Fairness in Adaptation to Climate Change

Abstract

As a global society, we need to take action not only to prevent the potentially catastrophic effects of climate change but also to adapt to the unavoidable effects of climate change already imposed on the world. Fairness in Adaptation to Climate Change looks at the challenges of ensuring that policy responses to climate change do not place undue and unfair burdens on already vulnerable populations. All countries will be endangered by climate change risks from flood, drought, and other extreme weather events, but developing countries are more dependent on climate-sensitive livelihoods such as farming and fishing and hence are more vulnerable. Despite this, the concerns of developing countries are marginalized in climate policy decisions that exacerbate current vulnerabilities. Fairness in Adaptation to Climate Change brings together scholars from political science, economics, law, human geography, and climate science to offer the first assessment of the social justice issues in adaptation to climate change. The book outlines the philosophical underpinnings of different types of justice in relation to climate change, present inequities, and future burdens, and it applies these to real world examples of climate change adaptation in Bangladesh, Tanzania, Botswana, Namibia, and Hungary. It argues that the key to adapting to climate change lies in recognizing the equity and justice issues inherent in its causes and in human responses to it. Contributors W. Neil Adger, Paul Baer, Jon Barnett, Maria Bohn, Kirstin Dow, Saleemul Huq, Roger E. Kasperson, Mizan R. Khan, Janica Lane, Neil A. Leary, Robin Leichenko, Joanne Linnerooth-Bayer, M. J. Mace, Karen O'Brien, Jouni Paavola, Stephen H. Schneider, David S. G. Thomas, Chasca Twyman, Anna Vári