Since the Human Development Index was established in 1990, it has trended gradually upward, as people’s health, wealth and opportunities have improved. But in 2019, it went into a decline then made worse by the COVID-19 pandemic and the fallout from the war in Ukraine. The impacts of these events on reversing human progress could be dwarfed by climate change, says Achim Steiner, head of the United Nations Development Programme. However, the solutions to the climate problem also offer the potential to build a more inclusive and fair future that allows humanity to thrive. 

Bloomberg Green reporter Akshat Rathi asks Steiner about the opportunities and threats climate change poses to global development, how countries can plan for more climate refugees, and what rising inequality means for a world facing multiple crises.

Read Oxfam’s report on inequality and climate change, here.

Read a transcript of this episode, here.

Zero is a production of Bloomberg Green. Our producer is Oscar Boyd and our senior producer is Christine Driscoll. Special thanks to Kira Bindrim, Sommer Saadi and Stacey Wong, as well as Robin Pomeroy at the World Economic Forum for arranging studio space. Thoughts or suggestions? Email us at [email protected]. For more coverage of climate change and solutions, visit https://www.bloomberg.com/green.

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