As climate change accelerates, its impacts are being felt most acutely by those who have contributed the least to the problem: the world’s poorest and most marginalized people. A recent report by the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification shows that droughts are on the rise, already having widespread, global impact—with women and children amongst the most affected.

The effects of this can be seen quite clearly in Kenya, which has recently experienced its worst drought in 40 years. Five consecutive failed rainy seasons have created a need for food assistance to support 4.5 million people (about twice the population of New Mexico), and resulted in the death of 2.4 million livestock, devastating income earning potential.

Droughts, rising temperatures, erratic rainfall, and floods are not just environmental issues—they are existential threats to livelihoods, food security, and human dignity. The compounding consequences of exposure to these climate risks emerge in the form of impaired health, the loss of livelihoods, and the loss of education, to name a few—presenting an even bigger threat to the resilience of the most vulnerable.

When Climate Risks Rise, We Need More Than One Tool in Our Toolkit

The consequences of climate change are complex and multi-faceted, and current solutions often don’t take this into account. To date, most efforts to address the impacts of climate change on the most vulnerable focus on only one facet of the risk people face, such as digital weather forecasting services. While important, these alone are inadequate to address the wide range of needs people may face when responding to climate risks. When only one climate solution is employed, vulnerable populations are unable to build long-term resilience to these shocks, and their households may be pushed deeper into poverty.

Given the increased severity and frequency of climate risks, we need solutions that build resilience for the most vulnerable to withstand climate risks again and again. Programs that promote economic inclusion are powerful tools for building climate resilience.

While definitions for resilience vary, it’s largely agreed that resilience is the ability to ensure vulnerable individuals and households can withstand, adapt, and recover from shocks and stresses over time. For people living in poverty, resilience is not a luxury—it’s a necessity. But being resilient over time means individuals need access to a variety of resources to support their ability to withstand the effects of climate shocks.

Economic inclusion programs are proving to be viable solutions because they provide a suite of contextually relevant tools to the most vulnerable in support of their resilience building efforts. Economic inclusion programs not only combine seed capital, skills training, access to finance, coaching, and connections to markets, they also provide contextually relevant support in climate adaptation and resilience by educating participants about climate threats and teaching them how to adapt to those threats.

Economic inclusion programs help build this resilience in several key ways:

1. They Are Grounded in Context

Climate events, like droughts, have different impacts in different contexts. A drought in Nigeria will have a different impact than a drought in Bangladesh. Economic inclusion programs are designed to respond to the context in which they operate, and often work alongside local communities and local governments to ensure that the program design is reflective of community priorities.

2. They Support Diversified Livelihoods

Economic inclusion programs help participants diversify their income sources and pursue livelihoods that are designed to withstand the threat of climate risks. For example, in Malawi, Concern Worldwide is providing coaching on a variety of income generating activities that can support its participants’ ability to respond to drought by providing coaching on climate smart agriculture, home gardening, conservation and agroforestry. In India, Trickle Up supports participants in adopting climate-adaptive livelihoods through holistic approaches to farming like intercropping and vermicomposting, while building sustainable market linkages. It’s essential that adaptation strategies are locally led and contextually relevant for them to be sustainable.

3. They Strengthen Financial Buffers

Informal and formal financial services can serve as a critical tool to support economic inclusion program participants in building their resilience. Savings and credit can be offered through Village Savings and Lending Associations, which serve as important foundations for access to financial services that program participants may not otherwise have. These financial tools are especially important in areas where formal banking is inaccessible or unaffordable. Other forms of financial services, including those provided through banks or insurance providers, can also help households manage risk and recover from setbacks.

4. They Support Climate Adaptation

Thanks to advances in technology, there are numerous innovations that can support the climate adaptation approaches of the most vulnerable—but a number of factors make these innovations out of reach for the most vulnerable. The high cost, limited availability, and lack of contextual relevance of many of these innovations often turn them from solutions into barriers for those who need them the most.

5. They Address Gender Barriers to Resilience

Climate change worsens existing inequalities, particularly for women. When it comes to drought, women and girls in poor and rural areas are often the first to be impacted. Solutions to support their resilience cannot be gender blind, they must be intentionally gender-sensitive. This is especially true for ensuring women have the right tools and resources to pursue climate adaptive livelihoods: these tools are often not designed understanding the unique barriers women face and the opportunities that can unlock their full economic potential.

Economic inclusion programs cannot end the climate crisis. Yet, with the unpredictability and severity of climate shocks and stresses threatening the resilience of the most vulnerable, they can be an important tool in building the resilience of those who will be most impacted by these events.

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