The global community is facing a ‘triple crisis’: the interdependence of people, poverty and inequality; the changing climate and extreme weather patterns; and the natural world and its degradation. As climate changes, the highest rates of nature decline are in areas with high levels of poverty and where human security is increasingly threatened. The consequences of the triple crisis do not affect everyone equally. Many of these areas have mining operations and the poorest and most vulnerable people associated with these operations may suffer the most.
A shock within the context of community livelihoods is an unexpected event that can destroy assets or affect people, households or communities. As the impacts of climate change manifest, the prevalence of natural disasters (shocks), like extreme weather events, floods or longer periods of drought, is predicted to increase. The environmental or socioeconomic impacts of mining may result in further shocks.
To deal with shocks, communities resort to short-term coping strategies. Vulnerable communities with limited resources tends to have inadequate capacity or capability to respond effectively, and the strategies adopted are often negative, like changing food consumption patterns or having to use household savings.
Adaptation strategies refer to longer term approaches by households to respond to adverse events. When adaptation strategies are successful, households become less prone to crises over time, and their resilience improves. A key pillar of the Paris Agreement is to reduce the vulnerability of countries and communities to climate change by increasing their ability to absorb shocks and remain resilient.
Mining companies seeking to understand and mitigate their own impact on existing
vulnerabilities will be better placed to ensure their socioeconomic development initiatives are appropriate and successful.
Companies that look at climate change adaptation options without considering the socioeconomic, cultural or political context of the communities whose lives and livelihoods depend on the local environment will fail to generate shared benefit and to deliver positive outcomes.
To tackle the triple crisis, the global community must work together to reduce vulnerability, build resilience and tackle the root cause of complex social issues. There is a huge opportunity for mining companies to form partnerships with local or regional government bodies and development actors in the countries where they operate and work together towards the central transformative promise of the UN's Agenda 2030 and its sustainable development goals to ensure no one is left behind.
