‘The first thing that I fear for my future is lack of rain and drought’: climate change and its impacts on adolescent capabilities in low- and middle-income countries

Climate change is one of the most critical global challenges. The 2015 Paris Agreement acknowledges that climate change is ‘an urgent and potentially irreversible threat to human societies and the planet’. Climate change is influencing the severity and frequency of climate-related hazards, including drought, floods, changes in weather patterns and seasonal rainfall. These shifts are coupled with contextual changes which increase vulnerability and decrease the capacity to prepare for, and recover from, climate-related hazards. Put together, these changes can result in indirect impacts on food security, water availability, migration patterns, health, and psychosocial well-being. From 1990 to 2015, it is estimated that the richest 10% of the world’s population were responsible for 52% of global cumulative carbon emissions, while the poorest 50% were responsible for just 7%. Yet low-income countries are disproportionately affected by the effects of climate change. Many low income countries will experience greater climate-related hazards such as increased daily temperature extremes and droughts. Additionally, people living in low income countries are more vulnerable to the impacts of these hazards due to high reliance on agriculture and limited resources and infrastructure needed to prepare and recover from these events.

Suggested citation

Devonald, M., Jones, N. and Yadete, W. (2020) ‘The first thing that I fear for my future is lack of rain and drought’: climate change and its impacts on adolescent capabilities in low- and middle-income countries. Report. London: Gender and Adolescence: Global Evidence. (https://www.gage.odi.org/publication/the-first-thing-that-i-fear-for-my-future-is-lack-of-rain-and-drought-climate-change-and-its-impacts-on-adolescent-capabilities-in-low-and-middle-income-countries/)