When Superstorm Sandy slammed into the U.S. East Coast in October 2012, low-income communities in New York and New Jersey were the hardest hit . The storm surge inundated schools and public housing in African American and Latino neighborhoods. In some areas, power outages lasted for weeks.

Meanwhile, in lower Manhattan, the headquarters of investment bank Goldman Sachs escaped significant damage thanks to a wall of sandbags constructed around the buildings entrance. And backup generators allowed the company to keep the lights on.

This scene of economic disparity during a natural disaster is highlighted in a new United Nations report that warns human rights might not survive the coming upheaval from global climate change.

We risk a climate apartheid scenario where the wealthy pay to escape overheating, hunger, and conflict while the rest of the world is left to suffer, author Philip Alston, the U.N. special rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights, said in an accompanying statement .

In the 21-page report, Alston said the climate crisis is an unconscionable assault on the poor. He also argued that steps taken by the human rights community, including the U.N., to combat climate change have been patently inadequate and entirely disproportionate to the urgency and magnitude of the threat.