…..Says 91.3% Of 20 Nations’ People Vulnerable To Climate Crisis
International Labour Organization (ILO) has rated global governments low in making full use of the powerful potential of social protection to counter the effects of the climate crisis and support a just transition.
The labour organization, in its just published report titled ‘World Social Protection Report 2024-2026: Universal social protection for climate action and a just transition’, noted that those countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change often have the lowest levels of social protection.
Specifically, the report finds that, for the first time, more than half of the global population (52.4%) has some form of social protection coverage, representing an increase from 42.8% in 2015, the year when the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) were adopted.
However, the report’s findings reflected in the 20 countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis, 91.3% of people (364 million) still lacked any form of social protection and that when broadly analyzed, in the 50 most climate-vulnerable countries, 75% of the population (2.1 billion people) lacked any social protection coverage. Globally, most children (76.1 per cent) still have no effective social protection coverage.
The labour organization further reported that there was also a substantial gender gap, with women’s effective coverage lagging behind men’s coverage at 50.1% and 54.6%, respectively.
According to the report, these gaps are especially significant, given the potential role of social protection in softening the impact of climate change, helping people and societies adapt to a new climate-volatile reality, and facilitating a just transition to a sustainable future.
Commenting on the results of the report, ILO Director-General, Gilbert Houngbo, said: “Climate change does not recognize borders, and we cannot build a wall to keep the crisis out. The climate crisis affects us all and represents the single, gravest, threat to social justice today.
“Many of the countries experiencing the most brutal consequences of this crisis are particularly ill-equipped to handle its environmental and livelihood consequences. We must recognize that what happens to impacted communities will affect us all.
“Social protection is essential to ensure that the ongoing green and low-carbon energy transition leaves no one behind. And the imperative to make social protection universal is not only ethical, it is also practical: by supporting and protecting workers everywhere, we can help to alleviate fears about the transition, which is essential to mobilize popular support for a sustainable and just transition”, he added.
The report showed that despite its role as a catalyst and an enabler of positive climate action, governments are failing to make the most of social protection’s potential, largely because of persistent coverage gaps and significant underinvestment.
The ILO revealed in the report that on average, countries spend 12.9% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on social protection (excluding health), adding, however, that while high-income countries spend an average of 16.2%, low-income countries allocate only 0.8% of their GDP to social protection.
According to the report’s findings, low-income countries, which include states most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change, need an additional US$308.5 billion yearly (52.3% of their GDP) to guarantee at least basic social protection, and international support will be needed to reach this goal.
The labour organization calls for decisive and integrated policy action to close protection gaps, stressing that, it is time to up the ante and invest significantly in social protection.
On the way forward, the report offers important recommendations to help guide policy and ensure effective and sustainable outcomes, including Preparing for both ‘routine’ life cycle risks, as well as climate-related shocks by having social protection systems in place ex-ante by ensuring everyone enjoys adequate social protection.
Its other recommendations are using social protection to support climate change mitigation and adaptation efforts and secure public acceptance of those measures, and Prioritizing investment in social protection, including external support for countries with limited fiscal space.
