Global warming will increase poverty and inequality.

Byline: Akram Khatoon

Original agenda of Paris meeting of 2015 relating to seventeen highlighted Sustainable Development Goals to be achieved by 2030 had placed climate change or global warming concern at 13th level, whereas apprehensions relating to failure of arresting global warming at 1.50% level keeping in view climatic changes happenings during last 6 years have forced all countries to revise or speed up strategies to arrest global warming so as to keep strategies to achieve other 16 goals intact/undisturbed.

It is obvious that changing climate, global warming, biodiversity loss and environmental degradation particularly in developing countries coupled with persisting COVID pandemic has almost threatened the normal existence of humanity in this part of the world.

World was enthusiastically moving towards achieving zero inequality and poverty by end of 2030, but onslaught of COVID and side by side adverse effects of climate change and global warming has caused a concern for researchers at World Bank who believe that 68 to 135 million people are likely to fall below poverty line by 2030 what to speak of reducing poverty.

Quite a number of economically rich countries and even emerging economies are striving to control emission to 1%. Despite global efforts there remains a wide difference between what is to be achieved and what has been achieved. Quite a number of countries are facing extreme heat due to uncontrollable fires, withering food crops due to fast melting of ice from mountains causing either floods, frequency of cyclones in several parts of the globe and drought conditions in African and Southeast Asian countries in particular. Efforts will have to be speeded up with regard to obtaining renewable energy, which presently has been achieved to the extent of 25% even in economically rich countries, quite far from target of 100% vying standard.

The move on the part of countries to meet the challenges of global warming for ensuring sustainable living standards round the globe must be preceded by justified policy making and its development and implementation for all sector economies with broader objectives of reducing poverty and inequality leading to creation of decent jobs and improvement in liveable environment.

The climate change risks are affecting the countries disproportionately. In majority of low and middle income countries major segment of their population depend on agriculture, forestry and fisheries which entirely depend...