Tom Mitchell

Social protection and climate change: emerging issues for research, policy and practice

This article lays the foundation for this special issue on social protection and climate change, introducing and evaluating the ways in which the individual articles contribute to our understanding of the subject.

Issues at the interface of disaster risk management and low-carbon development

Effectively managing disaster risks is a critical tool for adapting to the impacts of climate change. However, climate change mitigation and low-carbon development have often been overlooked in disaster risk management (DRM) research, policy and practice. This article explores the links between DRM and low-carbon development and thereby sheds light on a new and emerging research and development agenda. Taking carbon considerations into account for DRM and post-disaster reconstruction can contribute to laying the foundations for low-carbon development and the benefits it can bring. It can also provide an opportunity to combine adaptation and mitigation efforts. The article elaborates the carbon implications of DRM interventions and post-disaster reconstruction practices, drawing on case studies from flood risk reduction, coastal protection, drought risk reduction, post-disaster housing and energy supply reconstruction. Finally, the article makes suggestions about how the carbon implications of DRM measures could be accounted for in a coherent manner. Suggestions include calculating the carbon emissions from DRM and post-disaster interventions as part of globally standardized environmental impact assessments and improving the linkages between ministries of environment, energy and climate, and those ministries that deal with disasters.

Entrenchment or Enhancement: Could Climate Change Adaptation Help Reduce Poverty?

In the context of climate change, the poorest people are commonly seen as having the least capacity to adapt. However, to date, there has been a limited examination of the dynamic and differentiated nature of poverty. Through bringing together both the chronic poverty and adaptation literature, this article presents a new pro-poor adaptation research agenda underpinned by a more nuanced understanding of poverty. Whilst recognising that poverty reduction efforts are threatened by climate change, this article investigates ways in which proactive adaptation could offer opportunities to create pathways out of chronic poverty through targeted vulnerability reduction and adaptation efforts.