(CNN) The world is facing a "climate apartheid" between the rich who can protect themselves and the poor who are left behind, the UN has warned.

new report published on Tuesday estimated that more than 120 million people could slip into poverty within the next decade because of 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." Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur

As extreme weather events such as droughts, floods and hurricanes become more frequent, the world's poorest people will be forced to "choose between starvation and migration," the report warned.

"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," said Philip Alston, the UN Special Rapporteur on extreme poverty and human rights.

Alston said the difference between how climate change affects the wealthy and the poor is already apparent.