Degraded land, contaminated air, and water scarcity represent significant threats to the global economy, but improving natural resource efficiency could reduce pollution by up to 50%, according to Axel van Trotsenburg, a senior managing director at the World Bank. Speaking ahead of a new report’s release, he emphasized that low-income nations face the greatest risks due to overlapping pressures from poverty, climate change, and biodiversity decline.
The report reveals that approximately 80% of people in poorer countries are simultaneously exposed to land degradation, poor air quality, and water stress. Despite shrinking aid budgets in donor nations, the World Bank reaffirmed its commitment to poverty reduction on a sustainable planet.
“Our commitment… is ending poverty on a liveable planet, full stop. We will not waver on this,” van Trotsenburg stated.
Countries like Burundi and Malawi are among the hardest hit. In Burundi, 8 million face air pollution and water insecurity, while 7 million are affected by soil degradation. In Malawi, all three environmental threats impact 12 million people.
Globally, 90% of the population experiences at least one of these environmental challenges. The report urges governments to redirect subsidies currently funding environmentally harmful activities toward sustainable alternatives.
The World Bank intends to supply data-driven insights to support policy discussions among member states on ecological degradation.
Findings indicate that forests contribute to the formation of nearly half of the world’s rain clouds. Deforestation disrupts rainfall patterns, costing the nine nations in the Amazon region an estimated $14 billion annually—a substantial economic burden.
Additionally, degraded landscapes lose their ability to regulate moisture, worsening drought conditions and reducing agricultural productivity. This results in an annual loss of $379 billion, equivalent to 8% of global agricultural output.
Contrary to the outdated belief that economic growth must precede environmental protection, the report argues that pollution and poverty are already undermining development.
“We’ve often had this mantra that we believed countries need to grow first, pollute and clean up later. What this evidence is telling you is that is simply false,” said Richard Damania, the bank’s chief economist for sustainable development and co-author of the report.
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World Bank urges fresh push on economic threat of pollution
LONDON, Sept 1 (Reuters) – Degraded land, polluted air and water stress pose a direct global economic threat but using natural resources more efficiently could cut pollution by half, one of the World Bank ‘s senior managing directors told Reuters. n nThe damage is particularly acute for low-income countries most at threat from poverty, climate change and biodiversity loss, Axel van Trotsenburg said. n nSign up here. n nSpeaking alongside the publication of a new report on Monday, he said around 80% of people in low-income nations were exposed to all three and the World Bank was committed to responding even as many countries cut aid budgets. n n”Our commitment… is ending poverty on a liveable planet, full stop. We will not waver on this,” van Trotsenburg said. n nAmong the most impacted countries are Burundi, where 8 million people face water risk and air pollution, and 7 million face land degradation. In Malawi, 12 million people face all three risks, the report said. n nMore broadly, 90% of the world ‘s population face at least one of the challenges, with the report urging countries to repurpose subsidies currently spent on harmful activities. n nThe World Bank would provide data-backed evidence to inform discussions on environmental degradation among its member governments, van Trotsenburg said. n nThe report estimated that forests help around half of the world ‘s rain clouds form and said deforestation cut rainfall at a cost of $14 billion a year for the nine-country Amazon region alone, a material hit for the affected nations. n nIt also means landscapes are less able to store and release moisture slowly over time. That amplifies the effects of droughts and results in a $379 billion hit, or 8% of global agricultural economic output. n nWhile ecological threats were often seen as being distant, the report zeroed in on economic impacts happening now. n n”We ‘ve often had this mantra that we believed countries need to grow first, pollute and clean up later. What this evidence is telling you is that is simply false,” the bank ‘s chief economist for sustainable development and report co-author, Richard Damania, said. n nEditing by Ros Russell n nOur Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab n nSimon leads a team tracking how the financial system and companies more broadly are responding to the challenges posed by climate change, nature loss and other environmental, social and governance (ESG) issues including diversity and inclusion. n nMarc Jones is a senior global markets correspondent based in London with a focus on economics, central banks, policymakers, and crises. Previously he worked in Frankfurt covering the European Central Bank at the height of the euro zone turmoil, the UK companies desk during the initial phase of global financial crash. He started his Reuters career on the sports desk covering everything from soccer to cycling.