In the face of famine and disease, climate change may appear less urgent as a global agenda – but the World Bank’s recent decision to set climate change as its main agenda reflects its inseparability from poverty.

In fact, the group notes that without action, “climate change could push more than 100 million additional people back into poverty by 2030”.

The World Bank’s newest report on its Climate Change Action Plan clarifies that environmental crisis affects everyone in the world, but strikes hardest on the poor.

For example, natural disasters completely destroy the means of survival for agricultural communities – the report estimates that the world could lose up 5 percent of its crop yields by 2030. Of note, heat waves, droughts and river floods are expected to increase in frequency and magnitude with global warming.

In addition, families that spend a large portion of their budget on food cannot adapt to resulting fluctuations of food price. With the lack of quick and specific governmental support, these damages also lead to long term conditions. Ongoing efforts to eradicate poverty may even be compromised due to families who fall back into poverty due to a number of factors including climate change.

Global warming also creates an environment for more diseases to thrive, including malaria and diarrhea. The World Bank notes that a 2-3 °C increase in temperature could increase exposure to malaria by five percent and diarrhea by up to 10 percent. Children under five are the most vulnerable to such sickness, which threatens the health and survival of future generations.

The fact that some effects of climate change can actually benefit small farmers, complicates the issue of estimating the actual damage. However, based on research conducted in 92 countries, the group notes that the overall damage outweighs the benefit as it falls upon the majority of people in the long-term.

Following last year’s Paris Climate Agreement involving 195 states, The Guardian reports that the World Bank will allocate 28 percent of its budget in assisting developing nations to meet greenhouse gas emission standards and develop more sustainable energy solutions. The International Financial Corporation (IFC) under the World Bank will mobilize an additional $13 billion to environment technology related projects in the private sector.

John Roome, senior director for climate change at the World Bank, told journalists including The Guardian, “This is a fundamental shift for the World Bank. We are putting climate change into our DNA. Climate change will drive 100 million more people into poverty in the next 15 years [unless action is taken].”

The World Bank’s climate change action plan emphasizes that environmentally friendly policy and economic development are not mutually exclusive, setting the example of Climate-Smart Agriculture. Access to better technology and more resilient breeds of crops can protect even small farmers against sudden changes.

– Haena Chu