By Chuks Oyema-Aziken
Climate change is rapidly becoming one of the biggest threats to global development, former Nigerian Vice President Yemi Osinbajo and former Spanish foreign minister Arancha González Laya said this week at the World Economic Forum in Davos.
Osinbajo said climate shocks are already reshaping development outcomes across many countries, affecting job creation, education and communities’ ability to recover from disasters.
He warned that floods, droughts and extreme heat are colliding with rising debt, conflict and fragile institutions, stretching systems that were not designed for such pressures.
“Climate change is not abstract,” Osinbajo said. “It shapes whether economies can grow and whether people can rebuild their lives after shocks.”
González said existing development cooperation models are struggling to keep pace as climate risks intensify and trust in multilateral institutions weakens.
She argued that climate action must be embedded at the centre of development policy, rather than treated as a separate or secondary issue.
Both speakers called for a shift away from narrow, aid-focused approaches toward broader partnerships that align public policy, private investment and long-term climate resilience.
Without a fundamental rethink, they warned, climate change could reverse decades of development gains, particularly in vulnerable countries already facing economic and social pressures.
