Beyond the need to ensure access to essential health care and basic income security (ILO, 2012), preserving livelihoods in clean, safe, healthy and sustainable environments is crucial in the full realization of the fundamental right to social security for all (UN-OHCHR, 2023). Climate change prompts environmental degradation which exposes individuals and families to new forms of risks and heightens the demand for social security benefits and services. In addition, the growing number of climate related risks equally dampen the capability of states and institutions to respond adequately to the ever-growing need for social security protection.

Effective access to adequate social security benefits and services plays a primal role in mitigating the negative socio-economic impacts of climate change and environmental degradation. However, climate change and environmental degradation affect countries differently, and most often require solutions beyond the realm of cash and in-kind social security interventions to address the plights of affected communities and population groups. This makes the slowdown, if not the reversal, of current trends in climate change an imperative for the full and sustained realization of the right to social security for all.

In Africa where the agricultural sector accounts for over 35 per cent of the gross domestic product (GDP) and supports livelihoods of over 50 per cent of the continent’s population (Nachum, 2023), adverse climatic conditions will impact economic activities negatively. This will expose an ever-increasing number of individuals and families engaged in the agricultural sector to socio-economic vulnerability and heighten the need for more responsive and comprehensive social security interventions beyond the scope of cash-based benefits to address supply-side concerns such as food security.  

In other instances, climate change triggers the depletion of ground water, thereby provoking droughts and water shortages which do not only affect farming and agricultural activities but also other facets of societal life. For instance, climate induced-droughts can impact on migration flows and affect the running of socio-medical facilities including hospitals. It can equally hit the energy sector especially in settings with a high dependence on hydro-electric power plants which are commonplace in Africa. Hence, the impacts of climate change in Africa are multi-fold with far-reaching consequences on all sectors of societal life in communities and countries across the continent.

This article highlights the climate related challenges faced by the typical African community, and showcases innovative solutions and strategies adopted by ISSA member institutions in the region to tackle and slowdown the pace of climate change, while responding to the needs of affected individuals and population groups. It looks at the interplay between climate change and social protection.

Climate change and the need for social protection

Climate change affects all facets of human and societal life. It is transforming the risks individuals and households face, with potentially profound socio-economic consequences such as increased poverty, inequality, and social instability (Costella et al., 2022). In the area of health, the World Health Organisation (WHO) notes that climate change impacts on the social and environmental determinants of health, such as; clean air, safe drinking water, sufficient food and secure shelter (WHO, 2023).

It equally impacts agriculture and food supply by altering agricultural productivity, soil and water resources as well as health challenges to agricultural workers and livestock (US-EPA, 2022). The immediate health risks and shortfalls in food production due to climate change bring about rising socio-economic vulnerability especially amongst agrarian economies. In this regard, social protection aimed at ensuring access to essential health care and basic income security (ILO, 2012) sets in as the natural response to mitigate the negative socio-economic impacts of this phenomenon.

At the same time, climate change affects government and institutional capability to fulfil the fundamental right to social security for all, by exposing social security systems to bi-directional pressures that widen the financing gap. Firstly, climate change catalyses the materialisation of contingencies such as poverty, illness as well as unemployment especially in rural and agrarian communities. These necessitates an improved provision of social security benefits and services with the corresponding financial strains on social security systems. Secondly, the loss of productivity due to climate change translates to the erosion of the financing base for social security.

In essence, climate change and social protection are intertwined. Effective access to adequate social security benefits and services can play the dual role in addressing climate change and climate induced risks. It supports measures aimed at promoting climate resilience as well as mitigating the negative socio-economic impacts of climate-related risks through social assistance, social insurance and active labour market interventions (ILO, 2023). For example, the Bolsa Floresta programme which was started in Brazil in 2007 uses a set of integrated interventions to achieve the dual goal of forest conservation and betterment of livelihoods of residents in selected sustainable development reserves (SDRs) of the state of Amazonas (Bakkegaard and Wunder, 2014).  

The increasing recognition of the importance of social protection in addressing climate change and climate-induced risks has prompted the design and progressive implementation of shock-responsive and adaptive social security programmes in African countries such as Lesotho, Mali and Mozambique as well as the Sahel region. This helps in improving preparedness in response to crises by minimising the negative  impacts of shocks and curtailing the need for separate humanitarian interventions to address climate-induced risks (O'Brien et al.; 2018).

In Algeria, the government has included the coverage of climate-related risks into the national social protection framework through the National Fund for Paid Leave and Weather-Related Lay-Offs in the Construction, Public Works and Hydraulics Industries (Caisse nationale des congés payés et du chômage intempéries des secteurs du bâtiment, des travaux publics et de l’hydraulique – CACOBATPH). Specifically, the CACOBATPH covers climate related contingencies such as  lay-offs owing to bad weather such as snow, rain, ice, strong winds,  with a view of limiting work under unfavourable weather conditions and preserving the health and safety of workers in the construction, public works and hydraulics (CPWH) sectors while providing benefits and services through social insurance arrangements (National Fund for Paid Leave and Weather-related Lay-offs in the Construction, Public Works and Hydraulics Industries, 2023).

Social protection interventions play a key role in mitigating the negative socio-economic impacts of climate change and climate related risks. Nonetheless, social protection systems are not immune to climate change and the associated risks. The hikes in benefit expenditure and the erosion of the financing base that come with the materialisation of climate related risks such as lay-offs due to extreme weather events, challenges the resilience and responsiveness of social protection systems.

Hence, it is important not to just focus on addressing the negative socio-economic impacts of climate change through social protection but also to adopt and implement measures to slow down the current trends in climate change.

Climate change and the imperative of environmental protection  

Prior to the express manifestations of the negative socio-economic impacts on individuals and households, climate change was perceived as a long-term environmental issue (Costella et al., 2021). The negative socio-economic impacts of climate change and climate related risks are fundamentally a fallout of the environmental issues of climate change.

Climate change affects the environmental determinants of health, provokes droughts with far-reaching consequences on the economy and society including food supply, employment and economic growth. With improved investment in social security benefits and services, societies can reasonably tackle the short-term impacts of climate change. Nonetheless, no country has inexhaustable resources to finance social protection. Social security depends on the economy, which in turn depends on nature and the environment. This makes environmental protection and climate resilience an imperative amidst the duty to fulfil the fundamental right to social security for all.

Factors such as dwindling productivity due to climate change and hikes in the demand for social security protection to address climate related risks will translate to greater socio-economic vulnerability for an ever-increasing number of individuals and families. Additionally, climate change distorts food production and supply chains resulting in shortages and inflationary pressures on essential foodstuff. The demand-supply paradigms of physiological and safety needs amidst climate changewarrant that social security interventions go beyond the scope of financial affordability to address the fundamental questions of availability and accessibility.

In this regard, reversing the current trends in climate change and the protection of the environment become key targets of traditional and novel social protection interventions. Lessons from interventions such as the Bolsa Floresta in Brazil affirm that social protection plays more than the traditional role of providing income to vulnerable individuals and households. Good design of social protection programmes can include environmental considerations, which in turn will improve climate resilience and sustainability. In the case of the Bolsa Floresta, including sustainable use of forest resources and zero net deforestation policy in exchange of social assistance benefits played a cardinal role in preserving forestry resources and slowing down environmental degradation (Bakkegaard and Wunder, 2014).

In other circumstances, the logical response to climate change has been the importation, adaptation and application of the 3Rs; Reduce –> Recycle –> Reuse; of waste management strategies  to design and implement climate resilience policies and programmes. A synthesis of selected good practices from ISSA member institutions shows the contribution of social security institutions in building and supporting climate resilience and addressing climate change.

1. Reduce

According to the United Nations (2023), fossil fuels – coal, oil and gas – are by far the largest contributor to global climate change, accounting for over 75 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions and nearly 90 per cent of all carbon dioxide emissions. While climate change affects all facets of human life, it is equally important to highlight that human activity such as the generation of power, manufacture of goods, production of food, deforestation for agricultural and developmental purposes, as well as the transportation of people and goods contribute to climate change.

Therefore, it is evident that minimizing greenhouse emissions will play a central role in slowing down current trends in climate change. Additionally, the reduction in the exploitation and use of natural resources will play an equally important role in checking climate change. In this regard, the National Social Insurance Fund (Caisse national de prévoyance sociale – CNSS), Cameroon engaged in climate action through the good practice titled Corporate social responsibility: Carbon footprint. The practice aimed at reducing environmental pollution (air and water pollution) by significantly shrinking the carbon footprint through an eco-friendly waste management system (National Social Insurance Fund, 2023).

In a similar development, the IPS National Social Insurance Fund (IPS Caisse nationale de prévoyance sociale – IPS CNPS), Côte d'Ivoire engaged in a cost-cutting and climate action initiative by Rationalizing the printing facilities of the IPS National Social Insurance Fund. The implementation of the policy led to the reduction of energy consumption. Hence, lower greenhouse emissions and the contribution to climate resilience (IPS National Social Insurance Fund, 2023). The reduction in printing equally have long-term impacts on reducing the demand for paper and related printing consumables with far-reaching impacts on slowing down deforestation.

Besides the need to reduce greenhouse emissions and prevent the depletion of natural resources as a core climate action initiatives, it is equally important to engage on measures to improve environmental safety and sustainability. One important aspect here is the design and implementation of policies and programmes that will minimize the dumping of non-biodegradable substances into the environment as well as the judicious use of contrained resources amongst competing goals through recycling and reusage.

2. Recycle and reuse

Over and above the need to reduce carbon emissions as a check to current trends in climate change, it is important to recognize that poor waste management will result in environmental pollution. In an environment characterised by an escalating demand for limited natural resources and the climate impacts of an unchecked exploitation of these resources, the recycling and reuse natural-resources based products will play a central role in the climate agenda.

Additionally, recycling and reusing these products will minimize the negative climate impacts by cutting down on dumping and environmental pollution. This elevates the importance of Solid waste management (SWM) in environmental protection. Abubakar et al. (2022) note that effective SWM mitigates adverse health and environmental impacts, conserves resources, and improves the livability of cities. Poor SWM increases the risk of weather related events such as floods due to poor drainage as well as diseases by providing a safe habitat for disease vectors such as mosquitoes.

In other circumstances, the disposal of liquid waste into the environment will contaminate ground water with the likely deposition of contangeous substances and heavy metals into the ecosystem. These will impact negatively on access to safe drinking water, affect food production and raise health and public health concerns through increased morbidity rates with corresponding strains on health care and social protection systems. Therefore, the onus in addressing the negative socio-economic impacts of climate change through social protection interventions is to ensure that these interventions equally contribute to environmental protection and climate resilience.

As noted supra, ISSA member institutions are taking on projects to minimize carbon emissions thereby contributing to climate resilience. In a similar manner, the National Social Security Fund (Caisse nationale de sécurité sociale – CNSS), Tunisia engaged in a project of making haemodialysis at its policlinics greener. Through the project the institution optimized water use and minimized environmental pollution. With the pilot project at the Sousse policlinic, the institution was able to achieve the dual developmental objective of saving water and protecting the environment through the recycling and resuse of limted water resources.  in thecountry that witnessed a 90 per cent water shortage in 2022 (National Social Security Fund, 2023).

In environments affected by droughts due to climate change, the judicious use of water resources will play a key role in the running of health care facilities and in maintaining good public hygiene, which are crucial facets of public health policies. The experience of the CNSS, serves as an important reference in this respect.

Final remarks

Climate change and environmental protection are taking centre stage in the global discussion on social protection. This is due to the important role social protection interventions play in addressing climate-induced risks as well as the strains brought on social security systems due to the growing and repetitive nature of extreme weather events. Amidst the consensus to curtail greenhouse emissions as a means to check current climate trends, there is an increasing recognition of the need to factor in environmental protection in the design and implementation of climate resilient policies and programmes. This will play a key role in reducing the incidence as well as minimize the impacts of climate and extreme weather events.

Existing knowledge and practices of ISSA member institutions in Africa affirm that:

1. The evolving trends of climate change place a double burden on social security systems through the increasing demand for benefits and services to address rising socio-economic vulnerability, whilst there is the erosion of fiscal space due to reduced labour productivity especially in Agrarian dominated economies.   
2. Social security institutions can contribute to climate resilience and environmental sustainability through innovative administrative actions to address climate change and mitigate its negative socio-economic impacts through an improved provision of benefits and services.   

The negative socio-economic impacts of climate change as well as growing incidence of climate related events have reaffirmed the urgency to develop national social protection systems, including social protection floors. This is even more important in agrarian economies where a higher proportion of the population depend on the agricultural sector. To enhance resilience and responsiveness, the design of these interventions should include the environmental impacts of social protection interventions as well as the evolving nature of risks brought about by climate change and environmental degradation.   

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