{
  "id": 19457053,
  "title": "Time to refocus development aid on human welfare – not climate change",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/11/time-to-refocus-development-aid-on-human-welfare-not-climate-change",
  "topic": "business",
  "section": "Business",
  "published": "2026-11-11T05:37:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "City AM",
    "slug": "city-am",
    "url": "https://www.cityam.com/time-to-refocus-development-aid-on-human-welfare-not-climate-change/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Global development progress has stagnated as wealthy nations redirect aid funds towards climate mitigation efforts. However, experts Indermit Gill and Bjorn Lomborg argue that allocating resources to high-impact investments in health, education, and economic growth offers the most effective means to uplift the world's poorest populations. Over the past 75 years, human welfare has seen unprecedented improvement, yet this progress has stalled over the past decade as rich nations shifted their focus to climate change. This shift coincides with the decline in extreme poverty rates, which decreased from over 50% in 1950 to 7.6% today. Average schooling has nearly tripled, and electricity access has surged. Despite these gains, development has slowed, with the number of poor people remaining stagnant since 2016. This stagnation is attributed to the retirement of the Millennium Development Goals and the rise of the Sustainable Development Goals, which have placed climate change at the forefront of development priorities. While climate change is a pressing issue, the authors contend that the current focus on climate policy is not the most effective approach for helping the poorest. Instead, sustained economic growth is the most reliable predictor of a country's ability to withstand climate shocks. A 10% increase in per capita GDP can reduce the number of people exposed to climate disruption by 100 million. Moreover, investments in nutrition, health, and education yield substantial returns, often delivering $40 to $110 in social benefits per dollar spent, compared to climate-mitigation investments, which often provide much less. The authors emphasize the importance of opportunity costs, noting that every dollar spent on climate mitigation diverts resources from critical areas such as schools, maternal health, and clean water. They argue that rich world development institutions must prioritize development over climate policy, and the United Kingdom should learn from Norway's approach of separating climate financing from development budgets. While the world's poorest populations are still vulnerable to various challenges, the focus should be on implementing cost-effective, high-impact solutions before investing in long-term climate adaptations. A recent Afrobarometer survey indicates that Africans rank climate change 31st among 34 priorities, highlighting the need to rediscover the smart, focused development solutions that transformed the world in the past 75 years.",
  "summary": "Global development progress has stalled as rich nations shift aid budgets toward climate mitigation, but focusing resources on high-return investments in health, education, and economic growth offers the most effective path to uplift the world’s poorest, say Indermit Gill and Bjorn Lomborg The last 75 years have brought the greatest improvement of human welfare in [...]",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}