Climate change could increase Mozambican poverty

Maputo, 4 Dec (AIM) – Climate change impacts could drive up to 1.6 million additional people into poverty in Mozambique by 2050, further compounding drivers of fragility across most of the country, according to the World Bank Country Climate and Development Report.

A press release from the Bank says the report evaluates how climate change and global decarbonization might impact the people of Mozambique and the country’s development in the next decades and suggests ways to respond.

The report calls for economy-wide measures to enhance Mozambique’s capacity to adapt to climate change. Measures should be taken “to protect the most vulnerable, while promoting green, resilient, and inclusive growth”.

“There is a need for Mozambique to fully incorporate climate change into its national development strategy to enable it to become more resilient and capable of adapting to challenges and opportunities posed by climate change,” says the World Bank’s country director for Mozambique, Idah Pswarayi-Ridihough, cited in the report.

The report notes that “while Mozambique’s contribution to global greenhouse gas emissions is minimal, the country is one of those most vulnerable to climate change. Climatic impacts increasingly affect growth and livelihoods in Mozambique, impacting its people, infrastructure, and natural resources”.

The report warns that, without adaptation action, climate change impacts could drive an additional 1.6 million people into poverty by 2050, under the worst scenario.

It estimates that the level of investment needed until 2030 to achieve climate resilience of Mozambique’s human, physical, and natural capital amounts to 37.2 billion dollars. But the costs of inaction will likely be higher.

The report is optimistic about the revenues from Mozambique’s Liquified Natural Gas (LNG) sales which “will enhance the country’s debt sustainability”.

The gas revenues “can generate significant fiscal space to support investments in adaptation needs and climate-resilient infrastructures, but these are expected only after 2030. In the interim, investments in resilience and adaptation should focus on the most urgent needs”, says the report.

(AIM)

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