Climate change vulnerability

World gross national income per capita: Lower income countries tend to have a higher vulnerability to climate change.

Climate change vulnerability is a concept that describes how strongly people or ecosystems are likely to be affected by climate change. Its formal definition is the "propensity or predisposition to be adversely affected" by climate change. It can apply to humans and also to natural systems (or ecosystems).[1]: 12  Issues around the capacity to cope and adapt are also part of this concept.[1]: 5  Vulnerability is a component of climate risk. Vulnerability differs within communities and also across societies, regions, and countries. It can increase or decrease over time.[1]: 12 

Vulnerability is higher in some locations than in others. Certain regional factors increase vulnerability, namely poverty, bad governance and violent conflict. Also, some livelihoods are particularly climate-sensitive, and therefore are more vulnerable than others. Examples for climate-sensitive livelihoods are smallholder farmers, pastoralists and fishing communities.[1]: 12  In general, drivers for vulnerability of people and ecosystems are "unsustainable ocean and land use, inequity, marginalization, historical and ongoing patterns of inequity such as colonialism, and governance".[1]: 12 

Vulnerability can be grouped into two overlapping categories. Firstly, there is economic vulnerability which is based on socioeconomic factors. Some people tend to be more vulnerable than others, based on socioeconomic factors. This applies to people with low incomes, indigenous peoples, women, children, the elderly. And secondly, there is geographic vulnerability. Climate vulnerability is generally a bigger problem for people in low-income countries than for those in high-income countries.

Global vulnerability assessments use spatial mapping with aggregated data for the regional or national level.[2]: 1195–1199  Tools for vulnerability assessment vary depending on the sector, the scale and the entity or system which is thought to vulnerable. For example, the Vulnerability Sourcebook is a guide for practical and scientific knowledge on vulnerability assessment.[3] Climate vulnerability mapping helps to understand which areas are the most vulnerable. Mapping can also help to communicate climate vulnerability to stakeholders.[4] It is useful to carry out vulnerability assessments in advance of preparing local climate adaptation plans or risk management plans.[5]

  1. ^ a b c d e IPCC, 2022: Summary for Policymakers Archived 2023-01-22 at the Wayback Machine [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, M. Tignor, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem (eds.)]. In: Climate Change 2022: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of Working Group II to the Sixth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Archived 2022-03-18 at the Wayback Machine [H.-O. Pörtner, D.C. Roberts, M. Tignor, E.S. Poloczanska, K. Mintenbeck, A. Alegría, M. Craig, S. Langsdorf, S. Löschke, V. Möller, A. Okem, B. Rama (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, UK and New York, NY, USA, pp. 3–33, doi:10.1017/9781009325844.001
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