The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience

This policy brief argues that social protection policies are essential for building climate resilience in Africa, where climate change threatens to push 130 million people into poverty. It highlights the role of the African Risk Capacity (ARC) for sovereign insurance and Ethiopia's Productive Safety Net Program (PSNP) as key examples of climate-responsive tools. The author emphasizes the need for increased funding from multilateral sources like the Loss and Damage Fund and the Green Climate Fund to bridge the financing gap for climate-induced economic damages.

• Climate change poses a severe threat to African development, with the potential to push over 130 million people into poverty and undermine 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 by at least one benefit, 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 countries to manage extreme climate disasters. While it has disbursed $125 million since 2014, 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 model for climate-resilient social protection, supporting 10 million beneficiaries through cash or food transfers in exchange for work on water and soil conservation and other infrastructure projects.
• Africa faces a massive financing gap for climate-related economic damages, with the African Development Bank estimating a need for $290–440 billion between 2020 and 2030.
• The document recommends that African policymakers leverage multilateral funds, such as the Green Climate Fund and the newly launched Loss and Damage Fund (which received just under $800 million in initial donations), to finance social protection pilot programs.

APA

MC LEAN, J. (2024). The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience. South African Institute of International Affairs. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SAIIA_PB_296_SocialProtectionPolicies.pdf

Chicago

MC LEAN, JORDAN. The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience. South African Institute of International Affairs, 2024. https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SAIIA_PB_296_SocialProtectionPolicies.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=MC LEAN |first1=JORDAN |title=The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience |publisher=South African Institute of International Affairs |date=June 2024 |url=https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SAIIA_PB_296_SocialProtectionPolicies.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mclean2024role, author = {MC LEAN, JORDAN}, title = {{The Role of Social Protection Policies in Enhancing Climate Resilience}}, institution = {South African Institute of International Affairs}, year = {2024}, month = jun, url = {https://saiia.org.za/wp-content/uploads/2024/07/SAIIA_PB_296_SocialProtectionPolicies.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }