As world leaders enter climate talks, people in poverty have the most at stake

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When summer heat comes to the Arara neighborhood in northern Rio, it lingers, baking the red brick and concrete that make up many of the buildings long after the sun has gone down. Luis Cassiano, who's lived here more than 30 years, says he's getting worried as heat waves become more frequent and fierce.

RIO DE JANEIRO (AP) — When summer heat comes to the Arara neighborhood in northern Rio, it lingers, baking the red brick and concrete that make up many of the buildings long after the sun has gone down. Luis Cassiano, who’s lived here more than 30 years, says he’s getting worried as heat waves become more frequent and fierce.

In poor areas such as Arara, those who can afford air conditioning — Cassiano is one — can’t always count on it because of frequent power outages on an overloaded system. Cassiano gets some relief from the green roof he installed about a decade ago, which can keep his house up to 15 degrees Celsius (about 27 degrees Fahrenheit) cooler than his neighbor’s, but he still struggles to stay comfortable.

“The sun in the summer nowadays is scary,” Cassiano said.

As world leaders come to Brazil for climate talks, people like Cassiano are the ones with the most at stake. Poor communities are often more vulnerable to hazards like extreme heat and supersized storms and less likely to have the resources to cope than wealthier places.

Any help from the climate talks depends on countries not just laying out pledges and plans to lower emissions. They also need to find the political will to implement them, as well as come up with the billions of dollars needed to adapt everything from harvests to houses to better withstand human-caused climate change.

All of it is sorely needed for the 1.1 billion people around the world who live in acute poverty, according to the United Nations.

That’s why many have lauded the choice of Belem, a relatively poor city, to host these talks.

“I am pleased that we will be going to a place like this, because this is where climate meets poverty, meets demand, meets financing needs, and meets the reality of the majority of the population of this world that are impacted by climate change,” said Inger Andersen, executive director of the U.N. Environment Programme.