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Journal Article

Social vulnerability to climate change: a review of concepts and evidence

Authors
/persons/resource/Ilona.Otto

Otto,  Ilona M.
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Reckien,  D.
External Organizations;

/persons/resource/Reyer

Reyer,  Christopher P. O.
Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research;

Marcus,  R.
External Organizations;

Le Masson,  V.
External Organizations;

Jones,  L.
External Organizations;

Norton,  A.
External Organizations;

Serdeczny,  O.
External Organizations;

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Fulltext (public)

7060oa.pdf
(Postprint), 420KB

Supplementary Material (public)
There is no public supplementary material available
Citation

Otto, I. M., Reckien, D., Reyer, C. P. O., Marcus, R., Le Masson, V., Jones, L., Norton, A., Serdeczny, O. (2017): Social vulnerability to climate change: a review of concepts and evidence. - Regional Environmental Change, 17, 6, 1651-1662.
https://doi.org/10.1007/s10113-017-1105-9


Cite as: https://publications.pik-potsdam.de/pubman/item/item_20660
Abstract
This article provides a review of recent scientific literature on social vulnerability to climate change, aiming to determine which social and demographic groups, across a wide range of geographical locations, are the most vulnerable to climate change impacts within four well-being dimensions: health, safety, food security, and displacement. We analyze how vulnerability changes over time and ask whether there is evidence of critical thresholds beyond which social vulnerability drastically changes. The review finds that climate change is expected to exacerbate current vulnerabilities and inequalities. The findings confirm concerns about climate justice, especially its intergenerational dimensions. For example, deficiencies in early childhood may limit future educational and income generation opportunities. Evidence of clear thresholds is rare and is mainly related to the vulnerability of different age groups, household income level, and the impacts of different degrees of global warming.