Search

In this Personal View, we explain the ways that climatic risks affect the transmission, perception, response, and lived experience of COVID-19. First, temperature, wind, and humidity influence the transmission of COVID-19 in ways not fully understood, although non-climatic factors appear more important than climatic factors in explaining disease transmission. Second, climatic extremes coinciding with COVID-19 have affected disease exposure, increased susceptibility of people to COVID-19, compromised emergency responses, and reduced health system resilience to multiple stresses. Third, long-term climate change and prepandemic vulnerabilities have increased COVID-19 risk for some populations (eg, marginalised communities). The ways climate and COVID-19 interact vary considerably between and within populations and regions, and are affected by dynamic and complex interactions with underlying socioeconomic, political, demographic, and cultural conditions. These conditions can lead to vulnerability, resilience, transformation, or collapse of health systems, communities, and livelihoods throughout varying timescales. It is important that COVID-19 response and recovery measures consider climatic risks, particularly in locations that are susceptible to climate extremes, through integrated planning that includes public health, disaster preparedness, emergency management, sustainable development, and humanitarian response.

Growing evidence suggests that climate adaptation responses that do not incorporate equity considerations may worsen inequality and increase vulnerability. Using data from a systematic review of peer-reviewed empirical research on adaptation responses to climate change (n = 1,682), we present an assessment of how social equity is considered in adaptation across regions, sectors, and social groups. Roughly 60% of peer-reviewed literature on adaptation responses considers social equity by reporting on which marginalized groups were involved in planning or implementation. Articles on responses in Africa and Asia and those focusing on poverty reduction most frequently considered social equity. Equity was less likely to be considered in adaptation responses in Europe, Australasia, and North America, as well as in literature focused on cities. Income-based inequity was more frequently considered than gender, age, or Indigenous status. Ethnic and racial minorities, migrants, and people with disabilities were rarely considered. Attention to the levels and forms in which equity is integrated into adaptation research and practice is needed to ensure just adaptation.

Assessing global progress on human adaptation to climate change is an urgent priority. Although the literature on adaptation to climate change is rapidly expanding, little is known about the actual extent of implementation. We systematically screened >48,000 articles using machine learning methods and a global network of 126 researchers. Our synthesis of the resulting 1,682 articles presents a systematic and comprehensive global stocktake of implemented human adaptation to climate change. Documented adaptations were largely fragmented, local and incremental, with limited evidence of transformational adaptation and negligible evidence of risk reduction outcomes. We identify eight priorities for global adaptation research: assess the effectiveness of adaptation responses, enhance the understanding of limits to adaptation, enable individuals and civil society to adapt, include missing places, scholars and scholarship, understand private sector responses, improve methods for synthesizing different forms of evidence, assess the adaptation at different temperature thresholds, and improve the inclusion of timescale and the dynamics of responses.

Objectives: Among older Canadians, we examined the influence of low social support, a weak sense of belonging, and living alone to understand their role on mortality risk in Canada. Methods: We conducted a retrospective cohort study of older Canadians surveyed in 2001 from the Canadian Community Health Survey and followed up with death events through December 31, 2011 from the Canadian Vital Statistics Database. Analyses were stratified by age: 55–64 and 65 and older. Social support was assessed using measures developed for the Medical Outcomes Study. A sense of belonging, a binary measure, measured community integration. Living alone was a binary measure. Survival analysis was applied using a Cox proportional hazards model, adjusted for age, sex, income, smoking, and frailty. Results: Among respondents 55–64 (n= 6822), low affection (HR = 1.37; 95% CI 1.07, 1.75), low emotional/informational support (HR = 1.36; 95% CI 1.06, 1.74), and low positive social interactions (HR = 1.36; 95% CI 1.06, 1.75) were associated with mortality risk. Among respondents 65 and older (n= 8966), low affection (HR = 1.17; 95% CI 1.04, 1.31), low positive social interactions (HR = 1.20; 95% CI 1.07, 1.34), low emotional/informational support (HR = 1.19; 95% CI 1.06, 1.33), and a weak sense of belonging (HR = 1.13; 95% CI 1.05, 1.22) were associated with mortality risk. Conclusion: Low social support and a weak sense of belonging are important risk factors among older Canadians and should be part of the dialogue in Canada about their roles in healthy aging.

Health information systems (HIS) are used to manage information related to population health. The goal of this research was to conduct an evaluation of a HIS used at a hospital in south-western Uganda using participatory approaches. The evaluation structure was based on guidelines generated by the Center for Disease Control and Prevention and a series of theoretical and methodological concepts regarding participatory engagement that encouraged stakeholder participation throughout the evaluation. The primary objectives were to describe the areas of strength and limitations of the HIS, and develop potential system enhancements. Ultimately, engagement of local staff members throughout each stage of the evaluation resulted in the development of a series of recommendations considered relevant and feasible by local stakeholders. We build on these results by highlighting the value of stakeholder engagement and opportunities to apply participatory and community-based research methods and an Ecohealth framework to an HIS evaluation.

The Paris Agreement and Katowice Climate Package articulate a clear mandate for all parties to undertake and document adaptation progress. Yet persistent challenges have prevented substantive developments in tracking adaptation and the assessment of adaptation actions and their outcomes. Here, we provide an overview of the challenges of adaptation tracking and propose a comprehensive conceptual framework for assessing adaptation progress by governments that is scalable over time and across contexts. The framework addresses the core components of adaptation assessment (vulnerability, goals and targets, adaptation efforts, and adaptation results) and characterizes subcomponents focused on adaptation effort (leadership, organizations and policy). In particular, we highlight how critical insights can be uncovered by systematically tracking policy efforts over time, and discusses novel approaches to data collection. The Paris Agreement places new emphasis on the need to take stock of adaptation progress. This Perspective discusses the conceptual and methodological challenges associated with monitoring adaptation and provides a comprehensive framework for tracking progress among governments.

ABSTRACTMegacities in low- and middle-income countries face unique threats from climate change as vulnerable populations and infrastructure are concentrated in high-risk areas. This paper develops a theoretical framework to characterize adaptation readiness in Global South cities and applies the framework to Dhaka, Bangladesh, a city with acute exposure and projected impacts from flooding and extreme heat. To gather case evidence from Dhaka we draw upon interviews with national and municipal government officials and a review of planning documents and peer-reviewed literature. We find: (1) national-level plans propose a number of adaptation strategies, but urban concerns compete with priorities such as protection of coastal assets and agricultural production; (2) municipal plans focus on identifying vulnerability and impacts rather than adaptation strategies; (3) interviewees suggest that lack of coordination among local government (LG) organizations and lack of transparency act as barriers for municipal adaptation planning, with national plans driving policy where LGs have limited human and financial resources; and (4) we found limited evidence that national urban adaptation directives trickle down to municipal government. The framework developed offers a systematic and standardized means to assess and monitor the status of adaptation planning in Global South cities, and identify adaptation constraints and opportunities.

Climate change adaptation is increasingly considered an urgent priority for policy action. Billions of dollars have been pledged for adaptation finance, with many donor agencies requiring that adaptation is distinct from baseline development. However, practitioners and academics continue to question what adaptation looks like on the ground, especially in a developing country. This study examines the current framing of planned adaptation amidst low socioeconomic development and considers the practical implications of this framing for adaptation planning. Three overarching approaches to planned adaptation in a developing country context emerged in a systematic review of 30 peer‐reviewed articles published between 2010 and 2015, including: (1) technocratic risk management, which treats adaptation as additional to development, (2) pro‐poor vulnerability reduction, which acknowledges the ability of conventional development to foster and act as adaptation, and (3) sustainable adaptation, which suggests that adaptation should only be integrated into a type of development that is socially and environmentally sustainable. Over half of ‘sustainable adaptation’ articles in this review took a critical adaptation approach, drawing primarily from political ecology and postdevelopment studies, and emphasizing the malleability of adaptation. The reviewed articles highlight how the different framings of the relationship between adaptation and development result in diverse and sometimes contradictory messages regarding adaptation design, implementation, funding, monitoring, and evaluation. This review illustrates the need to continually interrogate the multiple framings of adaptation and development and to foster a pragmatic and pluralistic dialogue regarding planned adaptation and transformative change in developing countries. WIREs Clim Change2016, 7:707–726. doi: 10.1002/wcc.416 For further resources related to this article, please visit the WIREs website.

Background:Hospital stays that are prolonged due to non-clinical factors are costly to health care systems and are likely suboptimal for patient well-being. We assessed the influence of psychosocial factors on hospital length of stay (LOS) for older Canadians in a retrospective cohort study. Data and Methods:Data from the Canadian Community Health Survey were linked with the Discharge Abstract Database. Analyses were stratified by age, 55–64 (n= 1,060) and 65 and older (n= 2,718). Main predictor variables of interest included four measures of social support, sense of belonging, and living alone. Multivariate models of LOS adjusted for age, sex, income, smoking, and frailty. Results:Among the younger respondents, low positive social interactions, low emotional/informational support, and living alone were associated with a longer LOS. Among respondents 65 and older, low affection, low positive social interactions, low emotional/informational support, and a weak sense of belonging were associated with a longer LOS. Discussion:Having low social support is associated with longer hospital stays in this Canadian cohort. Social support may influence LOS as risk factors for poor health and precarious care in the community. Mitigating these risk factors could reduce the economic burden that is played out through longer hospital stays.

It is increasingly evident that adaptation will figure prominently in the post-2015 United Nations climate change agreement. As adaptation obligations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change evolve, more rigorous approaches to measuring adaptation progress among parties will be critical. In this Letter we elaborate on an emerging area of research referred to as ‘adaptation tracking’, which has potential to inform development of a global adaptation monitoring framework. We evaluate this potential by presenting evidence on policy change for 41 high-income countries between 2010 and 2014. We examine whether countries that were in early stages of adaptation planning in 2010 are making progress to close adaptation gaps, and how the landscape of adaptation in these countries has evolved. In total we find an 87% increase in reported adaptation policies and measures, and evidence that implementation of concrete adaptation initiatives is growing. Reflecting on the strengths and challenges of this early methodology, we further discuss how adaptation tracking practices could guide development of a robust framework for monitoring global adaptation progress and inform future research on policy change across countries.

Background:Current literature emphasizes the need to implement informed consent according to indigenous principles and worldviews. However, few studies explicitly address how informed consent can be effectively and appropriately obtained in indigenous communities in accordance with research ethics guidelines. Methods:This article uses participatory rural appraisal methods to identify and characterize community preferences for informed consent in two indigenous communities in the Peruvian Amazon, using Canadian federal research regulations and McGill University's Research Ethics Board as a case study to examine where institutional ethics guidelines constrain or support culturally appropriate notions of informed consent. Results:The study emphasizes the importance of tailoring informed consent procedures to community circumstances. Although both communities in this case study are located in the Peruvian Amazon, there were important distinctions between them, such as gender dynamics and social structure, which profoundly affected informed consent procedures. It is also important to consider the balance of collectivism and individualism at a community level in order to determine the role of individual and community consent. Conclusion:Research ethics guidelines generally allow for this contextualized approach. However, regulations still have the potential to constrain indigenous informed consent due to content requirements for informed consent forms, limited flexibility for modifications in the field, and requirements for individual consent.

Objectives.Characterize and examine the prevalence of food insecurity in Qeqertarsuaq, Greenland, and identify stressors affecting the food system.Study design.A mixed-methods study using quantitative food security surveys and semi-structured interviews.Methods.Food security surveys (n=61) were conducted with a random sample of 6% of Qeqertarsuaq’s population. Semi-structured interviews (n=75) allowed participants to describe in their own words their experience of food insecurity and permitted in-depth examination of determinants. Key informant interviews were used to provide context to local perspectives.Results.Prevalence of food insecurity (8%) is low. However, interviews reveal a more nuanced picture, with women, adults aged 55+, and non-hunters reporting constrained access to Greenlandic foods. Barriers restricting traditional food access include changing sea ice conditions, reduced availability of some species, high costs of hunting and purchasing food, tightening food sharing networks, and hunting and fishing regulations.Conclusions.While the Qeqertarsuaq food system is relatively secure, the research highlights susceptibility to social, economic and environmental stressors which may become more prevalent in the future.

Assessing vulnerability is an important component of human dimensions of climate change (HDCC) research. Vulnerability assessments identify and characterize who and what are sensitive to climatic risks and why, characterize adaptive capacity and its determinants, and identify opportunities for adaptation. This paper examines the importance of case study and analogue methodologies in vulnerability research, reviews the historical evolution of the two methodologies in the HDCC field, and identifies ways in which they can be used to increase our understanding of vulnerability. Case studies involve in‐depth place‐based research that focuses on a particular exposure unit (e.g., community, industry, etc.) to characterize vulnerability and its determinants. Temporal analogues use past and present experiences and responses to climatic variability, change and extremes to provide insights for vulnerability to climate change; spatial analogues involve conducting research in one region and identifying parallels to how another region might be affected by climate change. Vulnerability research that uses case studies and analogues can help to develop an understanding of the determinants of vulnerability and how they interact, and identify opportunities to reduce vulnerability and enhance adaptive capacity to current and future climate risks. This information can assist policy makers in developing adaptation plans and to mainstream climate change adaptation into other policy‐ and decision‐making processes. Copyright © 2010 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.

Established in Article 14 of the Paris Agreement, countries must evaluate progress toward climate adaptation, mitigation, and financial goals via the 2023 global stocktake. Yet, the extent of climate integration into evaluation in response to the rapidly approaching stocktake mandate remains unclear. Many United Nations agencies recognize the importance of mainstreaming climate action into food security and broader development programming, which presents an opportunity to learn from experiences documented in United Nations food security evaluation reports. Our goal is to examine how United Nations food security programs are evaluating climate action. Using a systematic search and screening process, we included evaluations that described any aspect of food security, evaluated completed programs, and were published between 2014 and 2019. We examined the extent of climate change mainstreaming into food security evaluation by developing and applying an assessment rubric. We also identified, compared, and characterized evaluation challenges and opportunities using thematic analysis. Of the 136 relevant evaluations, 69% (n = 94) assessed food security programs that integrated climate action. While many evaluations reported adaptation outcomes, considerations of climate action in the evaluation approach were often insufficient. Based on our analysis, challenges to climate evaluation included inadequate resource allocation, weak monitoring and evaluation systems, dependency on food security evaluation, and limited climate focus in programs and evaluations. The assessment rubric provides a tool for understanding and encouraging climate change integration into evaluation, and through this, helps countries prepare for the upcoming global stocktake.

The global literature on the links between climate change and human health is large, increasing exponentially, and it is no longer feasible to collate and synthesise using traditional systematic evidence mapping approaches. We aimed to use machine learning methods to systematically synthesise an evidence base on climate change and human health.

Rapid growth over the past two decades in digitized textual information represents untapped potential for methodological innovations in the adaptation governance literature that draw on machine learning approaches already being applied in other areas of computational social sciences. This Focus Article explores the potential for text mining techniques, specifically topic modeling, to leverage this data for large‐scale analysis of the content of adaptation policy documents. We provide an overview of the assumptions and procedures that underlie the use of topic modeling, and discuss key areas in the adaptation governance literature where topic modeling could provide valuable insights. We demonstrate the diversity of potential applications for topic modeling with two examples that examine: (a) how adaptation is being talked about by political leaders in United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change; and (b) how adaptation is being discussed by decision‐makers and public administrators in Canadian municipalities using documents collected from 25 city council archives. This article is categorized under:Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Institutions for Adaptation Topic modeling as a text mining technique. Adapted from Grimmer and Stewart (2013).

Climate change adaptation research is dominated by in‐depth, qualitative, single‐ or small‐ncase studies that have resulted in rich and in‐depth understanding on adaptation processes and decision making in specific locations. Recently, the number of comparative adaptation policy cases has increased, focusing on examining, describing, and/or explaining how countries, regions, and vulnerable groups are adapting across a larger sample of contexts and over time. There are, however, critical empirical, conceptual and methodological choices and challenges for comparative adaptation research. This article systematically captures and assesses the current state of larger‐n(n≥ 20 cases) comparative adaptation policy literature. We systematically analyze 72 peer‐reviewed articles to identify the key choices and challenges authors face when conducting their research. We find among others that almost all studies use nonprobability sampling methods, few existing comparative adaptation datasets exist, most studies use easy accessible data which might not be most appropriate for the research question, many struggle to disentangle rhetoric from reality in adaptation, and very few studies engage in critical reflection of their conceptual, data and methodological choices and the implications for their findings. We conclude that efforts to increase data availability and use of more rigorous methodologies are necessary to advance comparative adaptation research. This article is categorized under: Vulnerability and Adaptation to Climate Change > Learning from Cases and Analogies Steps for systematic review of data, concepts and methods in large‐n comparative climate change adaptation policy research.

BackgroundFood insecurity is an ongoing problem in the Canadian Arctic. Although most studies have focused on smaller communities, little is known about food insecurity in larger centres.ObjectivesThis study aimed to estimate the prevalence of food insecurity during 2 different seasons in Iqaluit, the territorial capital of Nunavut, as well as identify associated risk factors.DesignsA modified United States Department of Agriculture Food Security Survey was applied to 532 randomly selected households in September 2012 and 523 in May 2013. Chi-square tests and multivariable logistic regression were used to examine potential associations between food security and 9 risk factors identified in the literature.ResultsIn September 2012, 28.7% of surveyed households in Iqaluit were food insecure, a rate 3 times higher than the national average, but lower than smaller Inuit communities in Nunavut. Prevalence of food insecurity in September 2012 was not significantly different in May 2013 (27.2%). When aggregating results from Inuit households from both seasons (May and September), food insecurity was associated with poor quality housing and reliance on income support (p<0.01). Unemployment and younger age of the person in charge of food preparation were also significantly associated with food insecurity. In contrast to previous research among Arctic communities, gender and consumption of country food were not positively associated with food security. These results are consistent with research describing high food insecurity across the Canadian Arctic.ConclusionThe factors associated with food insecurity in Iqaluit differed from those identified in smaller communities, suggesting that experiences with, and processes of, food insecurity may differ between small communities and larger commercial centres. These results suggest that country food consumption, traditional knowledge and sharing networks may play a less important role in larger Inuit communities.