Revealed: 'deeply unjust' cost of climate crisis for world's poorest countries

Extreme weather fuelled by the climate crisis has cost some of the world’s poorest countries $156bn (£116bn) across the past two decades, The Independent can reveal.

- ALICJA HAGOPIAN DATA CORRESPONDENT

Intense drought, flooding, cyclones and more have impacted 364 million people and caused more than 42,000 deaths since 2000 – 17,000 of which can be directly attributed to climate change. The nations hardest hit are Somalia, Haiti and Uganda.

Researchers at ODI Global, an international think tank, also found the climate crisis had contributed to billions of dollars worth of agricultural losses, with farmers across Somalia and Ethiopia forced to abandon their livelihoods amid growing food scarcity, saying the stark findings should serve as a “wake-up call for global policymakers”.

“If the UK suffered tens of billions of pounds worth of damage caused by other countries’ actions, our government and the public would rightfully be shouting from the rooftops about the injustice,” Mike Childs, head of policy at Friends of the Earth, told The Independent.

“Yet this is the reality for many countries on the front lines of climate breakdown that have contributed virtually nothing to global emissions.”

With Donald Trump slashing US aid spending and the UK planning on cutting billions of pounds in funding, The Independent reports on the devastating impact on countries most affected by the climate crisis, due to losing support for food and disaster prevention.

“It’s deeply unjust that those who have done the least to contribute to the climate crisis are paying most dearly for it – the UK has a central role to play in righting that injustice,” Carla Denyer, co-leader of the Green Party, said. “While governments like ours delay, countries like Somalia and Ethiopia, and small island nations – some of the world’s poorest countries – are paying the price.”

“The government’s recent cuts to the foreign aid budget are particularly disturbing in this context, with so many across the world relying on essential humanitarian aid as a result of extreme weather caused by the climate crisis,” added Ms Denyer.