ABSTRACT
Social and economic development is strongly related to climate change. It is now well established that climate change and its impacts can have a very negative influence on people and their economies, for example on agriculture or in areas vulnerable to droughts and floods. The livelihoods of the poor, young and elderly will be most seriously undermined by extreme events (e.g. droughts, floods, epidemics) as well as more subtle changes (e.g. different disease vectors, heat stress, changes in growing season). The global effort to fight poverty, confirmed again with the adoption of the Millennium Development Goals, will be seriously hampered if mitigation and adaptation to climate change are not addressed.
