Social Vulnerability in Climate Change Adaptation Planning

We wish to invite you to the QCOSS Workshop: Social Vulnerability Integration into Climate Change Sector Adaptation Plans. You are receiving this workshop invite as you are either involved in the Queensland Governments Sector Adaptation Planning process, or because you are someone we’ve identified as being interested in climate change adaptation and social vulnerability.   Queensland Climate Adaptation Strategy (Q-CAS)

The Queensland Government is implementing its Queensland Climate Adaptation Strategy (Q-CAS)(link is external), including the development of Sector Adaptation Plans (SAPs) that detail how governments and industry sectors intend to respond to the key climate change impacts.

SAP development is intended to be industry-led to ensure relevance and participation of industry members, encourage ongoing industry leadership, and to promote ongoing activities and initiatives independent of government. In the absence of planning for social vulnerability, sectors are at risk of failing to adequately plan for climate change adaptation.

The Department of Environment and Science (DES) has engaged the Queensland Council of Social Service (QCOSS) to facilitate the development of guidance or protocols on how to incorporate Social Vulnerability into Sector Adaptation Plans.

Core principles of the Q-CAS include:

• Adaptation programs should be risk-based and people focused,
• Adaptation responses should be evidence-based, effective, flexible, equitable, inclusive and able to respond to new information, and
• Adaptation must be sustainable and avoid perverse outcomes, including detrimental impacts on communities, other sectors, the economy or the natural environment.

The Q-CAS acknowledges that climate change risks are not equally shared, and that those who are already vulnerable are likely to be especially impacted.  It also acknowledges, that different groups have different information and education needs in understanding their climate risk.

In order to ensure projects and plans developed under Q-CAS, and in particular SAPs, are reflective and inclusive of the diversity of needs and experiences within the Queensland community, and that these values are addressed consistently and continuously across multiple SAPs, it is desirable for the social services sector and consideration, understanding and planning for Social Vulnerability needs to be included in SAP processes, and that resources that support inclusivity in adaptation planning are developed.

Social Vulnerability

Social vulnerability takes account of differing levels of access to resources to prepare for, cope with, and recover from, disasters and climate change, and is often framed in terms of exposure, sensitivity and adaptive capacity (Locatelli et al., 2008(link is external)). It is influenced by factors such as poverty and inequality, marginalisation, education, food security and diet, access to insurance, transport options, community and family networks, gender, race, socioeconomic status, age and language, geography and housing quality. How these social vulnerabilities interact will lead to variable human impacts that are often not discussed. Social Vulnerability is best understood along a continuum. While low-income families and disadvantaged communities contribute the least to climate change, they are also most at risk of being impacted by climate change and climactic events are least able to respond effectively. 

  When 13 April 2018 - 9:00 am   through   4:00 pm   Location Common Ground Gambaro Function Room
15 Hope Street
South Brisbane
Australia   Register Now