Justice and equity in climate change adaptation: overview of an emerging agenda

The document examines the concept of 'just resilience,' which seeks to ensure that climate adaptation does not create new winners and losers or reinforce existing marginalisation. It identifies three core dimensions of justice—distributive, procedural, and recognition—and argues that adaptation must address structural drivers of vulnerability such as wealth, gender, and ethnicity. The paper highlights maladaptation risks, where technical solutions can inadvertently increase long-term risks or displace vulnerable groups. It reviews policy examples from Australia, South Africa, the EU, and Canada, and discusses emerging trends like the rights of nature and locally led adaptation. Finally, it addresses barriers to implementation, including resource constraints and the need for equitable international climate finance mechanisms.

• A consensus in literature, including the IPCC AR6 report, identifies three interrelated dimensions of justice in adaptation: distributive justice ("who is burdened and who benefits"), procedural justice ("who is involved and how"), and recognition justice ("what and whose values are considered").
• Maladaptation can occur at local scales through spatial planning that safeguards some while making others vulnerable, or through technical interventions that shift risks. For example, in Bangladesh, the construction of levees to protect floodplains led to "increased mortality rate and assets lost to flooding" because the perceived protection attracted more people to high-risk areas.
• Climate impacts interact with structural inequities. Low-income households are more vulnerable to climate risks, often constrained to "cheaper housing options and jobs in flood-prone areas," and are more likely to suffer from urban heat island effects due to a lack of affordable adaptation solutions like air conditioning.
• Gender-based vulnerabilities are significant; women in rural areas of Montenegro and Morocco were found to be most affected by extreme weather due to "structural limitations in their access to land, livestock, and natural resources."
• Specific demographic groups face unique health risks: elderly populations are more sensitive to heatwaves, children are more susceptible to dehydration and heat stress, and pregnant individuals face heightened risks of "early labour, preeclampsia, and miscarriage" due to extreme temperatures.
• Several regions have integrated just resilience into policy: Australia's 2022 National Strategy for Just Adaptation emphasizes "Empowering Indigenous leadership"; South Africa's Presidential Climate Commission uses a "Just Transition Framework"; the EU's 2021 Adaptation Strategy focuses on "leaving no one behind"; and Canada's National Adaptation Strategy respects "Indigenous jurisdictions and rights."
• Emerging trends in the just resilience agenda include the "rights of nature," which began with Ecuador's 2008 constitution, and a push for "locally led and owned" adaptation in lower-income countries to ensure benefits are distributed more equally.
• International climate finance is often criticized for failing to reach the most vulnerable. Proposed reforms include streamlining access for small island developing states (SIDS) and least developed countries (LCDs), and the use of "Just Transition Energy Partnerships (JET-Ps)" to support emerging economies.
• Implementation of just resilience faces barriers such as resource constraints in poorer countries and potential trade-offs where the "most effective adaptation options are not necessarily the most socially just," such as forced displacements for safety.

APA

Mikaelsson, M. A., & Lager, F. (n.d.). Justice and equity in climate change adaptation: overview of an emerging agenda. Climate Strategies. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Just-Resilience-Scoping-Paper-2024-Justice-and-equity-in-climate-change-adaptation.pdf

Chicago

Mikaelsson, Mikael Allan, and Frida Lager. Justice and equity in climate change adaptation: overview of an emerging agenda. Climate Strategies, n.d. https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Just-Resilience-Scoping-Paper-2024-Justice-and-equity-in-climate-change-adaptation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Mikaelsson |first1=Mikael Allan |last2=Lager |first2=Frida |title=Justice and equity in climate change adaptation: overview of an emerging agenda |publisher=Climate Strategies |url=https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Just-Resilience-Scoping-Paper-2024-Justice-and-equity-in-climate-change-adaptation.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{mikaelssonndjustice, author = {Mikaelsson, Mikael Allan and Lager, Frida}, title = {{Justice and equity in climate change adaptation: overview of an emerging agenda}}, institution = {Climate Strategies}, url = {https://climatestrategies.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/08/Just-Resilience-Scoping-Paper-2024-Justice-and-equity-in-climate-change-adaptation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }