Social protection helps counteract the effects of the climate crisis

Although social protection has a role key to counteracting the devastating effects of climate change on the populationmore than 90% of people living in the 20 countries most vulnerable to this phenomenon lack it, the UN warned on Thursday. International Labour Organization (ILO).

In a new report On the subject, the UN agency highlighted the role of social protection and noted that Governments are not taking full advantage its potential to counterbalance the effects of the climate crisis and support a just transition.

According to the ILO, social protection mitigates the impact of climate change, helps people and societies adapt to a new reality climatically volatile, and facilitates a just transition towards a sustainable future.

The most vulnerable are the most unprotected

The study highlights that the countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change They tend to have the lowest levels of social protection.

Despite the fact that for the first time in history more than half of the world’s population (52.4%) has some form of social protection coverage, 91.3%, or 364 million people, living in the 20 countries most vulnerable to climate change are unprotectedthe ILO said.

Broadening the spectrum, the publication details that in the 50 countries most vulnerable to climate, 75% of the population, or 2.1 billion people lack of any social protection coverage. Globally, the majority of children (76.1%) do not have effective social protection coverage.

As for gender, the Effective coverage for women is lower than for menwith 50.1% and 54.6%, respectively.

The crisis affects us all

The Director General of the ILO recalled that the Climate change does not recognize bordersand that you can’t build a wall to keep the crisis out.

“The climate crisis It affects everyone and represents the most serious threat to social justice. “today,” said Gilbert Houngbo.

He added that many of the countries that are suffering the most brutal consequences of this crisis “are particularly ill-equipped to deal with its environmental and livelihood consequences. We must recognize that What happens to the affected communities will affect us all.“, he emphasized.

Income security and health care

The report argues that social protection can help people adapt and cope with climate-related shocks by providing them with benefits such as income security and access to health care.

In addition, social protection can cushion families, workers and businesses during the ecological transition and enable more sustainable economic practices.

These practices include supporting workers with training and upskilling so that they have knowledge and skills for employment in green and low-carbon sectors. Social protection also Ensures that all jobs are decent, with protection and benefits appropriate.

For Gilbert Houngbo, social protection is essential to ensure that the current green and low-carbon energy transition leaves no one behind.

Lack of investment

“The imperative to make social protection universal is not only ethical, but also practical: by supporting and protecting workers everywhere, we can help alleviate fears about the transitionwhich is essential to mobilize popular support for a sustainable and just transition,” he said.

The ILO stressed the lack of investment in social protectionand said that countries spend an average of 12.9% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on social protection (excluding health). However, he clarified that disaggregated data show that while countries in the region spend an average of 12.9% of their gross domestic product (GDP) on social protection (excluding health). High-income earners spend an average of 16.2%, low-income earners only spend 0.8% of their GDP on social protection.

In this regard, he indicated that low-income countries, among which are the States most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, They need an additional $308.5 billion a yearor 52.3% of its GDP, to ensure at least basic social protection, and stressed that international support is necessary to achieve this goal.