Abstract
Do the physical impacts of climate
change affect the prospects for achieving the first target of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), to halve
world poverty? With the official mid-point of the
MDGs on 7 July 2007, this is an important question to consider as we assess challenges to meeting these goals, and look beyond them.
At a global level, the latest UN MDG report
argues that the proportion of people living in
extreme poverty has fallen, from 28% in 1990
to 19% in 2002, using the $1-a-day poverty line.
However, this progress has been highly uneven.
Structural change in East and South Asia has
driven the reduction in global poverty incidence,
but in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) there was no
progress in the 1990s, and it is too early to say
whether tentative declines in poverty since 2000
are a new trend. Despite rising urbanisation, over
60% of people in SSA are reliant on agriculture
for their income. The potential impacts of climate
change pose two key questions for current agriculture-led strategies to reduce poverty.
change affect the prospects for achieving the first target of the Millennium
Development Goals (MDGs), to halve
world poverty? With the official mid-point of the
MDGs on 7 July 2007, this is an important question to consider as we assess challenges to meeting these goals, and look beyond them.
At a global level, the latest UN MDG report
argues that the proportion of people living in
extreme poverty has fallen, from 28% in 1990
to 19% in 2002, using the $1-a-day poverty line.
However, this progress has been highly uneven.
Structural change in East and South Asia has
driven the reduction in global poverty incidence,
but in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) there was no
progress in the 1990s, and it is too early to say
whether tentative declines in poverty since 2000
are a new trend. Despite rising urbanisation, over
60% of people in SSA are reliant on agriculture
for their income. The potential impacts of climate
change pose two key questions for current agriculture-led strategies to reduce poverty.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Number of pages | 2 |
| Volume | 85 |
| Publication status | Published - 2007 |
Research Beacons, Institutes and Platforms
- Global Development Institute
