Exposure & Vulnerability
- The effects of climate change will vary due to location, wealth, age, gender, and education
- Vulnerability will depend on people's level of exposure, potential harm, and mitigation strategies
- Some groups are more vulnerable, such as:
- Mothers and babies
- Infants and toddlers
- School-age and older children
- The elderly
- People with disabilities
- The poor
- Members of minority groups, refugees, and Indigenous people
- Other at-risk groups include:
- Caregivers are caring for at-risk people
- Single-parent households
- Establishments like hospitals, schools, transport services, agriculture, tourism and businesses
- Low-lying islands and coastal areas are particularly at risk
- Risks include:
- Damaged coral reefs
- Increased coastal erosion
- Outward migration
- Saltwater infiltration
- Indigenous populations are vulnerable because:
- They usually live, and have already adapted to, fragile areas
- Have restricted resource access and low incomes
- Any change to their environment places them at greater risk
- Climate change will also affect middle- and upper-income people
- This can happen either directly or indirectly, through:
- Increased food prices
- Increases in food scarcity
- Increased insurance premiums
- Reduced water availability but increased costs, etc.