Is climate change further crippling vulnerable communities?

A microfinance expert’s take.

From raging wildfires and unrelenting floods to rising sea levels and more, in the past year, we’ve all witnessed how climate change has wreaked havoc around the world. In fact, climate change is undoubtedly one of the greatest threats to the survival of humanity at present. This is a sentiment that’s echoed by the greatest scientific minds and millions of people on the planet — myself included.

Which is why the question of what is being done globally to tackle this impending disaster is ever present. This issue took centre stage again in November of last year at the monumental United Nations Climate Change Conference or COP26, where world leaders met to redraw their targets for reducing carbon emissions to meet the Paris Agreement of 2015.

However, most of us walked away from the summit and its immediate outcome feeling disappointed because the promises made still don’t seem enough to stop us from crossing the tipping point after which the damage would be irreversible.

Which brings us to the most critical question — why isn’t everyone invested in fighting climate change if it affects the survival of each and every living being on this planet?

The answer, of course, is far from simple but I’ve tried to break it down below from my perspective:

1. Many people, especially those living in rural areas with a lack of access to education, aren’t aware of the problem in the first place.
2. There is a significant section of the population that still believes climate change isn’t real (also known as climate change deniers) or is a threat that can be resolved without drastic, timely action.
3. Certain individuals, groups and corporations exist whose self-interests (mainly economic) don’t align with combating climate change. As we’re already aware, many of these are actually responsible for actively lobbying against environmentally friendly changes.
4. Even among those who believe climate change to be a real threat, not everyone is willing to take the responsibility to work towards a solution. There’s a mistaken belief that someone else — be it governments, other individuals, etc. — who will help find a solution. When the truth is we need immediate collective action starting directly at the grassroots up to global policy level.
5. And last but not the least, climate change does not and will not impact every individual equally or with the same urgency. The unfortunate fact is that it is a more obvious and immediate threat to the lives of certain members of our global community.

Which groups are more vulnerable to climate change?

Disasters tend to affect people disproportionately.

As they say, ‘we are in the same storm, but not in the same boat.’ This is a painful truth we’ve already witnessed in action during the Covid-19 pandemic where certain communities bore the brunt of it due to certain inherent vulnerabilities. The same applies to climate change.

So how should we assess an individual’s/community’s vulnerability to climate change?

The answer lies in not only identifying the extent and urgency of risk, but also in evaluating the ability to adapt to and overcome the same. While there are several frameworks which help determine the extent of impact of climate change, I’ve tried to simplify the process by viewing it from the 4 primary lenses outlined below:

1. Economic vulnerability

Poor individuals (especially those living below the poverty line) are inherently more vulnerable to climate change simply because they lack the resources needed to counter its effects.

Economic vulnerability is determined by multiple factors, the key ones being:

1. Income levels: As mentioned above, people with a higher disposable income are better equipped to tackle the impact of climate change as they have the necessary means to do so. Those struggling to make even ends meet cannot be expected to overcome this challenge without help.
2. Industry of employment: The productivity of certain industries, such as agriculture and cattle farming, will be severely affected by extreme weather changes. Those employed in this sector will therefore be at a greater risk. This is especially alarming for a country like ours where nearly 60% of the population works in agriculture.
3. Financial security/stability: Additionally, people employed as daily wage labourers, seasonal workers, etc. lack a steady income which ensures financial security. A lack of financial stability coupled with low income levels makes it nearly impossible for them to save or invest in the most basic financial products like insurance making them even more susceptible.

2. Social vulnerability

Social considerations that affect vulnerability to climate change include:

1. Gender: Women have historically been at a disadvantage when it comes to social equality. Their access to education, public infrastructure, opportunities, fundamental rights and other freedoms has always been restricted compared to their male counterparts. This gap only grows further for the LGBTQ and transgender communities. This increasingly limits their ability to protect themselves against climate change.
2. Age: The younger and future generations are the ones who will have to face the increasingly severe consequences of climate disasters as they’ll be ones inhabiting this planet. The elderly population will be spared the more adverse effects simply because they won’t be alive to face them.
3. Race/culture: The BIPOC (black, Indigenous and people of colour) communities are also especially vulnerable to climate change as they’ve historically been marginalised and lack the adequate social resources and representation to protect themselves. The cultural practises of most indigenous tribal communities are closely tied to nature — hence, any environmental damage has a severe and immediate impact. For example, many tribes living in Uttarakhand are already facing hardships such as reduced water supply, decrease in agricultural productivity and more.

3. Geographic vulnerability

Certain areas are more susceptible to the extreme natural disasters (such as rising sea levels, storms, wildfires, droughts, etc.) caused by climate change simply because of where they are located. Numerous cities and regions around the world will go completely underwater as early as 2030.

In fact, we’re already looking at mass migration of people across countries due to weather-related disasters. The sheer number of these climate change refugees is staggering. The Institute for Economic and Peace (IEP) predicts that by 2050, 1.2 billion people could be displaced by such climate-related events.

4. Health vulnerability

Even in the middle of a raging global pandemic, scientists and other health experts across the world have labelled climate change as the greatest threat to human health in recorded history.

As the air, water and other pollution levels rise and infection outbreaks become more common, individuals with weaker immune systems and pre-existing health conditions will face a greater threat to their lives.

The disproportionate contribution of certain communities to climate change

Similar to its impact, the responsibility of causing climate change is also incredibly unequal.

Historically speaking, the largest contributors to the global carbon dioxide emissions that have led to this crisis are the Developed Countries. In fact, the Global North bears greater responsibility than most African and Asian nations who have contributed little to global emissions.

Additionally, the carbon footprint of the more affluent members of society far outweigh those of poorer individuals due to their lifestyle and consumption patterns.

Why should the microfinance industry pay special attention to climate change?

As we can see, those who are the least responsible for climate change are the ones who’ll unfairly bear its worst consequences. It is the most vulnerable sections of our society — the poor and the historically marginalised — who are most susceptible to its wrath.

Having been a part of the microfinance industry for over a decade, I’ve directly worked with these communities very closely. And in recent years, I’ve witnessed how their struggles are being exacerbated by environmental problems while they remain largely unaware of the root cause.

As an industry that directly serves the economic and social interests of these poorer sections of society, I sincerely believe we should be working towards making our models more resilient to the shocks caused by climate change. And the first step towards making any change, as always, is acknowledging the existence of the problem. Only then can we make strides towards making meaningful change.

Otherwise we’ll be the ones caught unprepared in the face of the inevitable.