The eradication of extreme poverty is the minimum ethical floor of the global development agenda. With projections suggesting eradication is possible by 2030, the goal of ‘zero extreme poverty by 2030’ is a compelling objective.
However, climate change could be an obstacle to achieve this goal. It would hit the very poor hardest, making it tougher for those in extreme poverty to escape it, and drawing the moderately poor back into extreme poverty. Countries will need even greater ambition, and great support, to adapt and limit impacts on the poor.
But adaptation to climate extremes becomes increasingly implausible, particularly for the poorest, as we move beyond 2°C global mean temperature rise. Avoiding surpassing 2°C will require zero net greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions before the century’s end. To achieve zero emissions, and indeed to peak in the next couple of decades, all countries need to transform their economies.
This paper finds that the goal of zero net emissions is compatible with eradicating extreme poverty and is, indeed, necessary to sustain such achievement. However, their achievement depends on the nature and quality of growth and how it is achieved over the next decades.