WASHINGTON,09 Nov. - (ANA) - Climate change is already preventing people from escaping poverty, and without rapid, inclusive and climate-smart development, together
with emissions-reductions efforts that protect the poor, there could be more than 100 million additional people in poverty by 2030, according to a new World
Bank Group report released before the international climate conference in Paris.

The report, Shock Waves: Managing the Impacts of Climate Change on Poverty, finds that poor people are already at high risk from climate-related
shocks, including crop failures from reduced rainfall, spikes in food prices after extreme weather events, and increased incidence of diseases after heat
waves and floods. It says such shocks could wipe out hard-won gains, leading to irreversible losses, driving people back into poverty, particularly in Africa
and South Asia.

"This report sends a clear message that ending poverty will not be possible unless we take strong action to reduce the threat of climate
change on poor people and dramatically reduce harmful emissions," said World Bank Group President Jim Yong Kim. "Climate change hits the poorest the hardest,
and our challenge now is to protect tens of millions of people from falling into extreme poverty because of a changing climate."

The report finds that the poorest people are more exposed than the average population to climate-related
shocks such as floods, droughts, and heat waves, and they lose much more of their wealth when they are hit. In the 52 countries where data was available, 85
percent of the population live in countries where poor people are more exposed to drought than the average. Poor people are also more exposed to higher
temperatures and live in countries where food production is expected to decrease because of climate change.

The report, released a month before negotiators gather in Paris for international climate talks, shows how ending poverty and
fighting climate change can be more effectively achieved if addressed together.- (ANA) -

AB/ANA/ 09 November 2015 - - -