Climate change and poverty

This work seeks to ensure that people or places facing poverty and disadvantage are not disproportionately affected by climate change, or by policy or practice responses to it.

Where there are links between climate change and poverty, we want to understand the relationship between them and help others to understand it.

Overview

Our work on climate change and poverty will seek to fill gaps in our understanding and:

• provide evidence on the social impact of climate change in the UK, in order to raise awareness of the consequences of climate change for vulnerable people and places; and
• support the development of fair responses to climate change among policymakers, practitioners and communities undertaking mitigation and adaptation activity at a national and local level.

Mitigation: action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or to increase greenhouse gas sinks.
Adaptation: adapting to risks posed by climate change to increase resilience and exploit beneficial opportunities.

To read more about this programme, read the investigations summary (PDF, 87KB) 

Key activities

2009: Research on the social impacts and social justice implications of climate change

Our first phase of research is examining the social impacts and social justice implications of climate change for the UK. We are interested in both the direct effects of climate change associated with extreme weather (such as flooding, heatwaves and drought), sea level rise and coastal erosion and the indirect implications of climate change, for example, relating to resource use and the need for a 'just transition' to a low carbon economy and society. The relationship with poverty and disadvantage is an important focus.

We are funding six projects which will provide:

1. new insights into the emerging risks and vulnerabilities posed by climate change in the UK due to pluvial (rain related) flooding in urban areas
2. analysis of the implications of climate change for deprived coastal communities
3. conceptual thinking on the social justice implications of consumption and how public attitudes on fairness might influence responses to climate change
4. an assessment of the distributional impacts of climate change mitigation policies linked to household energy and transport use
5. analysis of the social justice implications of emerging adaptation responses to heatwaves and drought
6. a social justice framework for considering the implications of climate change and assessment of vulnerability in relation to fluvial flooding and heatwaves in the UK.

See our summary listing of new projects for more details.

How will climate change affect people in the UK and how can we best develop an equitable response?

On 30 November JRF held a seminar with the Economic and Social Research Council and Local Government Association to explore the impacts of climate change on people in the UK and how fair responses can be developed. Details of the seminar findings can be found here.

2010: Policy and practice development on mitigation and adaptation

In order to develop just responses to climate change we need to consider how both mitigation and adaptation responses are taking account of concerns for people facing poverty or disadvantage. We will consider how these policies can be developed more fairly. We are interested in a range of issues relating to adaptation or mitigation such as:

• sustainable housing;
• fuel poverty;
• water poverty;
• 'green' taxes;
• personal carbon allowances/budgets;
• household insurance; and
• local adaptation strategies.

We anticipate commissioning research and analytical papers on different themes and arranging seminars with key stakeholders.

2010-11: Support for technical and social innovation

To boost local resilience to climate change, we want to support local practical initiatives that have wider national significance.

We will be exploring more fully how this might work in light of the activity of other organisations but expect that this could include:

• supporting environmental and poverty groups working together in a vulnerable community, or initiatives to scale up locally led mitigation or adaptation activity;
• research that explores wider lessons from innovative schemes where JRF/JRHT has a strategic interest.

We are interested in developing this programme in partnership with other organisations working in this area.