Rethinking Social Protection In The Face Of Renewed Life-cycle Risks: Assessing Social Protection’s Role In Latin America And The Caribbean’s Adaptation To Climate Change

Latin America faces compounding crises that are reshaping the risk structure that social protection systems aim at addressing, including climate change. In the region, almost half of the population does not have access to social protection (excluding health; ILO, 2022); and almost half of the children live in poverty (UNICEF, 2020). Poverty, vulnerability to climate risks, high-value ecosystems (IADB, 2022) and informal rural livelihoods (FAO, 2022) often overlap. Agrifood systems remain central for income and livelihoods in the region (FAO, 2022), but high informality levels, specific barriers to access social protection (ILO&FAO, 2021), and a reliance on nature-based livelihoods undermine the capacities of agrifood system workers to adapt to the changing climate. Social protection systems play an integral role in adaptation efforts, (IPCC, 2022) and can contribute to reduce greenhouse gas emissions (Bhalla et.al, 2024), including in agrifood systems. Environmental, economic and social challenges converge in this sector, highlighting how intersectoral coordination and trade-offs are central to adaptation policy. Drawing on existing evidence, the brief presents the rationale for strengthening social protection as an integral part of climate action and the critical importance of coordination between relevant sectors.