Blog: Social development in a changing climate

By Jana Bischler, ILO, Sayanti Sengupta, Climate Centre, and Matthew Walsham, FAO

(A version of this blog, by the co-chairs of the USP2030 Working Group on Social Protection and Climate Change, appeared first on socialprotection.org; it is one of a series.)

Climate change threatens to reverse gains in social development and this underscores the need for ambitious climate policies, including both mitigation to limit emissions and adaptation to build resilience, and it is encouraging that the link between climate change and social development has been recognised at this year’s Second World Summit for Social Development in Qatar.

Yet if not carefully managed, such policies can inadvertently harm social development by disrupting jobs and livelihoods. For example, while the shift to sustainable economies could displace 78 million jobs, with the right policies it could also generate over 100 million new ones.

Educated, healthy, and economically secure populations are better equipped to adapt to climate change and shift away from unsustainable practices. Strong health systems and low inequality reduce vulnerability and climate-related morbidity and mortality.

In this context, universal social protection plays a vital dual role – both as a safeguard and an accelerator for social development. It helps people – especially those most vulnerable –  cope with climate shocks or job losses linked to environmental transitions, preventing them from falling (deeper) into poverty.

In this way, it also helps address loss and damage from the already unavoidable impacts of climate change. In addition, the benefits of social protection for health, education, nutrition, gender equality, and social cohesion are well-documented, increasingly also in the context of climate change.

When integrated with skills development and other active labour market policies, social protection can support workers in transitioning to more resilient and greener employment opportunities.

In short, universal social protection helps foster a virtuous cycle between social development, climate resilience and a just transition.

Local realities

Regional consultations held by the United Nations Research Institute for Social Development revealed common concerns and priorities, as well as context-specific approaches to integrating social protection with climate action.

While the relationship between social development and climate change is often shaped by local realities, it is encouraging that across all regions, stakeholders recognise the essential role of social protection in this context.

In Latin America and the Caribbean, a region marked by high inequality, participants highlighted that climate change and the energy transition are likely to exacerbate existing vulnerabilities. Strengthening universal social protection is seen as central to tackling poverty and inequality. Participants called for climate change adaptation strategies that address unequal impacts.

Participants from Africa emphasized the region’s high exposure and vulnerability to climate risks, especially among communities reliant on agriculture and natural resources, and due to the lack of adequate adaptation.

Climate justice featured prominently, with calls for just transitions, structural reforms, and increased support from high-emission countries. While social protection systems have expanded, stronger links with livelihoods support and climate strategies were recommended to protect those most at risk.

And the impacts of climate change in Asia are already being felt in agriculture, infrastructure, and livelihoods. Despite progress in expanding social protection, both through social assistance and social insurance, significant coverage gaps persist –  especially in countries which also face high climate-risks like Afghanistan, Bangladesh, and Myanmar.

Universal social protection

As the impacts of climate change intensify, social protection systems will need to evolve to be designed and implemented in ways that respond to both existing and emerging vulnerabilities and climate risks.

Three key priorities emerge. To support social development in the face of climate change, extending the coverage, adequacy and comprehensiveness of social protection systems is essential.

Many of the most climate-vulnerable populations, including informal workers, rural communities, and displaced people, have no access to social protection. Ambitious efforts are needed to close these coverage gaps, particularly in regions where high climate risk coincides with low social protection coverage.

Secondly, social protection systems will need to adapt to respond more effectively to the intensifying impacts of climate change. This includes adapting laws and policies, integrating climate risks in financing strategies and scheme design and ensuring effective delivery mechanisms.

And finally, to address the complex and interconnected challenges posed by climate change and the transition, social protection policies will need to be increasingly coordinated and integrated with policies of other sectors, including climate and disaster risk management, agriculture, health, energy. 

For instance, coordination with the energy and environment sectors can ensure social protection programmes support mitigation and promote carbon capture.

The five-part series of which this blog is the fourth is part of a campaign led by the USP2030, in collaboration with socialprotection.org, to raise awareness and mobilize action around universal social protection.

In 2023 the Djibouti Red Crescent suggested better social protection could help families already facing joblessness and food-price inflation achieve better nutritional status. In the picture, mothers and children in the Tadjoura region were among displaced communities living in an arid environment “suffering from lack of water, hunger and malnourishment,” the National Society reported. (File photo: Anne Wanjiru/IFRC)