Climate change is one of the most pressing global problems for our species. In January 2022, the United Nations Secretary-General declared that the Earth had passed the threshold of no return on the climate crisis. Since then, average global temperatures have continued to rise, and the abnormal weather patterns connected with climate change are happening more frequently and with greater ferocity.
Climate change is causing more frequent wildfires, floods, droughts, heatwaves, hurricanes, and typhoons. It’s upending the ancient rhythms of the seasons, wreaking havoc with agriculture and causing desertification. It’s pushing sea levels higher, making the ocean more acidic, and even affecting ocean currents. As a result, people are suffering and dying.
No one on Earth is safe from climate change, but some people are much more vulnerable to its effects. The unfortunate truth is that climate change affects lower-income countries disproportionately.
Ironically, these countries are not only vulnerable to climate disasters, due to their limited infrastructure and resources, but they also tend to emit much less carbon dioxide—the primary pollutant causing climate change. The world’s lowest-income countries make up 60% of the global population and contribute less than 15% of the total global carbon emissions, while the world’s richest account for a mere 16% of the population and contribute 40% of the total carbon. These countries are the least responsible for the climate crisis, but they are suffering the most from it.
In addition, the most marginalized and least powerful groups in both rich and poor countries—women, children, ethnic and religious minorities, the poor, displaced persons, and refugees—bear the brunt of the impact. When a climate disaster strikes, these people often lack the resources to recover.
Climate Change’s Disproportionate Effect on Lower-Income Countries
Compared to wealthy countries, lower-income countries are the most vulnerable to the effects of sea level rise and climate-related natural disasters. The many small, low-lying island nations in the Pacific are one example; they face total inundation as the seas rise. Pakistan is another striking example of this disparity. Despite having more than 3% of the world’s population, the country only creates 1% of the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. However, due to its proximity to melting glaciers, storms in the Bay of Bengal, and other climate-related dangers, it suffers some of the largest climate-related disasters on Earth.
In 2022, 33 million Pakistanis were driven from their homes by widespread flooding, which also inundated and destroyed over 2 million acres of farmland. In the aftermath of the disaster, millions of people were left without shelter, food, or potable water. Water-borne illnesses and diarrhea killed thousands, and malaria ran rampant (with infections quadrupling due to the proliferation of mosquitoes in massive areas of standing water).
The Effects of Climate-Related Disasters
Climate-related disasters have many effects ranging from ruined farmland to polluted water supplies and the destruction of infrastructure and livelihoods. More frequent, intense storms, floods, droughts, and wildfires kill people outright, cause famine and disease outbreaks, destroy communities and infrastructure, and sink millions of people further into poverty and desperation.
Additionally, climate change is increasing human conflict as people are forced to compete for resources—especially freshwater—that are becoming scarcer, even as our population rises and our modern lifestyles demand more of it. As usual, it’s often the most vulnerable and poorest people who lose out when resources are scarce.
Climate change is also contributing to the global refugee and displacement crisis. This is the case in Syria, which suffered a massive drought from 2006-10 after experiencing two others since 1980; scientists believe these droughts were worsened by climate change. The lack of rain and hotter temperatures destroyed farmland, increased desertification, and forced millions of Syrians into cities as their rural livelihoods literally dried up. This social upheaval likely contributed to the unrest that broke out in 2011, which ballooned into a civil war by the following year. Since then, 14 million Syrians have been forcibly displaced in the conflict—it’s caused one of the world’s worst refugee crises. Of course, the war had several other major causes, but climate change was likely a contributing factor. Indeed, climate change is now widely considered a “threat multiplier” that can throw fuel on the fire of a brewing conflict.
Islamic Relief USA Works for Climate Justice
Islamic Relief USA (IRUSA) works to mitigate the suffering of the world’s poorest and most threatened communities as they face the challenges of climate change. The organization responded to the catastrophic flooding in Pakistan, for example, by helping communities rebuild, supporting farmers in adopting sustainable livelihoods, and providing counseling and psychosocial support.
Throughout Asia and around the world, IRUSA is working to promote climate justice by providing food, clean drinking water, medical aid, shelter, and other forms of assistance to people in need. This aid can strengthen vulnerable communities, help them climb out of poverty, and increase their ability to withstand climate disasters like droughts, floods, and heatwaves. Anyone wishing to support IRUSA’s work may visit https://irusa.org for further insight.