Mapping Vulnerabilities for Climate Policy

Is your district prone to climate risk? Explore the 'District-Level Climate Risk Assessment for India' report to find out. 𝐾𝑒𝑦 𝑡𝑎𝑘𝑒𝑎𝑤𝑎𝑦𝑠: 𝖱𝗂𝗌𝗄 𝖬𝖺𝗉𝗉𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖥𝗋𝖺𝗆𝖾𝗐𝗈𝗋𝗄:    - Methodology is based on the #IPCC framework, ensuring comparability across districts by assessing risks through hazard, exposure, and vulnerability components.   - By mapping risks at the district level, it provides granular insights, enabling targeted interventions tailored to local conditions and administrative units. 𝖯𝗋𝖾𝗏𝖺𝗅𝖾𝗇𝖼𝖾 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖣𝗂𝗌𝗍𝗋𝗂𝖻𝗎𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇 𝗈𝖿 𝖱𝗂𝗌𝗄𝗌:    - #Floods and #droughts are the most prevalent climate hazards, affecting 87% and 30% of districts, respectively, with many regions experiencing both.   - Very high flood risk is concentrated in Assam and West Bengal, while drought risk is prominent in Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha, UP, and Maharashtra. 𝖳𝗁𝖾 𝖣𝗋𝗂𝗏𝖾𝗋𝗌 𝗈𝖿 𝖱𝗂𝗌𝗄:    - High risk doesn’t solely stem from hazard intensity; exposure (e.g., population density) and vulnerability (e.g., poverty) can amplify impacts.   - For Ex. in Patna, high exposure and vulnerability elevate flood risk despite a lower hazard index. 𝖣𝗎𝖺𝗅 𝖱𝗂𝗌𝗄 𝖢𝗁𝖺𝗅𝗅𝖾𝗇𝗀𝖾𝗌:    - 11 districts, including Alappuzha, and several in Assam, face dual risks of floods and droughts, driven by erratic rainfall patterns and geographic vulnerabilities.   - These districts require integrated adaptation strategies to address overlapping hazards, such as managing monsoon floods and subsequent dry spells. 𝖢𝖺𝗉𝖺𝖼𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝖡𝗎𝗂𝗅𝖽𝗂𝗇𝗀 𝖺𝗇𝖽 𝖯𝗈𝗅𝗂𝖼𝗒 𝖱𝖾𝗅𝖾𝗏𝖺𝗇𝖼𝖾: - The project conducted workshops for ‘state climate change cells’ fostering the ability to replicate risk assessments and develop state-specific risk maps.   -Findings support the integration of climate risk into State Action Plans on Climate Change (SAPCCs) for securing #climatefinance. 𝖴𝗍𝗂𝗅𝗂𝗍𝗒 𝖿𝗈𝗋 𝖣𝖾𝖼𝗂𝗌𝗂𝗈𝗇-𝖬𝖺𝗄𝗂𝗇𝗀:    - District-level risk maps enable policymakers to identify and prioritize interventions in high-risk areas, optimizing resource allocation for adaptation measures.   - Risk indices empower local communities to advocate for compensation or insurance, enhancing grassroots resilience against climate impacts. 𝖥𝗎𝗍𝗎𝗋𝖾 𝖣𝗂𝗋𝖾𝖼𝗍𝗂𝗈𝗇𝗌:  - The report suggests developing risk indices for sectors like agriculture and urban water supply to address specific vulnerabilities.   - It recommends extending assessments to future climate scenarios and other hazards-e.g., landslides and heat stress.

Most of you have heard me talking about the social dimensions of climate change over the years—how climate impacts don't affect everyone equally, and how climate solutions can inadvertently leave the most vulnerable behind. I'm excited to share that our new World Bank report finally brings these insights together in a comprehensive framework for more effective climate action. "Understanding Social Vulnerability for More Effective Climate Strategies" draws on extensive analysis across eight countries in Southern and Eastern Africa to show how social vulnerability shapes who gets hurt by climate change and who can access protection. Our key finding: without understanding how poverty, social exclusion, and limited agency interact with climate risks, even well-intentioned climate investments can fail to reach those who need them most—or worse, make their situations more precarious. The report demonstrates how mapping social vulnerability can transform climate planning. Instead of generic approaches, we can design climate strategies that are genuinely inclusive, prioritize the right investments, and build resilience from the ground up. This research emerged from our work on Country Climate and Development Reports (CCDRs), where we saw repeatedly how climate and development goals align when we center social inclusion. For those working on climate policy, adaptation planning, or development programming, this report provides practical tools for ensuring your work strengthens rather than bypasses vulnerable communities. Because ultimately, climate resilience isn't just about infrastructure and technology—it's about people. Read the full report: https://lnkd.in/dX9Ex7fU #ClimateChange #SocialVulnerability #ClimateJustice #Development #ClimateResilience

Climate risks don’t act alone, especially in vulnerable regions. They combine with political tensions, livelihood stress, and weak institutions to create complex, fast-moving challenges for peace and human security. And so, we need tools that can answer critical questions faced by practitioners today: 🔹 Where is climate amplifying conflict and insecurity? 🔹 How do shocks to food, water, and livelihoods drive tension? 🔹 How can we integrate community knowledge with data for early warning? 🔹 What gaps in policy or institutions stall effective response? This is why my colleagues and I developed the Integrated Climate Security Framework (ICSF) - a tool to inform real-world decisions in fragile and climate-vulnerable settings. So what can our integrated framework do in the field? ✔️ Help target interventions in climate-security hotspots ✔️ Profile vulnerable groups with layered socio-economic and exposure data ✔️ Understand how food and nutrition insecurity mediates conflict risk ✔️ Reveal policy and institutional gaps that shape (or stall) adaptation ✔️ Build shared understanding across stakeholders—from local to national The ICSF was applied in many countries across the globe, but was designed to be adapted. If you’re a practitioner, implementer, or policymaker working on climate and security, it may offer a useful structure for your context too. 📄 We published the framework on PLOS Climate. Read here: https://lnkd.in/e8djSPUG

The Columbia Climate School, with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, has unveiled a novel index that integrates countries’ vulnerabilities to cyclones, floods, droughts, earthquakes, conflicts, and other hazards with their ability — due to availability and access to financing—to take prevention, recovery, and rebuilding actions. Illustrating current and future risk exposure scenarios of 188 nations, the Climate Finance (CliF) Vulnerability Index’s interactive dashboard identifies the 65 most at-risk, ‘Red Zone’ nations ― two-thirds of which are in Africa. The overarching goal of the CliF Vulnerability Index is to promote more comprehensive risk assessment standards, target resources for various bands of vulnerability, and ultimately, inform how to more effectively reach communities facing various types of disaster and financial risks. https://lnkd.in/eTpqRzbM Read more here: https://lnkd.in/emGc4MDR