EDITORIAL: As developments in recent decades have shown, climate change is not just an environmental issue; it is also a social and economic challenge that has exacerbated wealth disparities, with the consequences of extreme weather events disproportionately being felt by low-income communities worldwide.
It should also be noted that it is poorer countries like Pakistan, which without having contributed significantly to the causes of climate change, have still borne the brunt of floods, extreme heat and other severe weather phenomena, with the tragedies triggered by the 2022 floods in the country still haunting a significant section of our rural populace.
In this regard, it is important on the part of policymakers to take note of the Food and Agriculture Organisation’s (FAO’s) report, ‘The Unjust Climate’, published last week, which studies rural communities belonging to 24 countries, including Pakistan, and reveals how floods, heat stress and other extreme weather events have widened the income gap between rural poor and non-poor households.
A few numerical highlights can put the challenge at hand into proper focus. In an average year, poor households in rural areas lose five percent of their total income due to heat stress compared to wealthier households, and 4.4 percent due to floods.
Here, female-headed households feel the impact disproportionately, with such families experiencing a loss of income of up to eight percent due to heat stress, which in monetary terms amounts to an enormous $37 billion a year.
In addition, with every day of extreme heat, poor rural households lose 2.4 percent of their on-farm incomes, 1.1 percent of the value of the crops they produce, and 1.5 percent of their off-farm income compared to better off families.
The disproportionate impact on women is further highlighted by the fact that floods and droughts cause rural women to take on more work, with their working hours per week increasing relative to men, while at the same time, they also end up losing more income opportunities. With gendered norms already expecting women to take up the lion’s share of the work related to child care and domestic responsibilities, the increase in their work load following extreme weather events is evidence of the inequitable strain that climate change imposes on them.
It is a travesty that even with all the evidence available of the pernicious impact climate change has on marginalised rural communities, their concerns are hardly visible in national climate policies. The climate vulnerabilities faced by the rural poor demand the introduction of multifaceted initiatives.
Investments in climate-resilient agriculture, with support provided to poorer farmers to grow climate-resilient crops and engage in sustainable farming practices can help mitigate their susceptibility to extreme weather events.
In addition, social protection programmes that provide cash-based assistance, as well as improving access to relevant technology and information can also help the rural poor become more climate-resilient. Investment in weather-resistant infrastructure, promotion of diversification of livelihoods and supporting community-based adaptation programmes can enable low-income households to identify and address their specific climate vulnerabilities.
Importantly, countries that have historically been the primary contributors towards greenhouse gas emissions need to not only take meaningful steps to reduce their carbon footprint, they also need to honour the financial pledges they made at the COP28 summit last year, where they committed to providing monetary support to climate-vulnerable countries, something they have failed to do thus far.
The reality is that any attempt to eliminate global poverty and eradication of hunger worldwide will come to naught if vulnerable rural communities aren’t provided with the means to become resilient against climate change. And for that, targeted interventions that promote equity and ensure sustainable development for the rural poor are a must.
Copyright Business Recorder, 2024
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