The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience

This research paper by the South African Institute of International Affairs argues that African policymakers must integrate social protection policies into national climate responses to protect vulnerable populations. It examines both contributory mechanisms, such as weather-based index insurance via the African Risk Capacity, and non-contributory measures, such as Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program, while emphasizing the need for increased financing from global funds to address climate-induced loss and damage.

• Climate change poses a severe threat to poverty reduction and development in Africa, with the potential to push over 130 million people into poverty if carbon emissions are not reduced and adaptation plans are not implemented. This threatens the African Union's (AU) goal for member states to reach middle-income status by 2063.
• Social protection coverage in Africa is significantly lower than the global average, with less than 17.4% of the population covered, compared to just under half of the global population.
• The African Risk Capacity (ARC) Insurance Company Limited (ARC Ltd) provides sovereign-level index insurance to 30 AU member states, utilizing risk pooling to reduce contingent funds for drought response by 50%. However, its effectiveness is limited because only 39 AU member states have signed the ARC Establishment Agreement.
• Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) serves as a major example of climate-resilient social protection, supporting 10 million beneficiaries through cash or food transfers in exchange for work on water and soil conservation, community roads, and educational infrastructure.
• Africa faces a massive financing gap for climate-induced loss and damage, with the African Development Bank estimating a need for $290–440 billion between 2020 and 2030 to cover economic damages.
• The document recommends that African policymakers leverage multilateral climate funds—specifically the Loss and Damage Fund, the Green Climate Fund, and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) Trust Fund—to finance social protection pilot programs and strengthen resilience systems.
• In Namibia, the Integrated Landscape Approach for Enhancing Livelihoods and Environmental Governance to Eradicate Poverty used a $10 million GEF Trust Fund investment to implement a pilot public works program aimed at restoring 10,000 hectares of forested land.

APA

South African Institute of International Affairs (2024). The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-role-of-social-protection-policies-in-enhancing-climate-resilience/

Chicago

South African Institute of International Affairs. The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience. 2024. https://saiia.org.za/research/the-role-of-social-protection-policies-in-enhancing-climate-resilience/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=South African Institute of International Affairs |title=The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience |date=3 July 2024 |url=https://saiia.org.za/research/the-role-of-social-protection-policies-in-enhancing-climate-resilience/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{southafricaninstituteofinternationalaffairs2024role, author = {{South African Institute of International Affairs}}, title = {{The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2024}, month = jul, url = {https://saiia.org.za/research/the-role-of-social-protection-policies-in-enhancing-climate-resilience/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }