Environmental vulnerability: Disambiguations and possibilities for climate adaptation

Abstract

Appeals to environmental vulnerability might be thought to reduce to appeals to the vulnerability of individual humans to their environments. But is there a meaningful sense in which the environment itself is vulnerable? This paper argues that once the various forms of environmental vulnerability are disambiguated there remains a sense in which it can be. The paper notes that there are close parallels between systemic vulnerability, normatively framed in terms of resilience, and individual vulnerability, normatively framed in terms of susceptibility to harm. A common feature of both forms of vulnerability is exposure. The capabilities approach provides a helpful lens for explaining how the exposure of individuals is related to the exposure of systems, clarifying two forms of environmental vulnerability. The capabilities approach also reveals a third form, one found in the points of contact between systems, and between individuals and systems. In its various forms, vulnerability as exposure is shown to be an important conceptual tool as we develop strategies for adapting to climate change.