Social Dimensions of Climate Change

Climate change is deeply intertwined with global patterns of inequality. The poorest and most vulnerable people bear the brunt of climate change impacts yet contribute the least to the crisis. As the impacts of climate change mount, millions of vulnerable people face disproportionate challenges in terms of extreme events, health effects, food, water, and livelihood security, migration and forced displacement, loss of cultural identity, and other related risks.

Certain social groups are particularly vulnerable to crises, for example, female-headed households, children, persons with disabilities, Indigenous Peoples and ethnic minorities, landless tenants, migrant workers, displaced persons, sexual and gender minorities, older people, and other socially marginalized groups. The root causes of their vulnerability lie in a combination of their geographical locations; their financial, socio-economic, cultural, and gender status; and their access to resources, services, decision-making power, and justice. 

Poor and marginalized groups are calling for more ambitious action on climate change. Climate change is more than an environmental crisis – it is a social crisis and compels us to address issues of inequality on many levels: between wealthy and poor countries; between rich and poor within countries; between men and women, and between generations. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has highlighted the need for climate solutions that conform to principles of procedural and distributive justice for more effective development outcomes.

The most vulnerable are often also disproportionately impacted by measures to address climate change. In the absence of well-designed and inclusive policies, efforts to tackle climate change can have unintended consequences for the livelihoods of certain groups, including by placing a higher financial burden on poor households. For example, policies that expand public transport or carbon pricing may lead to higher public transport fares which can disproportionately impact poorer households. Similarly, if not designed in collaboration with beneficiaries and affected communities, approaches such as limiting forestry activities to certain times of the year could adversely impact indigenous communities that depend on forests year-round for their livelihoods. In addition to addressing the distributional impacts of decarbonizing economies there is also a need to understand and address the social inclusion, cultural and political economy aspects – including agreeing on the types of transitions needed (economic, social, etc.) and identifying opportunities to address social inequality in these processes.

While much progress has been made on the science and the types of policies needed to support a transition to low carbon, climate resilient development, a challenge facing many countries is engaging citizens who may not understand climate change, and garnering the support of those who are concerned that they will be unfairly impacted by climate policies. It is critical that people are brought along in the choices to be made – this requires transparency, access to information and citizen engagement on climate risk and green growth in order to create coalitions of support or public demand to reduce climate impacts and to overcome behavioral and political barriers to decarbonization, as well as to generate new ideas for and ownership of solutions.

Moreover, communities bring unique perspectives, skills, and a wealth of knowledge to the challenge of strengthening resilience and addressing climate change. They should be engaged as partners in resilience-building rather than being regarded merely as beneficiaries. Research and experience have shown that community leaders can set priorities, influence ownership, and design and implement investment programs that are responsive to their community’s own needs. A recent IPCC report recognizes the value of diverse forms of knowledge such as scientific, Indigenous and local knowledge in building climate resilience. Innovations in the architecture of climate finance can connect communities and marginalized groups to the policy, technical and financial assistance that they need for locally relevant and effective development impacts.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2023

The World Bank’s work to address the social dimensions of climate change (SDCC) has a strong focus on poverty reduction and on addressing the underlying causes of vulnerability, including social exclusion. The Bank adopts a whole-of-society approach, working with national and local governments, civil society, grassroots communities, and other partners to strengthen social resilience at the ground level, where the effects of climate change are typically felt the most, and to promote meaningful engagement of communities and other social groups in climate change decision-making and action.

The World Bank is committed to promoting socially equitable responses to global crises. As we adapt to a changing climate in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, it is important that we listen to, and learn from, people and communities. That is why a truly inclusive approach can often begin at the community level. Green recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic and transitioning to low-carbon, climate resilient development requires considering action on climate change in an immediate and broad social context and recognizing the urgency of present needs, while plotting an ambitious course to decarbonization. The World Bank supports achievement of these objectives through three key areas of activity:

• Channeling resources and decision-making power to support locally-led climate action: Supporting devolved climate finance and community and local development approaches and that empower communities to drive a climate agenda in support of their development goals; promoting greater transparency and accountability on climate finance; aligning and linking locally led climate action to national climate change priorities and strategies; supporting work to strengthen M&E of resilience and adaptation.

• Understanding and tracking the social impacts and social co-benefits of mitigation and green growth policies and programs: Supporting analysis and dialogue on what a “just transition” looks like across different sectors and in specific contexts; identifying and addressing the distributional and social inclusion impacts stemming from different approaches to decarbonization. 

• Facilitating processes needed to support key transitions: Engaging communities and citizens in climate decision-making and enhancing social learning as a form of regulatory feedback (e.g., citizen engagement, national climate dialogues, and improved governance); building awareness and political will amongst governments and partners on the need to understand and address the social dimensions of climate change and green growth.

Through these areas of action, the World Bank fosters strong collaboration across different practice areas to bring together and empower poor communities and marginalized social groups to reduce risks to future crises; and to bridge the gap between the local, subnational, and national levels for effective climate change support.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2023

The World Bank has recognized the need to support locally led climate action and work with communities as equal partners so that we are building on their experience and expertise in managing risk and adapting to climate change and to transitions. In other sectors, the World Bank has invested in community and local development (CLD) operations that emphasize citizen control over investment development planning and decision making and implementation. For decades, CLD has effectively supported basic service delivery, livelihoods, social services, poverty reduction, and other community priorities at a large scale. Over $30 billion has been invested in CLD programs over the past decade. This same mechanism is now being harnessed and adapted to deliver effective, local climate resilience support at the necessary scale and its core principles of citizen control and social inclusion are being integrated into innovative approaches to decentralized climate finance.

• In Kenya, the World Bank is working with the national and county governments to channel climate finance and decision-making to people at the local level to design solutions that meet their specific needs. Through the Financing Locally Led Climate Action program (FLLoCA), county governments are supported to work in partnership with communities to assess climate risks and identify socially inclusive solutions that are tailored to local needs and priorities. The FLLoCA Program in Kenya provides the first national-scale model of devolved climate finance that can be replicated in other countries.

• In Bangladesh, the Nuton Jibon project considers extreme weather events in its design with communities who undertake participatory risk analyses, which then informs the locations and design of community centers, rural roads, tube wells, and other works.

• The Bank’s support to recovery after Typhoon Yolanda in the Philippines was channeled through the National CDD Program so that communities could drive the decision-making process: The DAMPA (Damayan ng Maralitang Pilipinong Api) network consists of over 200 community-based women-led organizations representing rural and urban poor communities in the Philippines. It partnered with the government to monitor the delivery of disaster relief assistance after Typhoon Haiyan and facilitated community-based risk mapping to inform the prioritization and design of community-level investments of the National CDD Program. 

CLD programs are also responding to the impact of COVID-19, including cash transfers for vulnerable groups and block grants to communities to reach vulnerable households with food and medical supplies.  Lessons from previous pandemics, including the 2014-16 Ebola outbreak, highlight the importance of social responses to crisis management and recovery to complement medical efforts.  In the case of COVID-19, partnerships between communities, healthcare systems, local governments, and the private sector have played a critical role in slowing the spread, mitigating impacts, and supporting local recovery.

• The Somalia Crisis Response Project (SCRP) provides immediate support to areas hit by recent floods and droughts, in addition to response to COVID19 and building preparedness capacity for future risk management. The project will ensure women’s inclusion and participation in decision-making bodies, including participation in the development of the integrated community preparedness, adaptation, and response plans.

The World Bank also hosts the Climate Investment Funds, which is particularly relevant to the Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation plus (REDD+) agenda. Given their close relationships with and dependence on forested lands and resources,  Indigenous Peoples are key stakeholders in CIF and REDD+. Specific initiatives in this sphere include: a Dedicated Grant Mechanism (DGM) for Indigenous Peoples and Local Communities under the Forest Investment Program (FIP) in multiple countries; a capacity building program oriented partly toward Forest-Dependent Indigenous Peoples by the Forest Carbon Partnership Facility (FCPF); support for enhanced participation of Indigenous peoples in benefit sharing of carbon emission reduction programs through the Enhancing Access to Benefits while Lowering Emissions (EnABLE) multi-donor trust fund; and analytical, strategic planning, and operational activities in the context of the FCPF and the BioCarbon Fund Initiative for Sustainable Forest Landscapes (ISFL).

Finally, more recent work is focusing on supporting just transitions in emerging economies and understanding the distributional and social inclusions impacts of green growth and decarbonization policies and investments. The goal of reaching net zero carbon emissions to mitigate the impacts of climate change is more urgent than ever. However, it is expected that the scaling down of industries and activities that most significantly contribute to carbon emissions will generate widespread impacts on the workers and the communities that depend on them. Ensuring a Just Transition for All means putting people and communities at the center of the transition process and promoting dialogue and participation at all levels of society throughout the entire transition, from planning to implementation. This entails ensuring socially inclusive approaches to transitions; garnering public support for complex transition processes; addressing the broader social, community, and cultural aspects of transition policies; supporting safe and successful migration where desired; and ensuring meaningful engagement of citizens in decision making. 

While this work is still unfolding, it includes such activities as: mapping out the political economy of carbon-related sectors and identifying ways to engage stakeholders in sector reform; ensuring that projects are designed so that local communities can benefit equitably and meaningfully from green growth investments; undertaking gender and vulnerability analysis to identify gaps and ensuring the participation of women and underrepresented  groups in decision making on green recovery programs; promoting transparency, access to information and citizen engagement on climate risk and green growth in order to create coalitions of support or public demand to reduce climate impacts; and, supporting local or national dialogues for just transition and green recovery decision making.

Last Updated: Apr 01, 2023