The old and the climate adaptation: Climate justice, risks, and urban adaptation plan

With the transition to carbon-free economy, concerns have grown about the “green divide” – the separation of society into different social groups whose socioeconomic status determines one's well-being from climate change impacts. Studies in environmental justice concur that the adverse effects of urban climate change are disproportionately greater for the demographically vulnerable populations, such as the elderly, the children, and the socially marginalized. Yet, little is known about how these social groups contribute to urban climate change policies. Accounting for local climate risks and the presence of national adaptation schemes, this study examines whether the implementation of adaptation policies in the 902 European cities is influenced by the proportion of these vulnerable groups. Our results show a positive and significant association between the proportion of elderly citizens and adaptation policies among these European cities. The result of this study offers local level empirical evidence to the climate justice discussion and suggests that the adaptation policies adopted by these European cities are working to ameliorate environmental injustice faced by the older and weaker social groups.