CLIMATE–POVERTY CONNECTIONS

The report argues that climate mitigation and socioeconomic development can be achieved simultaneously through synergistic solutions. It introduces the Drawdown Lift Human Well-Being Index (HWI), based on the Doughnut Economics model, to assess 12 dimensions of human well-being. The analysis focuses on five groups of solutions: Improving Agriculture and Agroforestry, Protecting and Restoring Ecosystems, Adopting Clean Cooking, Providing Clean Electricity, and Fostering Equality. The report provides evidence that these solutions can reduce greenhouse gas emissions while directly improving food security, health, income, and gender equality in low- and middle-income countries.

• Climate change disproportionately impacts vulnerable populations in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), particularly in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), where 40 percent of the population lives in extreme poverty.
• Improving agriculture and agroforestry is highly effective for poverty reduction; in SSA, such improvements are estimated to be 11 times more effective at reducing extreme poverty than investments in other sectors.
• Secure land tenure, especially for women, is critical for the adoption of sustainable agricultural practices and improved food security.
• Protecting and restoring ecosystems provides direct benefits to food security and income, with non-timber forest products (NTFPs) accounting for 2228 percent of the income for rural people in extreme poverty living near forests.
• The use of traditional cookstoves causes significant health issues, contributing to over 4 million premature deaths annually and reducing life expectancy by approximately two years or more in several SSA countries.
• Adopting clean cooking solutions reduces 'time poverty' for women and girls; in The Gambia, Guinea-Bissau, and Senegal, redeploying 50 percent of time saved from gathering firewood could increase annual income by US$83, US$100, and US$170, respectively.
• Access to clean electricity, particularly through distributed solar photovoltaics (SPV), improves health outcomes by enabling the refrigeration of medicines and providing lighting for nighttime births, which reduces maternal and child mortality.
• Universal education and rights-based voluntary family planning are identified as key drivers for slowing population growth, which could reduce global CO2 emissions by 15 percent by 2050.
• The total global CO2-equivalent reduction potential of the 28 highlighted solutions is approximately 690 Gt between 2020 and 2050.

APA

Jameel, Y., Patrone, C. M., Patterson, K. P., & West, P. C. (2022). CLIMATE–POVERTY CONNECTIONS. Project Drawdown. https://drawdown.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Drawdown%20Lift_Climate%20Poverty%20Connections%20Report_March%202022.2.pdf

Chicago

Jameel, Yusuf, Carissa M. Patrone, Kristen P. Patterson, and Paul C. West. CLIMATE–POVERTY CONNECTIONS. Project Drawdown, 2022. https://drawdown.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Drawdown%20Lift_Climate%20Poverty%20Connections%20Report_March%202022.2.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Jameel |first1=Yusuf |last2=Patrone |first2=Carissa M. |last3=Patterson |first3=Kristen P. |last4=West |first4=Paul C. |title=CLIMATE–POVERTY CONNECTIONS |publisher=Project Drawdown |date=March 2022 |url=https://drawdown.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Drawdown%20Lift_Climate%20Poverty%20Connections%20Report_March%202022.2.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{jameel2022climatepoverty, author = {Jameel, Yusuf and Patrone, Carissa M. and Patterson, Kristen P. and West, Paul C.}, title = {{CLIMATE–POVERTY CONNECTIONS}}, institution = {Project Drawdown}, year = {2022}, month = mar, url = {https://drawdown.org/sites/default/files/pdfs/Drawdown%20Lift_Climate%20Poverty%20Connections%20Report_March%202022.2.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }