UN report: Caribbean still facing rising climate threats

Caribbean nations continue to struggle with deep-rooted inequalities and growing climate risks, according to the Global Multidimensional Poverty Index (MPI) 2025, released by the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) and the Oxford Poverty and Human Development Initiative (OPHI).

The report, titled “Overlapping Hardships: Poverty and Climate Hazards,” highlights how poverty and climate change are increasingly converging across the developing world. It found that 23.5 percent of people living in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) — roughly 13.6 million people — experience multidimensional poverty, which factors in not only income, but also access to education, healthcare, housing, sanitation, and energy.

While some Caribbean countries have shown progress, the report notes that the region remains deeply divided. Haiti continues to record among the highest poverty levels globally, with more than 40 percent of its population living in multidimensional poverty. Basic necessities such as clean cooking fuel, safe drinking water, sanitation, and adequate housing remain out of reach for many.

In contrast, Trinidad and Tobago and Cuba report less than one percent of their populations living in multidimensional poverty, reflecting strong social protection systems and near-universal access to basic services.

In Guyana, the national poverty rate stands at 1.8 percent, but sharp regional disparities persist — from as low as 0.1 percent in some areas to as high as 23 percent in others.

Across the Caribbean and other island states, the most common deprivations include lack of clean cooking fuel, poor sanitation, inadequate housing, and unreliable electricity. The report estimates that 11.5 million poor people in SIDS lack access to electricity, with the majority in Haiti, Papua New Guinea, Timor-Leste, Guinea-Bissau, and Vanuatu.

The UNDP warns that climate change is deepening these vulnerabilities. Rising sea levels pose an existential threat to low-lying coastal communities, with projections showing that, under a very high emissions scenario, ocean levels could rise by up to 70 centimetres by 2080–2099 in islands such as Belize.

The report describes SIDS as facing a “double burden” of poverty and climate change, as many poor households already endure floods, droughts, and extreme heat alongside economic and social deprivation.

Globally, the MPI found that 1.1 billion people — or 18.3 percent of the population across 109 countries — live in acute poverty. Children are disproportionately affected, with 28 percent living in poverty compared to 13.5 percent of adults.

The UNDP is calling for urgent, integrated policies that link poverty reduction, climate adaptation, and sustainable development, especially for small island nations on the climate frontlines.

“Responding to overlapping risks requires prioritising both people and the planet,” the report urges. “Aligning poverty reduction, climate mitigation and adaptation, and ecosystem restoration makes it possible for resilient communities to emerge and thrive — with no one left behind, especially on the front lines of a warming world.”