Governments are failing to make full use of the powerful potential of social protection to counter the effects of the climate crisis and support a just transition, according to a new International Labour Organization (ILO) report.

The report also finds that those countries most vulnerable to the effects of climate change often have the lowest levels of social protection.

The World Social Protection Report 2024-26: Universal social protection for climate action and a just transition finds that, for the first time, more than half of the global population (52.4 per cent) has some form of social protection coverage. This is up from 42.8 per cent in 2015, the year when the Sustainable Development Goals were adopted.

However, the ILO Report finds that in the 20 countries most vulnerable to the climate crisis, 91.3 per cent of people (364 million) still lack any form of social protection. Looking more broadly, in the 50 most climate-vulnerable countries, 75 per cent of the population (2.1 billion people) lack any social protection coverage. Globally, most children (76.1 per cent) still have no effective social protection coverage. There is also a substantial gender gap, with women’s effective coverage lagging behind men’s coverage (50.1 and 54.6 per cent, respectively).

These gaps, according to the Report, are especially significant, given the potential role of social protection in softening the impact of climate change, helping people and societies adapt to a new climate-volatile reality, and facilitating a just transition to a sustainable future.

“Climate change does not recognise borders, and we cannot build a wall to keep the crisis out. The climate crisis affects us all and represents the single, gravest, threat to social justice today,” said Gilbert F. Houngbo, ILO Director-General. “Many of the countries experiencing the most brutal consequences of this crisis are particularly ill-equipped to handle its environmental and livelihood consequences. We must recognise that what happens to impacted communities will affect us all.”

The ILO Report concludes that on average, countries spend 12.9 per cent of their gross domestic product (GDP) on social protection (excluding health). However, while high-income countries spend an average of 16.2 per cent, low-income countries allocate only 0.8 per cent of their GDP to social protection. Low-income countries – which include states most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change – need an additional US$308.5 billion per year (52.3 per cent of their GDP) to guarantee at least basic social protection and international support will be needed to reach this goal.