UN Warns Climate Change Is Deepening Global Poverty, Threatening One Billion People

UN Warns Climate Change Is Deepening Global Poverty, Threatening One Billion People
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The United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) has warned that climate change is pushing nearly one billion people into poverty worldwide, highlighting strong links between poverty and four major environmental risks: extreme heat, drought, flooding, and air pollution.

According to the report, around 80% of the world’s poor—approximately 900 million people—are directly exposed to these climate threats, making them disproportionately vulnerable to extreme weather events.

The UNDP noted that multidimensional poverty encompasses various factors such as malnutrition, infant mortality, inadequate housing, poor sanitation, lack of electricity, and limited access to education. In 2024, an estimated 1.1 billion people lived in “severe” multidimensional poverty, half of whom were children.

The report identified Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia as the most at-risk regions, where poor communities face high levels of heat exposure, pollution, and water-related disasters that hinder development and economic progress. The UNDP stressed that the intersection of poverty and climate risks presents a global challenge requiring urgent action.

It called for aligning poverty reduction strategies with climate mitigation and adaptation efforts, as well as ecosystem restoration, to protect the most vulnerable populations. The agency expressed hope that the upcoming COP30 climate summit would reinforce the integration of climate action into global poverty reduction agendas.