phase I but not captured as
by local notables, not by experts able to
head of household through the housing
detect all damages. Finally, the beneficiary
damage survey will, de facto, become
selection and verification process proved to
Phase II beneficiaries.
be lengthy and cumbersome, particularly for
those who had lost the documentation neces- The vulnerability characteristics of flood-
sary for verification either prior to, or affected families or households were profiled
during, the floods. by analyzing a random sample from
Phase II of the CDCP distributed larger NADRA’s flood registration database and
amounts and was better targeted. In Phase II linking this with information on gender, dis-
(June 2011 to June 2013), with total resources ability, and educational levels in the civil reg-
of around $600 million, flood-affected house- istration database (World Bank 2013b).
holds, including many of those from Phase I, Additionally, the outstanding legitimate
1 7 2 SHOCK WAVES
grievance claims from Phase I were settled processes reduced exclusion errors in
and considerable resources used to strengthen Balochistan to 30 percent, compared to a
the government’s communications, grievance baseline of 73 percent.
redress, and policy and implementation A model of beneficiary registration and
capacities at different levels. payment. The CDCP offers a model of how
The new targeting mechanism was cum- to e stablish an efficient decentralized benefi-
bersome for good reason—with fairly large ciary r egistration system for a very large
transfers, the focus had to be on reducing number of clients over a widespread geo-
inclusion errors and then addressing the graphic area. By the end of Phase I, more
exclusion challenge through a rigorously than 1.6 million families had been enrolled,
applied grievance appeals system that came to and RPs 33 b illion (US$374 million) was
play a critical role in determining legitimate distributed (World Bank 2013b). A further
beneficiaries and drawing up beneficiary lists. 874,000 Watan cards have been issued
Data suggest that Phase II has been reason- since then and nearly RPs 31.9 billion
ably successful in targeting the most severely (US$337.6 million) disbursed during Phase
affected and the most vulnerable households II up to June 2012 (World Bank 2013b).
(like the poorest and least educated) in the This is an impressive logistical and adminis-
four provinces (except Balochistan). trative achievement.
However, beneficiaries experienced payment Over the course of Phases I and II, NADRA
delays, with just 63 percent of households established 101 CDCP local offices, named
having receiving both tranches and 13 per- Watan Card Facilitation Centers (WCFCs),
cent having received neither tranche—more covering all of the flood-affected districts. The
than a year after the inauguration of Phase II WCFCs serve as a “one-stop shop,” where
and almost three years after the 2010 the beneficiaries are enrolled, register com-
flooding. plaints or grievances, and often receive
Grievance appeals are standard features in p ayments via a Point of Sale machine.
safety net systems, and can be particularly Biometric screening is used to verify the ben-
important in emergency-type interventions, eficiary identities to prevent fraudulent claims.
where often simple and straightforward Beneficiaries are then registered and issued a
selection procedures are applied within rela- Watan card, which can be used at the Point
tively short periods of time. They made for Of Sale desk or any ATM. In certain districts,
substantially improved targeting. Whereas the placement of a cash desk at the WCFC
initial beneficiary identification (the baseline) (like on-site cash storage) was deemed a secu-
had resulted in the estimated exclusion of rity risk and payments have been processed at
61 p ercent of potentially eligible flood- a local bank branch, usually one or two kilo-
affected households, with modified pro- meters away from the WCFC.
cesses, and especially a fully operational
grievance-redress system, errors of exclusion
were reduced to 32 percent. Where exclusion Notes
did occur, it was driven by difficulties in cap- 1. Grosh et al. (2008) provide an extensive
turing people without identity cards (who review of existing social protection schemes.
would be automatically excluded), those 2. http://www.bcn.cl/de-que-se-habla/bono
without a permanent address, very isolated -solidario-marzo-2009.
households, and those living in insecure 3. Source: Background paper for this report by
areas. Enrollment difficulties were encoun- Johnson and Bowen (forthcoming).
tered in particular in Balochistan and Gilgit- 4. Source: Background paper for this report by
Balistan, where low administrative capacity Bowen (forthcoming).
5. Source: GFDRR case study on Pakistan
in both areas, and stone-built, less flood-
(World Bank 2013b) and Implementation
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A Window of Opportunity:
Climate-Informed Development 6
and Pro-Poor Climate Policies
Main Messages
179
1 8 0 SHOCK WAVES
to escape poverty: (i) agricultural production, to give a sense of the magnitude of the impact
ecosystems, and food security; (ii) natural of development on the vulnerability to climate
disasters; and (iii) health. change impacts. But this report has also
shown that there are limits to adaptation. The
• Chapter 2 shows that losses in the agricul-
evidence is strong that climate change mitiga-
tural sector and spikes in food prices
tion action is needed now to prevent much
pushed people into poverty in the past,
more severe impacts later this century (Fay
as exemplified by the 2010–2011 episode
et al. 2015; IPCC 2014; NCE 2014; OECD
that increased poverty by 44 million
2015). This chapter provides thoughts on
p eople—and that climate change will
how mitigation policies can stabilize the cli-
likely magnify this threat.
mate and the risks it creates, and do so with-
• Chapter 3 discusses how natural disasters
out slowing down poverty reduction.
are already preventing many households
from escaping poverty, with the poor
more vulnerable to these events—and
how climate change is likely to worsen By 2030, climate change will
the situation. increase; but rapid, inclusive,
• Chapter 4 shows that climate change will and climate-informed
magnify the type of health shocks that
are already a serious burden for poor peo- development can minimize
ple and poor countries—such as malaria, its impact on poverty
diarrhea, and stunting.
Between now and 2030, climate policies can
These chapters also identify many options to do little to reduce the amount of global warm-
reduce the impact of climate change, especially ing already under way because of the long lag
on the poor and vulnerable—from dikes and between the introduction of mitigation poli-
irrigation systems to early warning systems, cies, their impact on emissions, and the effect
better connection to markets, and universal of emissions reductions on the climate system.
health coverage. In addition, chapter 5 pres- Only changes in short-lived climate pollutants
ents instruments to make the population (like black carbon and methane) could have a
more resilient to shocks at an affordable cost rapid impact, especially at local scale, but
for public finances—for example, financial their potential at global scale remains rela-
inclusion and social safety nets that are scal- tively limited (Rogelj et al. 2014). This scien-
able and can target people hit by a health tific certainty means that the only way to
shock or a flood. reduce climate change impacts by 2030 is by
The message that emerges from these sec- lowering socioeconomic vulnerability to cli-
toral and thematic chapters is that poverty is mate change—through both climate-informed
one of the key markers of vulnerability and development and targeted adaptation efforts.
that much of what is recommended as mea- We investigate here the potential efficacy of
sures to make people and societies more resil- these development policies to reduce the pov-
ient is simply good development policy. And, erty consequences of climate change (full
given that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions- results and technical details of the analysis
reduction policies have limited impacts on presented below can be found in a background
climate change between now and 2030, it is paper for this report, Rozenberg and
development progress that will be the key Hallegatte, forthcoming). To do so, we first
determinant of the impacts of climate change look at what the future could look like with-
on poverty in the short to medium term. out climate change. We then use the likely
How much of a difference could good impacts of climate change on the poor identi-
development make to the resilience of indi- fied in chapters 2–4 to examine how the
viduals and societies? This chapter tries to aggregate impact of climate change on poverty
answer this question—and for the first time, is affected by overall development progress.
A W indow of O pport u nit y : C limate - I nformed D evelopment and P ro - P oor C limate P olicies 181
The results are unequivocal: the impact of of socioeconomic scenarios and exploring
climate change on poverty is conditioned by how climate change would affect develop-
overall development progress. ment in each of these scenarios. These sce-
narios do not correspond to particularly
likely futures (box 6.1). Rather, they are pos-
Even without climate change, very
sible and internally consistent futures, cho-
different futures can be imagined for
sen to cover a broad range of possible futures
poverty and development
to facilitate assessing possible orders of mag-
It is impossible to forecast future socioeco- nitude of future climate change impacts.
nomic development. Experience suggests we People sometimes refer to these scenarios as
are simply not able to anticipate structural “what-if” scenarios because they can help
shifts, technical breakthroughs, and geopo- answer questions such as: “What would the
litical changes (Kalra et al. 2014). Here, we climate change impact be if socioeconomic
do not predict future socioeconomic change development followed a given trend?” Our
and we do not predict the impact of climate goal is to better understand how the impact
change on poverty. of climate change on poverty depends on
Instead, we follow a scenario-based socioeconomic development, estimate the
approach that is the basis of all potential impacts in “bad” scenarios, and
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change explore possible policy options to minimize
(IPCC) reports. It consists of analyzing a set the risk that such a bad scenario occurs.
BOX 6.1 It is possible to inform decision making, even in a context of deep uncertainty
We do not attribute probabilities or likelihood to the future of technologies and most political and
our scenarios. These scenarios thus cannot be used socioeconomic trends. In such a context, exploring
as forecasts or predictions of the future of poverty scenarios without attributing probabilities to them is
or as inputs into a probabilistic cost-benefit a nalysis. commonplace. Since the 1990s, the IPCC and cli-
That said, they can still be an important input into mate community have used such long-term socioeco-
decision making. Indeed, decisions often are not nomic scenarios—the Special Report on Emissions
based on average or expected values or on the most Scenarios (SRES) and now the Shared Socioeco-
likely outputs, but instead on the consequences of nomic Pathways (SSPs)—to link policy decisions to
relatively low-probability outcomes. For instance, their possible outcomes (Edenhofer and Minx 2014).
insurers and reinsurers are often regulated on the Similarly, the U.K. government performs national
basis of the 200-year losses (that is, the losses that risk assessments using “reasonable worst case sce-
have a 0.5 percent chance of occurring every year). narios” (for example, regarding pandemics, natural
And we buy insurance to protect ourselves against disasters, technological accidents, or terrorism),
low-probability events that could have a large which are considered plausible enough to deserve
impact on our well-being. attention, even though their probability is unknown
Moreover, in a situation of deep uncertainty, it is (World Bank 2013, chapter 2).
often impossible to attribute probabilities to possible While these scenarios cannot be used to perform
outcomes (Kalra et al. 2014). For example, we know a full cost-benefit analysis, they make it possible to
that conflicts, such as those in North Africa and the elicit trade-offs and to support decision making.
Middle East, could continue over decades, slowing For instance, they help identify dangerous vulnera-
down growth and poverty reduction. But they also bilities that can be removed through short-term
could subside, allowing for rapid progress. While interventions (Kalra et al. 2014). In our case here,
these two scenarios are obviously possible, it is our two scenarios help us explore and quantify how
impossible to attribute probabilities to them in any poverty reduction can reduce the vulnerability to
reliable way. The same deep uncertainty surrounds climate change.
1 8 2 SHOCK WAVES
BOX 6.2 Building two scenarios to explore the large uncertainty on the future of poverty
To build representative scenarios that are sufficiently empert et al. 2006; Rozenberg et al. 2014), in which
L
differentiated, we first identify the potential driv- all uncertain parameters are varied systematically
ers of future poverty—like demography, structural across the full range of possible values. This enables
change, technological change and productivity, and us to generate hundreds of scenarios for the future
redistribution—and explore the range of uncertainty socioeconomic development of each of the 92 coun-
for each of these drivers. We combine them to create tries. Then, we select two representative scenarios per
hundreds of socioeconomic scenarios for 92 coun- country—one optimistic and one pessimistic in terms
tries. This analysis combines homogenized household of poverty reduction and changes in inequality—
surveys (from the I2D2 database) and microsimula- and we aggregate them into two global scenarios
tion techniques (Bourguignon, Ferreira, and Lustig labeled “prosperity” and “poverty” (table B6.2.1).
2005; Bussolo, De Hoyos, and Medvedev 2008; To guide the selection of the “prosperity” and
Olivieri et al. 2014). “poverty” scenarios in our large set of possible
We start from a database of 1.4 million house- futures, we use socioeconomic scenarios developed
holds (representing 1.2 billion households and by the scientific community to support climate
4.4 billion people in 92 countries). We transform the change research, the Shared SocioEconomic Path-
population structure to account for demographic ways (SSPs). Our prosperity scenario is chosen such
changes, and we modify the income of each house- that it is consistent with the 5th SSP (or SSP5; see
hold to account for socioeconomic changes, by O’Neill et al. 2013) for population and GDP. SSP5 is
2030. We factor in assumptions on future demo- the scenario with the largest economic growth and a
graphic changes (How will fertility or education small population. We also ensure that in this sce-
change over time?); structural changes (How fast nario, extreme poverty is below 3 percent of the
will developing countries grow their manufacturing global population in 2030. Similarly, we select the
sector or shift to services?); technology, productiv- “poverty scenario” using the population and GDP
ity, and economic growth (How fast will productiv- pathways of the SSP4, the most pessimistic in terms
ity grow in each economic sector? What is the future of poverty and inequalities, and we minimize struc-
of technologies and their productivity?); and policies tural change, so that 11 percent of the world popula-
(How much redistribution will occur?). tion lives in extreme poverty in 2030. Because of
Since evolutions are uncertain, we use a frame- constraints on microsimulations, our scenarios have
work inspired by robust decision-making tech- a 2030 time horizon, and we cannot use this tool to
niques (Groves and Lempert 2007; Kalra et al. 2014; explore the future after that point.
FIGURE 6.1 Our model for estimating the number of people in poverty because of climate change
(A schematic to represent the modeling undertaken to estimate the impact of climate change on extreme poverty in 2030 under
different scenarios of future development, and thus in worlds with different levels of exposure and vulnerability)
Prosperity Poverty
More optimistic on: Less optimistic on:
• Economic growth • Economic growth
• Poverty • Poverty
• Inequality • Inequality
• Basic services • Basic services
There are uncertainties on the impacts, in the short and the long run. By 2030,
differences in the physics (and biology) of climate change and sectoral adaptation to
climate impacts may give us different outcomes (e.g., on local rainfall patterns and
crop yields). By 2080, the level of emissions, and thus development patterns and
climate mitigation polices, also matter.
What development can achieve: Comparing the effect of low-impact climate change on poverty,
in a world that would be more or less prosperous in the absence of climate change
Uncertainty
from the
magnitude of
climate change
impacts
What development can achieve: Comparing the effect of high-impact climate change on poverty,
in a world that would be more or less prosperous in the absence of climate change
1 8 4 SHOCK WAVES
and malaria due to climate change and on the effect depends on the balance between changes
cost of treatment. in prices and quantities produced.
There are several limits to our approach. Using the data from our analysis of food
First, we follow a bottom-up approach and prices and production, we change the
sum the sectoral impacts, assuming they do income of all workers in the agricultural sec-
not interact. We do not focus on the macro- tor, according to the combination of changes
economic impact of climate change and its in prices and in the quantities that are pro-
effects on overall economic growth—and duced in a region (see Rozenberg and
thus on the secondary impact on poverty Hallegatte, forthcoming, for details). We
reduction, a limitation considering the evi- also rescale the (real) income of all house-
dence that overall growth is a major driver holds, accounting for the change in food
of poverty reduction (Dollar, Kleineberg, prices and the share of food in households’
and Kraay 2013; Dollar and Kraay 2002). budget. The impact of the agriculture chan-
We do so because previous research suggests nel on poverty depends on the number of
that the macroeconomic impact of climate farmers in each country, the income of these
change is likely to remain limited by 2030, farmers, and the income of the entire popu-
and because we hypothesize that the main lation (which affects the share of food in
channel from climate change impacts to pov- consumption).
erty is through the direct impacts, which are Our results show that in the high-impact
largely invisible in macroeconomic models scenario, the number of people living below
(chapter 1). Second, we consider only a sub- the extreme poverty line in 2030 increases by
set of impacts, even within our three 67 million people in the poverty scenario
sectors—for instance, we do not include the because of climate change impacts on agricul-
loss of ecosystem services and the nutritional ture, and by 6.3 million people in the prosper-
quality of food. Third, we cannot assess the ity scenario. Thus, on average, the negative
poverty impact everywhere. Our household impact of climate change on yields and prices
database represents only 83 percent of the outweighs the potential positive impacts on
population in the developing world. Some income that will come from higher food
highly vulnerable countries (such as small prices. Those numbers are possibly an under-
islands) cannot be included in the analysis estimation of actual impacts because both cli-
because of data limitations, in spite of the mate scenarios (low and high impact) assume
large effects that climate change could have that there is CO2 fertilization. The removal of
on their poverty rates. the CO2 fertilization assumption could bring
Food prices and food production. Impacts 3 million additional people into poverty in
of climate change on agriculture affect poverty the prosperity scenario and 12 million in the
in two ways, first through prices and con- poverty scenario.
sumption, and second through farmers’ Note that we did not model the impact of
incomes (chapter 2). Higher food prices climate change on ecosystem services—even
reduce households’ available income— though those will likely have a strong impact
especially for the poor, who spend a large on poverty—partly because the income
share of their income on food products. In our derived from ecosystems represents a small
scenarios, the impact depends on the fraction part of the ecosystem’s role, but mostly
of food expenditure in total expenditure, and because ecosystem impacts remain impossible
this fraction decreases as households get to anticipate.
richer. Food price changes also affect farmers’ Natural disasters. We estimate that the
incomes. However, this channel is complex number of people who lose income as a
since lower yields (which are expected in result of a natural disaster is on average 100
many areas because of climate change) mean million people per year (or 1.4 percent of the
that higher food prices do not necessarily world population).2 To account for climate
translate into higher farmer revenues: the net change by 2030, we assume that the fraction
1 8 6 SHOCK WAVES
of the world population that will be annually between household income and stunting.
affected by a disaster rises from an average We find that the prevalence of stunting drops
today of around 1.4 percent to 2 percent in for families whose income is above $8,000 per
the low-impact case and 3 percent in the year. We calculate the fraction of the stunted
high-impact case. This is an increase of 40 to individuals in the families with income below
120 percent, which is in the range reported $8,000, so that stunting prevalence is consis-
by Bouwer (2013) and the IPCC (2012 and tent with data for the current situation. Then,
2014) for the expected rise in economic we increase this fraction using projections
losses. It means that between 0.6 percent and from Hales et al. (2014) to account for climate
1.6 percent of the world population would change. We assume that stunted individuals
be affected by natural disasters because of have lifelong earnings reduced by 5 percent
climate change, on top of the reference risk (low-impact scenario) and 15 percent (high-
without climate change. Ultimately, these impact scenario), regardless of employment
numbers will depend on the effectiveness sector and skill level.
and timeliness of adaptation to new climate For malaria, we increase the number of
conditions. malaria cases in 2030 in each country fol-
In the low-impact case, we assume that lowing Caminade et al. (2014). As with
affected people lose 20 percent of their stunting, we calculate the fraction of people
annual income if they are poor and 10 per- who are affected by malaria, based on cur-
cent if they are nonpoor; in the high-impact rent prevalence, and we vary this fraction
case, the losses would be 30 percent for the using estimates of future change due to cli-
poor and 15 percent for the nonpoor. 3 mate change in various regions. Then, based
These numbers are in line with postdisaster on the literature reviewed in chapter 4, we
household surveys, even though much assume that these people are affected
higher values are often observed (Patankar, between 0.1 and 2 times per year and lose
forthcoming; Patankar and Patwardhan, income through the cost of treatment
forthcoming; Noy and Patel 2014; Carter (between $0.7 and $6 per occurrence) and
et al. 2007). We also assume that natural lost days of work (by the sick or caregivers,
disasters affect income only during one between 1 and 5 days per occurrence). Note
year, which is a conservative estimate that that we consider only the monetary expenses
is valid for small disasters, but not for large- due to the disease and do not model non-
scale events like Typhoon Yolanda in the monetary effects (like the cost of life or loss
Philippines or Hurricane Katrina in the in well-being from being sick), which would
United States.4 be important in a multidimensional analysis
Our results show that for natural disasters, of poverty.
in the high-impact scenario, the number of For diarrhea, we start from data on the
poor people rises by 5.6 million people in the number of cases per country today, the cost of
poverty scenario and by 1.5 million in the treatment (between $2 and $4 per episode),
prosperity scenario. and the number of days out of work (between
Health and high temperatures. We now 3 and 7 days for the sick and caregivers)
include a set of additional impacts of climate (Hutton and Haller 2004). We assume that
change on health (malaria, diarrhea, and the prevalence of diarrhea will increase by
stunting), based on the literature reviewed in 10 percent by 2030 because of climate change
chapter 4. (in all regions), using results from Kolstad
For stunting, we include the additional and Johansson (2010). To account for devel-
share of children estimated to be stunted opment, we use DHS data to explore the rela-
because of climate change in 2030. To factor tionship between household income and
in development, we use data from the exposure to diarrhea. We find a threshold at
Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) by $15,600 per year, and we assume that only
wealth quintile to explore the relationship households with income below this level are
A W indow of O pport u nit y : C limate - I nformed D evelopment and P ro - P oor C limate P olicies 187
FIGURE 6.2 Agriculture is the main sectoral factor explaining higher poverty due to climate change
(Summary of climate change impacts on the number of people living below the extreme poverty threshold, by source)
Prosperity scenario
(high impact)
Prosperity scenario
(low impact)
Poverty scenario
(high impact)
Poverty scenario
(low impact)
By 2030, climate change is not the • In the prosperity scenario, the increase
dominant driver of global poverty in poverty due to a high-impact climate
but can have a large impact if change scenario is “only” 16 million
development is not rapid, inclusive, people, suggesting that development and
and climate informed access to basic services (like water and
sanitation) are effective in reducing poor
So how do these sectoral results add up in
people’s vulnerability to climate change.
terms of climate change’s effect on future
For the low-impact scenario, the increase
poverty trends? We definitely find that a
is 3 million people.
large effect on poverty is possible, even
though our analysis is partial and does not Note that the large range of estimates in
include many other possible impacts (for our results—3 to 122 million—may incor-
example through tourism, energy prices, for- rectly suggest that we cannot say anything
eign direct investment, or remittances) and about the future impact of climate change on
looks only at the short term (during which poverty. The reason for this rather wide
there will be small changes in climate condi- range is not just scientific uncertainty on cli-
tions compared with what unabated climate mate change and its impacts. Instead, it is
change could bring over the long term). predominantly policy choices—particularly
Indeed, our overall results show that between those concerning development patterns and
3 million (in the prosperity scenario with poverty reduction policies between now
low impact) and 122 million (in the poverty and 2030. While emissions-reduction poli-
scenario with high impact) additional people cies cannot do much regarding the climate
would be in poverty because of climate change that will happen between now
change (Table 6.1). and 2030 (since that is mostly the result of
past emissions), development choices can
• In the poverty scenario, the total number affect what the impact of that climate change
of people living below the extreme pov- will be.
erty line in 2030 is 1.02 billion people in In the prosperity scenario, the lower
the high-impact climate change scenario; impact of climate change on poverty comes
this represents an increase of 122 million from a reduced vulnerability of the develop-
people compared to a scenario with no ing world to climate change compared to the
climate change. For the low-impact sce- poverty scenario. This reduced vulnerability,
nario, the increase is 35 million people. in turn, stems from several channels.
TABLE 6.1 Climate change can have a large impact on extreme poverty, especially if socioeconomic trends and
policies do not support poverty eradication
(Poverty headcount in the four scenario types)
• People are richer and fewer households our model shows that almost 90 percent of
live with a daily income close to the pov- the uncertainty on poverty impacts arises
erty line. Wealthier people are less from the uncertainty on the local agriculture
exposed to health shocks (such as stunt- impacts (like how crops respond to higher
ing and diarrhea) and are less likely to be temperatures and resulting impact on yields),
pushed into poverty when hit by a shock. which is due to the different climate models
• The global population is smaller in the used in the agricultural analysis (chapter 2).
prosperity scenario in 2030, by 2 percent This uncertainty prevents us from provid-
globally, 4 percent in the developing ing a precise estimate of the future impacts of
world, and 10 to 20 percent in most climate change on poverty, even for a given
A frican countries. This difference in socioeconomic development trend. And the
population makes it easier for global present analysis underestimates this uncer-
food production to meet demand, thereby tainty since many of the least-known impacts
mitigating the impact of climate change have been disregarded—such as recent find-
on global food prices. The prosperity ings of the impact of climate change on the
scenario also assumes more technology nutritional quality of food (Myers et al.
transfers to developing countries, which 2014), or the possibility of a more rapid rise
further mitigates agricultural losses. in sea level than expected.
• There is more structural change (involving Since most of the variation in our estimate
shifts from unskilled agricultural jobs to of the climate change impact on poverty arises
skilled manufacturing and service jobs), so from the socioeconomic trends and policies,
fewer workers are vulnerable to the nega- we explore this variation further and use 60
tive impacts of climate change on yields. In alternative prosperity and 60 alternative pov-
the prosperity scenario, a more balanced erty scenarios. These scenarios represent dif-
economy and better governance mean ferent world evolutions that achieve similar
that farmers capture a larger share of the progress to the two reference scenarios in
income benefits from higher food prices. terms of economic growth and poverty reduc-
tion. We assess the poverty impacts of climate
Up to 2030, climate change remains a sec- change on all 120 scenarios. We find that the
ondary driver of global poverty compared to range of possible impacts is extremely large,
development: the difference across reference especially in the poverty scenario (table 6.1)—
scenarios due to socioeconomic trends and which also features more uncertainty. In the
policies (that is, the difference between the poverty scenario, some scenarios (12 out of
poverty and prosperity scenarios in the 60) show a decrease in global poverty num-
absence of climate change) is almost 800 mil- bers. These are scenarios where climate
lion people. This does not mean that climate change impacts remain moderate (low-
change impacts are secondary at the local impact), where a large share of the population
scale: in some particularly vulnerable places still works in the agricultural sector, and
(like small islands or in unlucky locations where farmers benefit the most from higher
affected by large disasters), the local impact food prices (assuming a proportional pass-
could be massive. through of higher revenues to their incomes).
Note that although climate change impacts Our global results in the representative
are secondary in our scenarios, they are also prosperity and poverty scenarios also hide
highly uncertain. There is a big difference in higher impacts at a finer scale. At the country
poverty outcomes when we consider climate and regional level, the hotspots for increased
change in the low-impact or high-impact sce- poverty because of climate change are Sub-
nario. This occurs because of the large uncer- Saharan Africa and—to a lesser extent—India
tainty surrounding the future magnitude of and the rest of South Asia, especially in the
physical impacts, largely in agriculture. In poverty scenario (map 6.1). Those countries,
fact, a systematic sensitivity analysis based on in Africa in particular, bear a higher burden
1 9 0 SHOCK WAVES
MAP 6.1 Sub-Saharan Africa and—to a lesser extent—India and the rest of South Asia are the most vulnerable
(Increase in poverty rate due to climate change in the high-impact scenario)
because they have the highest initial number development is rapid, inclusive, and climate
of poor people and the steepest projected informed, than in a world where extreme
food price increases. poverty would persist without climate change.
In almost all countries, the additional Development policies thus appear to be good
number of poor people due to climate change adaptation policies, in addition to the more
is higher in the poverty scenario than in the targeted sectoral interventions described in
prosperity scenario. Two exceptions are previous chapters.
Liberia and the Democratic Republic of
Congo, for which the number of poor people
pushed into poverty because of climate Pro-poor mitigation policies are
change is higher in the prosperity scenario needed to reduce the long-term
than in the poverty scenario. This is because,
in the poverty scenario, 70 percent of the
threat of climate change
population still lives below the extreme pov- So far, we have looked only at what occurs
erty threshold in 2030 even without climate by 2030—a period during which emissions-
change. There are fewer people at risk of fall- reduction policies have almost no impact on
ing into poverty because most of the popula- the magnitude of climate change (IPCC
tion is already poor—a reminder that the 2013). By this time, climate change impacts
depth of poverty (not just the poverty head- also remain moderate compared with what
count) also matters. is expected in 2050 and beyond. Indeed, the
Moreover, our results show that it is not impacts of climate change will grow with its
just the extreme poor who are affected. By magnitude, which will continue increasing as
2030, the income of the bottom 40 percent is long as net emissions of carbon dioxide
reduced compared to the scenarios without cli- (CO2) are not reduced to zero.
mate change by more than 4 percent in many While chapters 2 to 5 propose options to
countries in the high-impact climate change reduce these impacts, they also point to the
scenario. In most Sub-Saharan African coun- limits of these options. Land use planning
tries and Pakistan, the income of the bottom faces difficult political economy obstacles,
40 percent decreases by more than 8 percent in financial constraints make it tough to invest
the high-impact climate change scenario. in protection infrastructure, the provision of
What messages should we take away from health care in rural areas remains challenging,
all of these results? and targeting social assistance after a disaster
First, the quantitative impacts of climate and in emergency conditions will always be
change on poverty are uncertain, but could difficult. There are clear limits to what adap-
be significant, even over the relatively short tation can achieve, and these limits will be
term. It is true that our analysis does not tested by climate change. As summarized in
cover all climate change impacts (like those IPCC (2014), “without additional mitigation
on ecosystem services) or the entire develop- efforts beyond those in place today, and even
ing country population (17 percent is left with adaptation, warming by the end of the
out), yet we still find that more than 21st century will lead to high to very high risk
100 million people may be pushed into pov- of severe, widespread and irreversible impacts
erty because of climate change impacts. globally.”
Second, most of the uncertainty surround- Moreover, the long-term impacts of cli-
ing these impacts comes from development mate change are highly uncertain. How will
choices made between now and 2030, and ecosystems react to rapid changes in temper-
can therefore be actively reduced by imple- ature, rainfall, and ocean acidity? How fast
menting the right policies. The quantitative will icecaps disappear, raising global sea
impacts of climate change on poverty are levels and threatening coastal settlements?
much smaller in a world where socioeco- Could more pressure on natural resources
nomic trends and policies ensure that trigger more conflicts? Importantly, this
1 9 2 SHOCK WAVES
c ountries in the past at similar income levels— 2014), or insufficient investment in zero-
this earlier access of poor people to energy carbon electricity (Lecuyer and Vogt-Schilb
services is one of the positive impacts of higher 2014). Without early retirement, the lifetime of
energy efficiency, but it results in more energy energy infrastructure that is built now ranges
consumption.
Energy leapfrogging could occur in the FIGURE 6.3 One billion people living in the poorest countries emit
future if (i) developing countries enact policies less than 1 percent of global emissions
that favor the adoption of cleaner technolo- (Carbon emissions and population by country)
gies (like performance standards on light
35
bulbs, appliances, buildings, or private vehi-
cles); (ii) they correct other market or govern- 30
ment failures that prevent technology
FIGURE 6.5 Carbon neutrality is needed by 2100 to achieve environmental performance standards,
climate goals information labels, financing facilities, and
(Global CO2 emissions in the scenarios analyzed by IPCC 2014)
land use and urban planning (Fay et al. 2015;
NCE 2014; OECD 2015). These packages
140
must be designed in a way that does not
120 threaten the objective of eradicating poverty
by 2030.
Annual CO2 emissions (GtCO2/yr)
100
options that involve immediate costs but are FIGURE 6.6 Investments in coal-related infrastructure have
urgently needed to prevent irreversibility and created large emission commitments
(Total emissions committed by existing infrastructure, for oil, gas, and coal)
lock-ins into carbon-intensive patterns (like
those regarding deforestation or urban
transport). 300
Climate change mitigation offers
cost-effective opportunities and cobenefits,
250
especially for poor people. Many climate miti-
gation policies are consistent with development
(GtCO2)
most effective development options also reduce 150
GHGs emissions (or increase them in a negli-
gible manner; see box 6.3).
100
For instance, using modern, e nergy-efficient
technologies for lightning and transportation
can help provide cheap energy services at a 50
low environmental and economic cost.
The Global Fuel Economy Initiative’s (GFEI)
goal of doubling the efficiency of the global 0
fleet of cars (from 8 to 4 liters per 100 km) 1950 1960 1970 1980 1990 2000 2012
would result in savings in annual oil import Year
bills alone worth over $300 billion in 2025 Coal Gas Oil
and $600 billion in 2050 (based on an oil
Source: Davis and Socolow 2014.
price of $100/barrel). According to the United Note: GtCO2 = gigatons of carbon dioxide.
Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)/
Global Environment Facility (GEF) en.lighten many regions, especially before 2030 (Shindell
initiative, eliminating inefficient lighting by et al. 2012; Shindell 2015; Thompson et al.
2030 would save about 1,000 terawatt-hour 2014; West et al. 2013). A pathway leading to
(TWh)/year in electricity consumption and a reduction in CO2 concentrations from 720
more than $100 billion in electricity bills. to 525 parts per million (ppm) in 2100 would
Also, renewable energy can meet the avoid 0.5 million premature deaths annually
needs of poor households at competitive in 2030, 1.3 million in 2050, and 2.2 million
prices, especially in remote rural areas where in 2100, compared to a scenario with only the
grid development and centralized production progress that can be expected from the histori-
would be expensive (Deichmann et al. 2011). cally observed uptake of pollution-control
U n d e r t h e Wo r l d B a n k – m a n a g e d technologies (figure 6.7a).
Community Development Carbon Fund In places where air pollution has reached
Nepal Micro-Hydro Promotion project, 426 alarming levels in the past decade, health
community-run micro-hydropower plants cobenefits can be particularly large (Matus
were installed, benefitting 625,000 people et al. 2012). In China, air pollution is esti-
and avoiding the emissions of about 66,000 mated to result in 7.4 times more premature
tons of CO2 per year. deaths than in the European Union (EU)
In addition, climate mitigation efforts can (Watts et al. 2015), and the estimated cost of
lower local air pollution, thereby providing ambient air pollution in terms of morbidity
massive health benefits and higher agricultural and mortality is around $1.9 trillion annually
yields. Recent studies have found that the ben- in China and India alone (OECD 2014a). In
efits from lower air pollution alone could East Asia, about 500,000 premature deaths
more than offset the cost of mitigation in would be avoided annually in 2050 under
1 9 6 SHOCK WAVES
FIGURE 6.7 Lower air pollution means lower mortality rates report reviews market and government fail-
(Changes in mortality in baseline and mitigation scenarios, from small particulate ures that hamper their adoption—including
matter (PM2.5) at the global scale and in East Asia)
incorrect pricing, split incentives, poor
enforcement of existing regulations, lack of
a. Global b. East Asia
information, behavioral failures, and limits to
500
1 the financing capacity of stakeholders. It also
Mortality (millions per year)
20
40
60
80
00
00
20
40
60
80
00
providing a combination of technical assis-
20
20
20
20
20
21
20
20
20
20
20
21
Year Year
tance and better access to green technologies.
Baseline RCP4.5
For instance, the UNEP/GEF en.lighten ini-
Source: Adapted from West et al. 2013.
tiative supports countries to implement mea-
Note: Baseline is a reference scenario leading to CO2 concentration around 720 parts per million sures to reduce inefficient lighting. The GFEI
(ppm) in 2100, which assumes an uptake of pollution control technology consistent with historical
experience (Smith, West, and Kyle 2011). RCP4.5 is a scenario with mitigation policies that would
builds administrative and technical capacity
lead to 525 ppm in 2100. (More ambitious decarbonization would tend to increase cobenefits). The in developing countries, with the final objec-
difference between Baseline and RCP4.5 can be attributed uniquely to GHG emissions reductions.
tive of helping them implement the policies
that will double the energy efficiency of the
climate mitigation (figure 6.7b). In India, if global private car fleet.
health benefits from lower PM2.5 emissions The international community—and
(a decrease of 50 percent by 2050 in tiny par- high-income countries—can also help fund
ticulate matter) were valued similarly to the innovation to come up with the solutions that
approach used in the EU for air pollution, developing countries need (like improved
they would offset the cost of emission reduc- building design and materials for tropical
tions in full (Markandya et al. 2009; Watts et climates).
al. 2015). Public transportation is an example Multilateral or bilateral development
of a measure that can reduce local pollut- banks (MDBs) can provide advisory services
ants—in addition to transport costs, conges- to help countries develop strong capital mar-
tion, and GHG emissions. kets and channel official development assis-
Another area where cobenefits can be gen- tance. This is particularly important for
erated using mitigation policies is land-based infrastructure: although MDBs’ financial
mitigation and policies and payment for eco- resources are small relative to the need—
system services. These schemes require devel- MDB lending for infrastructure were about
oping effective institutions (like land tenure) $90 billion in 2011, whereas $1 trillion per
and enforcement capacity, and they need to year would be needed to close the infrastruc-
be designed explicitly to support poverty ture gap in developing countries—they often
reduction. If carbon-related payments were fund a substantial share of infrastructure
fully developed and pro-poor participation investments in the poorest countries. MDBs
conditions secured, an estimated 25–50 mil- can have a significant impact if they are lever-
lion low-income households could benefit aged to make emissions-reduction invest-
from them by 2030 (Milder, Scherr, and ments more attractive to the private sector
Bracer 2010). And climate-friendly landscape (for instance, by derisking projects with guar-
management can be more productive and antees and blended financial instruments).
more resilient to climate shocks (chapter 2). Financial tools for the private sector are
In most cases, governments need to enact also important. The International Finance
policies to actively promote the adoption of Corporation recently provided a $30 million
such no-regret options. A recent World Bank loan to the responsAbility Energy Access
A W indow of O pport u nit y : C limate - I nformed D evelopment and P ro - P oor C limate P olicies 197
Fund, which finances manufacturers and dis- Fortunately, studies suggest that countries
tributors of affordable solar-powered devices. can reduce their GHG emissions while ensur-
These devices give underserved people access ing universal access to modern cooking (for
to LED-based lighting and power for charg- example, Pachauri et al. 2013). One approach
ing cell phones or small appliances, thereby is to sequence fossil fuel subsidy removal,
supporting economic activity and better removing subsidies on LPG later on. Similarly,
livelihoods. carbon taxes can be combined with policies
To protect poor and vulnerable people, that help the shift to modern energy, such as
climate mitigation policies can be combined low-cost financing for clean cookstove pur-
with complementary policies, including chase or temporary subsidies for modern
social protection. To stay on a pathway energy. If well targeted, policies that support
compatible with zero net emissions before LPG use would have a negligible impact on
2100, countries will have to do more than GHG emissions (Pachauri et al. 2013). More
implement win-win options, potentially creat- generally, providing universal access to basic
ing costs and trade-offs with poverty reduc- services would have no significant impact on
tion. For instance, a key concern is that carbon global emissions—even using current technol-
taxes or fossil fuel subsidy removals can jeop- ogies (box 6.3).
ardize the switch from traditional biomass In Peru, the Fondo de Inclusion Social
(which would not be impacted by higher Energetico mails LPG vouchers to poor
energy or carbon prices) to modern cooking households with their electricity bill (targeting
fuels, such as electricity or liquefied petroleum households who own an LPG cookstove and
gas (LPG) (which would become more expen- consume less than a given threshold of elec-
sive). This matters greatly because traditional tricity per month). Under India’s Direct
cooking fuels are unhealthy and worsen gen- Benefits Transfer for LPG program, cash
der imbalances and educational opportunities, transfers are credited directly to the bank
given the time women and children must accounts of LPG consumers (this is done
spend to collect them (WHO 2006). instead of reducing the market price of LPG
BOX 6.3 Is there a trade-off between climate mitigation and reducing extreme poverty?
Many recent studies support the idea that providing However, these studies rely on a very restric-
those who are currently extremely poor with access to tive definition of access to basic services—one
basic services would not jeopardize climate mitigation. that remains far below what is considered accept-
• Above a human development index (HDI) of able in developed countries. For instance, for
0.8 (the UN threshold to be considered a devel- access to electricity, the IEA uses two threshold
oped country), carbon emissions and the HDI are levels of consumption: 250 kilowatt-hours
decoupled (Steinberger and Roberts 2010). (kWh) per year for rural households and 500
• The International Energy Agency (IEA) estimates kWh per year for urban households. In rural
that universal access to basic energy services by areas, this is sufficient to use a floor fan, a mobile
2030 could be achieved by increasing electricity telephone, and two compact fluorescent light
consumption by 2.5 percent, and fossil fuel con-
bulbs for about five hours per day. In urban
sumption by only 0.8 percent (IEA 2011).
areas, it can include an efficient refrigerator, a
• The World Development Report 2010 estimates
that the additional emissions needed to provide second mobile telephone per household, and
universal access to electricity in 2010 could be another appliance (such as a small television or a
offset by a switch of the U.S. vehicle fleet to Euro- computer). Even middle-class living conditions
pean standards (World Bank 2010). imply a much higher level of consumption
(ESMAP and SE4ALL 2015). And, historically, affluence and modern living standards with cur-
there has been a strong relationship between rent development patterns and technologies
energy consumption and GDP—even though would result in much higher energy consumption
there are decreasing returns on how much energy and GHG emissions (Rao, Riahi, and Grubler
consumption helps increase life expectancy and 2014). This is why immediate action is needed in
basic needs (Figure B6.3.1). all countries to achieve affluence and shared
So eradicating extreme poverty can be done at prosperity while decarbonizing the global econ-
low energy consumption levels, but generalizing omy by the end of the century.
FIGURE B6.3.1 Energy use keeps rising with GDP even though less
energy might be enough for basic human needs
100
Basic needs access (%)
90
80
70
60
50
40
30
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
90
Life expectancy (years)
80
70
60
50
40
0 50 100 150 200 250 300
GDP per capita (2005 US$ PPP)
100,000
10,000
1,000
100
1 10 100 1000
Total final energy consumption (GJ/capita)
cylinders, to reduce fraud). Sometimes the tax (or fossil fuel subsidy removal) coupled
modern cook fuel is electricity, and govern- with targeted or untargeted cash transfers,
ments want to phase out LPG (this will likely achieves two different objectives: reducing
be increasingly important as governments GHGs and improving income distribution
engage on the path to zero net GHG emis- (Klenert et al. 2015).
sions). Ecuador is considering how to remove All the revenues from carbon prices or fos-
LPG subsidies to reduce LPG imports and sil fuel subsidy reform cannot always be used
GHG emissions without hurting poor house- for direct redistribution to households, but
holds. The idea is to facilitate the switch to that does not necessarily threaten the positive
electric cookstoves before LPG subsidies are distributive impact. In British Columbia, reve-
removed by providing financing options when nues from the carbon tax are used to cut taxes
buying the stoves and temporarily subsidizing on both labor and capital, and the scheme is
electricity (which comes mainly from local still progressive overall (Beck et al. 2015).
hydropower). Poverty benefits can be further increased if
However, fuel subsidies introduce risks of revenues are used for more targeted instru-
subsidy diversion, smuggling, and fraud ments that help poor people (like targeted
(Barnwal 2014; Cunha, Trezzi, and Calvo- cash transfers), or for better social safety nets
Gonzalez 2015). In Ghana, illegal diversion (like school feeding). Based on current CO2
of a heavily subsidized fuel for fishing, “pre- emissions and without any international
mix,” has been problematic for decades. For transfer, a $30/tCO2 (ton of carbon dioxide)
many years, the price of gasoline has been domestic carbon tax would raise resources
double—and between 2011 and 2013 even amounting to more than 1.5 percent of local
triple or quadruple—the price of premix fuel, GDP in half of the 87 countries (both devel-
creating enormous scope for commercial mal- oped and developing) where data are avail-
practice and illegal gains (Kojima 2013). This able (figure 6.9, panel a). Remember from
is why more countries are now turning chapter 5 that, in Sahel countries, 1.5 percent
toward cash transfers to compensate poor of GDP is more than the amount needed to
people and protect them against higher protect households affected by severe
energy prices. droughts. And in 60 out of the 87 countries, a
Indeed, the best strategy may be to imple- $30/tCO2 domestic tax would provide the
ment carbon prices or remove fossil fuel sub- resources to more than double current levels
sidies, while recycling revenues through cash
transfers or programs that help the poor
(OECD 2014b; Vagliasindi 2012). When car- FIGURE 6.8 Recycling $100 from the global fossil
bon revenues or savings from fossil fuel sub- fuel subsidy budget as a universal cash transfer
sidy removal are recycled in lump-sum cash would benefit poor people
transfers to the population, the overall impact
is to improve equity (Bento et al. 2009; Callan
et al. 2009; Cohen, Fullerton, and Topel
$13
Variation in annual income
of social assistance in the country (figure 6.9, they tend to own more houses or land where
panel b). Even a low carbon tax at $10/tCO2 photovoltaic panels can be installed, and can
would make it possible to significantly scale better afford the high upfront cost of install-
up social assistance, or other investments that ing panels. In contrast, everyone pays higher
benefit poor people, such as connection to electricity tariffs to finance the scheme. This
sanitation and improved drinking water or problem applies to other subsidies to encour-
access to modern energy. Brazil, the age low-carbon investment—such as hybrid
Dominican Republic, Indonesia, and Mexico or electric vehicles, residential heating, or
provide examples where well-functioning air-conditioning—that are more likely to be
cash-transfer programs have been used to undertaken by wealthy households
protect basic consumption by the poor from (Borenstein and Davis 2015). But solutions
price increases resulting from subsidy have been proposed, such as financing subsi-
removals (Beaton and Lonton 2010; Di Bella dies with progressive income taxes or specifi-
et al. 2015; Vagliasindi 2012). cally encouraging poor households to
Other emissions-reduction policies can participate (CPUC 2013; Granqvist and
also have significant distributional impacts Grover 2015; Macintosh and Wilkinson
that need to be explored before policies are 2010).
implemented (Fay et al. 2015). For instance, More generally, the distributional impacts
it has been shown that feed-in tariffs for of climate mitigation policies can in principle
renewable energy in the United Kingdom be corrected using independent policies spe-
and Germany are slightly regressive (Grösche cifically designed to redistribute income in the
and Schröder 2014; Grover 2013). Wealthy economy, such as using income or consump-
households benefit from the scheme, because tion taxes to fund cash transfers or social
FIGURE 6.9 Using the revenue from a carbon tax could boost social assistance
(Potential carbon revenue as a fraction of GDP and compared to current social assistance benefits)
14 14
12 12
Carbon revenue (% GDP)
Carbon revenue (% GDP)
10 10
8 8
6 6
4 4
2 2
0 0
0 2,000 4,000 6,000 8,000 10,000 12,000 14,000 0 2 4 6 8 10 12 14
GDP per capita (US$, PPP 2011) Average social assistance received (% GDP)
Source: World Bank calculations, using data from World Development Indicators and ASPIRE.
Note: Panel a: revenue of a $30/tCO2 carbon price expressed as a fraction of GDP. Each dot represents a country. Panel b: How this revenue compares to
current social assistance benefits in the countries. In 60 out of 87 countries for which data are available, a $30/tCO2 tax would provide the resources to more
than double current social assistance transfers (dots above the diagonal line on the right panel). Calculations assume unchanged energy consumption.
GDP = gross domestic product; tCO2 = tons of carbon dioxide. PPP = purchasing power parity.
A W indow of O pport u nit y : C limate - I nformed D evelopment and P ro - P oor C limate P olicies 201
safety net programs (Borenstein and Davis regarding urban transport, energy infrastruc-
2015; Gahvari and Mattos 2007; Lindert, ture, or deforestation).
Skoufias, and Shapiro 2006). A study based The typical example is urban transit. While
on World Bank household surveys reveals transit-oriented development may require
that most countries where the GDP per capita higher upfront costs and investments than
is above $4,000 (in purchasing power parity) road-based low-density urbanization, the
can reliably redistribute poverty away using high urbanization rate in many developing
their own internal resources (Ravallion 2010), countries and the lifetime of urban forms and
and thus can protect poor people against the transit infrastructure means that there is a
potential negative effects of climate mitiga- window of opportunity now to build efficient
tion policies. This is important because transit-oriented cities. After a city is devel-
around 70 percent of people in extreme pov- oped, it is practically impossible to modify its
erty live in countries with a GDP per capita urban form. This makes it essential to provide
above $4,000, where they could be protected developing countries with the resources and
by redistribution from possible negative financial instruments that make it possible for
effects of climate mitigation. them to drive urban development toward the
The international community has a criti- efficient patterns that are needed to decarbon-
cal role to play in helping reconcile immedi- ize the economy before the end of the
ate poverty-reduction objectives and climate century.
stabilization. In very poor countries, how- One source of international funding is pri-
ever, it may be difficult for economic, politi- vate climate finance, for instance through
cal, or institutional reasons to protect poor interconnected carbon markets (World Bank
people against possible negative side effects of 2014b). But these flows are likely to focus on
climate policies. In particular, countries with the cheapest emissions-reduction options
a GDP per capita below $4,000 per capita (in available in developing countries (Narain and
purchasing power parity) cannot always rely Veld 2008; Rose, Bulte, and Folmer 1999).
on internal redistribution (Ravallion 2010). Indeed, carbon markets are designed to help
In the poorest countries, even the “middle economic actors capture the lowest cost
class” is poor, and there are simply not options to meet a short-term emissions-
enough resources for redistribution: even tax- reduction target, not necessarily to trigger
ing 100 percent of the income of the “rich” investment in long-lived low-carbon equip-
would not suffice to lift the poorest out of ment that avoid lock-ins into carbon intensive
poverty. In these very poor countries, even if patterns (Vogt-Schilb and Hallegatte 2014).
most of the cost of climate mitigation is paid For example, these flows alone are unlikely to
by the upper quintiles of the population, cli- finance the upfront cost of more efficient cit-
mate mitigation could still aggravate poverty, ies and land use planning, or any other mea-
because the top quintiles are still in or close to sure that generates benefits only over the very
poverty. long term.
In countries where poor people cannot eas- Thus, additional resources are needed that
ily be protected by domestic resources and focus on these long-term challenges. In par-
policies, support from the international ticular, they can substantially increase the effi-
c ommunity is needed to offset potential ciency of the global decarbonization by
trade-offs between poverty reduction and cli- financing urgent measures that avoid carbon-
mate change mitigation. This is especially the intensive lock-ins in low-income countries
case for investments that involve high imme- (like public transportation infrastructure)—
diate costs—and therefore large trade-offs even if these measures are more expensive
with other investments—but are urgently (per abated ton of carbon) than alternative
needed to prevent irreversibility and lock-ins short-term emissions reductions (Vogt-Schilb,
into carbon-intensive patterns (like those Hallegatte, and de Gouvello 2014).
2 0 2 SHOCK WAVES
2. We cannot use data on the number of Distribution Dynamics in East Asia and Latin
“affected persons” because the usual defini- America. Washington, DC: World Bank.
tion of affected is much broader and includes Bouwer, L. M. 2013. “Projections of Future
people who do not lose income because of Extreme Weather Losses under Changes in
the disasters. Climate and Exposure.” Risk Anal. 33:
3. Because the analysis proposed in chapter 3 915–30.
does not include all countries, we assume Bussolo, M., R. De Hoyos, D. Medvedev. 2008.
that poor and nonpoor people are equally “Economic Growth and Income Distribution:
exposed to natural disasters. Linking Macroeconomic Models with
4. Note that the impact of droughts on chil- Household Survey Data at the Global Level.”
dren through stunting is accounted for in the In International Association for Research in
health impact category. Income and Wealth (IARIW) 30th General
Conference , Portoroz, Slovenia, August,
24–30.
Callan, T., S. Lyons, S. Scott, R. S. J. Tol, and
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ECO-AUDIT
Environmental Benefits Statement
The World Bank Group is committed to reducing its environmental
footprint. In support of this commitment, the Publishing and Knowl-
edge Division leverages electronic publishing options and print-on-
demand technology, which is located in regional hubs worldwide.
Together, these initiatives enable print runs to be lowered and shipping
distances decreased, resulting in reduced paper consumption, chemical
use, greenhouse gas emissions, and waste.
The Publishing and Knowledge Division follows the recommended
standards for paper use set by the Green Press Initiative. The majority of
our books are printed on FSC certified paper, with nearly all containing
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is either unbleached or bleached using Totally Chlorine Free (TCF),
Processed Chlorine Free (PCF), or Enhanced Elemental Chlorine Free
(EECF) processes.
More information about the Bank’s environmental philosophy can
be found at http://crinfo.worldbank.org/wbcrinfo/node/4.
C limate change threatens the objective of eradicating poverty. Poor people and poor
countries are already vulnerable to all types of climate-related shocks—natural
disasters that destroy assets and livelihoods; waterborne diseases and pests that become
more prevalent during heat waves, floods, or droughts; crop failure from reduced rainfall; and
spikes in food prices that follow extreme weather events. Such shocks can erase decades of
hard work and leave people with irreversible human and physical losses. Changes in climate
conditions caused by increasing concentrations of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere will
worsen these shocks and slow down poverty reduction.
The good news is that, at least until 2030, “good development” can prevent most of these
impacts. By “good development,” we mean development that is rapid, inclusive, and
climate informed; includes strong social safety nets and universal health coverage; and is
complemented with targeted adaptation interventions such as heat-tolerant crops and early
warning systems. Absent such good development, many people will still be living in or close
to extreme poverty in 2030, with few resources to cope with climate shocks and adapt to long-
term trends, and climate change could increase extreme poverty by more than 100 million
people by 2030.
In the longer run, beyond 2030, our ability to adapt to unabated climate change is limited.
To keep the longer-term impacts on poverty in check, immediate emissions-reduction policies
are needed that bring emissions to zero by the end of the 21st century. These policies need
not threaten short-term progress on poverty reduction—provided they are well designed and
international support is available for poor countries.
Ending poverty and stabilizing climate change will be unprecedented global achievements.
But neither can be attained without the other: they need to be designed and implemented
as an integrated strategy. Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty
brings together those two objectives and explores how they can more easily be achieved if
considered together. The book provides guidance on how to design climate policies so they
contribute to poverty reduction, and on how to design poverty reduction policies so they
contribute to climate change mitigation and resilience building.
ISBN 978-1-4648-0673-5
90000
9 781464 806735
SKU 210673