Three ways social identity shapes climate change adaptation

Adaptation to climate change is inescapably influenced by processes of social identity - how people perceive themselves, others, and their place in the world around them. Yet there is sparse evidence into the specific ways in which identity processes shape adaptation planning and responses. This pap...

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Detalles Bibliográficos
Autores: Barnett, Jon|||0000-0002-0862-0808, Graham Buch, Sonia|||0000-0003-4195-4559, Quinn, Tara|||0000-0002-5375-6085, Adger, W. Neil|||0000-0003-4244-2854, Butler, Catherine|||0000-0001-7589-9565
Tipo de recurso: artículo
Fecha de publicación:2021
País:España
Institución:Universitat Autònoma de Barcelona
Repositorio:Dipòsit Digital de Documents de la UAB
Idioma:inglés
OAI Identifier:oai:ddd.uab.cat:304514
Acceso en línea:https://ddd.uab.cat/record/304514
https://dx.doi.org/urn:doi:10.1088/1748-9326/ac36f7
Access Level:acceso abierto
Palabra clave:Continuity
Flood
Sea-level rise
Self-efficacy
Self-esteem
SDG 5 - Gender Equality
SDG 13 - Climate Action
SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being
SDG 7 - Affordable and Clean Energy
Descripción
Sumario:Adaptation to climate change is inescapably influenced by processes of social identity - how people perceive themselves, others, and their place in the world around them. Yet there is sparse evidence into the specific ways in which identity processes shape adaptation planning and responses. This paper proposes three key ways to understand the relationship between identity formation and adaptation processes: (a) how social identities change in response to perceived climate change risks and threats; (b) how identity change may be an objective of adaptation; and (c) how identity issues can constrain or enable adaptive action. It examines these three areas of focus through a synthesis of evidence on community responses to flooding and subsequent policy responses in Somerset county, UK and the Gippsland East region in Australia, based on indepth longitudinal data collected among those experiencing and enacting adaptation. The results show that adaptation policies are more likely to be effective when they give individuals confidence in the continuity of their in-groups, enhance the self-esteem of these groups, and develop their sense of self-efficacy. These processes of identity formation and evolution are therefore central to individual and collective responses to climate risks.