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Climate-related disasters are the most representative in terms of recurrence and impacts. To reduce them, risk transfer is a key strategy for climate risk management. However, this approach does not consider the socioeconomic vulnerability of each population group, limiting its effectiveness. The objective of this paper is to improve and increase the usefulness of risk transfer through the Differential Risk Transfer (DRT) approach.

A comprehensive and systematic review of the state of the art on Differential Approach (DA) is presented, and its connection with existing models of vulnerability to disasters is analysed. Through epistemic deliberations, an operational definition of Differential Risk Transfer (DRT), as well as its advantages are discussed. Finally, general guidelines are presented for the implementation of the DRT in a specific context.

The results confirm that DA presents a clear relation with the models for the study of disaster vulnerability. The small group discussions agree with the usefulness of DRT for improving climate-related risk management.

This paper argues for the inclusion of the DRT approach in the climate risk management strategies aiming to fill the disaggregated data gaps that limit the potentiality and accuracy of risk transfer schemes worldwide.

This innovative approach improves the accuracy of the risk transfer mechanisms through the recognition of the differences of ethnicity, gender and life cycle that increase socioeconomic vulnerability to climate-related disasters.

This research aims to identify Brazil's socioeconomic vulnerability to wicked multi-problems arising from coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) (2019–2020), from the most extensive (∼ 3,000 km) oil spill in tropical oceans (2019/2020) and from the highest rate of wildfires in the last decade.

To this end, the authors measured the socioeconomic vulnerabilities of the 27 Brazilian states to these multi-problems (COVID-19 + Oil Spill + wildFire), considering the effects of these events individually and together. In addition, the authors calculated the vulnerability indices using two variables: production value and number of jobs created by an economic activity.

Results show the states of São Paulo, Minas Gerais, and Rio de Janeiro as the most susceptible, with a potential loss of 74.2% in production value and 47% in active employment relationships, caused by these overlapping events in time. The results also demonstrate that the country has failed in the coordination and management of these events (separately and jointly), showing difficulties especially in the stages of immediate response and recovery.

Regarding its contributions, this paper innovates by establishing an unprecedented overlap of wicked problems, linking this concept to the analysis of socioeconomic vulnerability of the affected communities, through a model that applies to other regions worldwide.

The peer review history for this article is available at: https://publons.com/publon/10.1108/IJSE-09-2021-0536

The purpose of this article is to understand how coronavirus impacts relate to existing vulnerabilities in different world regions.

The article utilizes quantitative analysis to examine regional variations in coronavirus risk assessment. It then qualitatively employs a policy coherence for development (PCD) approach to analyze how public policies contribute to or mitigate vulnerability, defined as the product of exposure to external shocks, institutional coping capabilities and risk associated with social divisions in societies.

The research presented below shows that significant regional variance exists in terms of coronavirus risk, based on statistical analysis of the INFORM COVID-19 Risk Report prepared by the European Commission. The PCD analysis highlights important relationships between public policy strategies and the construction of both underlying vulnerabilities and coronavirus impacts.

The PCD approach presented here focuses on the reconciliation of trade-offs. It shows how policy interactions affect vulnerabilities and suggests that coherent policy strategies aimed at reducing vulnerabilities are necessary in order to adequately respond to the coronavirus pandemic.

This analysis frames vulnerability as a socially constructed condition and through implementation of a PCD approach, it indicates how policy strategies contribute to or mitigate vulnerabilities. In doing so, it intends to contribute conceptually to the literature on vulnerability by showing how policy incoherences contribute to the construction of this condition. Empirically, the originality of this article is its statistical analysis of regional variance of coronavirus risk and the qualitative analysis of policy strategies in representative cases and how they have affected vulnerabilities and coronavirus impacts.

The relationship between women and extreme weather events is a significant issue given differential impact, adaptation strategies and coping mechanisms for genders. However, the women’s vulnerability and its determinants remain an understudied area. The paper aims to fill this important gap in literature by focusing on women’s vulnerability during the recent floods in the rural areas of Indian state of Kerala using primary data. With a focus on identifying the socioeconomic factors associated with women’s vulnerability, this paper also makes policy suggestions to reduce their vulnerability in the face of floods in Kerala where it is becoming a recurrent phenomenon.

This study is based on the primary data collected using structured questionnaire answered exclusively by women respondents. Chi-square tests and ordered logistic regression model have been used to analyze the relation between the women’s vulnerability during floods and their socioeconomic determinants.

The analysis found that the better availability of credit to women, access to information tools and higher income for women can reduce their vulnerability when a sudden disaster strikes.

This study is unique as it focuses on rarely studied topic women’s vulnerability in the face of weather-related disaster in the rural setting, understanding their level of vulnerability and then identifying the associates of the same, this paper makes an exceptional contribution to the literature on women and environment in general.

Social protection (SP) and climate change adaptation (CCA) are two subjects highly debated when discussing social vulnerabilities and food insecurity in rural areas of developing countries. Both fields address matters related to socioeconomic vulnerabilities and thus present opportunities for integration. However, many studies have stated the lack of interaction within the study areas. When dealing with CCA and SP in Brazil, the two offer an opportunity for integration since some SP programmes (such as food-based safety nets) can both affect adaptation and be impacted by expected changes in climate. Impacts from CC are projected to be extreme in the Brazilian semi-arid Northeast, a region where social programmes of assistance and aid are historically crucial during periods of drought. Thus, the purpose of this paper is to address the interaction of CCA and SP in a conceptual level on policies and programmes in Brazil.

A desk review of government documents (policies, plans, decrees) related to food security, food-based programmes and CC.

Based on the results the authors highlight the limited integration between CC and SP in Brazil and the potential for interaction in many of the programmes already in place.

The authors attribute findings to the segmented governmental structure and the weak interaction between sectors, and the only recent discussion of linkages between CC and poverty, development and food insecurity. Discussion on the challenges and benefits of this interaction are provided in a context of CC in Brazil, still not very debated in the academic literature.

A review of the existing literature on disasters, impact, local vulnerability, and adaptation indicates to the fact that recent increasing frequency of natural disasters (e.g., floods, storms, and drought) have increasingly caused impacts on a diverse set of physical and biological systems, especially for those living in the developing countries where their livelihood strategies rely on natural resources (McCarthy, Canziani, Leary, Dokken, & White, 2001; Selvaraju, Subbiah, Baas, & Juergens, 2006; Kumar, 2007; Cruz et al., 2007).

Understanding risk is more than just modeling risk; it requires an understanding of the development and social processes that underlie and drive the generation of disaster risk. Here, in addition to a review of more technical factors, this paper aims to discuss a variety of institutional, social and political considerations that must be managed for the results of a risk assessment to influence actions that lead to reductions in natural hazard risk.

The technical approaches and the institutional, social and political considerations covered in this paper are based on a wide range of experiences gleaned from case studies that touch on a variety of activities related to assessing the risks and impacts of natural hazards, and from the activities of the World Bank’s Global Facility for Disaster Reduction and Recovery.

Risk information provides a critical foundation for managing disaster risk across a wide range of sectors. Appropriate communication of robust risk information at the right time can raise awareness and trigger action to reduce risk. Communicating this information in a way that triggers action requires an understanding of the developments and social processes that underlie and drive the generation of risk, as well as of the wider Disaster Risk Management (DRM) decision-making context.

Prior to the initiation of a quantitative risk assessment one should clearly define why an assessment is needed and wanted, the information gaps that currently prevent effective DRM actions and the end-users of the risk information. This requires developing trust through communication among the scientists and engineers performing the risk assessment and the decision-makers, authorities, communities and other intended users of the information developed through the assessment.

This paper summarizes the technical components of a risk assessment as well as the institutional, social and political considerations that should be considered to maximize the probability of successfully reducing the risk defined by a risk assessment.

The purpose of this study is to analyze the economic, social and environmental impacts of climate change on farmers' livelihoods and adaptive capacity while highlighting specific adaptation strategies in the local climate context.

Data were collected using a survey questionnaire and analyzed using partial least square structural equation modeling (PLS-SEM). Respondents were selected from seven farmer organizations (Pertubuhan Peladang Kawasan) located in Kedah, Malaysia.

The study revealed that farmers perceive the economic, social and environmental impacts of climate change. These adverse effects of climate change have an impact on their livelihoods as well as their adaptive capacity. The findings also demonstrated that farmers' livelihoods mediate the relationship between economic and environmental impacts of climate change as well as the adaptive capacity of farmers.

Climate change severely affects the agricultural sector as well as farmers' livelihoods. To minimize its effect, scientists and policymakers emphasize the improvement of farmers' adaptive capacity as well as appropriate adaptation methods. However, there is little research on how climate change affects the livelihoods of farmers in the context of Malaysia. Therefore, the results of the study will provide a new perspective for policymakers to formulate a better adaptation policy framework as well as select appropriate adaptation strategies for sustainable agricultural development.

The increasing frequency and intensity of the extreme weather events could cause devastating consequences in tourism. Climate change–related extreme weather events and their relation to tourism is an emerging field for education and research. The purpose of this study is to categorize the impact of climate change on tourist destinations with regard to extreme weather-related risks in outdoor recreation and tourism. Managerial implications for policymakers and stakeholders are discussed.

To outline the risks from climate change associated with tourism, this study uses the Prisma analysis for identification, screening, checking for eligibility and finding relevant literature for further categorization.

Based on a thoroughly examination of relevant literature, risks and threats posed by climate change could be categorized into following four areas: reduced experiential value in outdoor winter recreation; reduced value in beach scenery and comfort; land degradation and reduced biodiversity; and reduced value in personal safety and comfort in tourism. It also focuses on the significance of using big data applications in catastrophic disaster management and risk reduction. Recommendations with technology and data analytics to continuously improve the disaster management process in tourism education are provided based on findings of this study.

Primary contributions of this study include the following: providing a summarized overview of the risks associated with climate change in terms of tourist experiential value for educational implications; and revealing the role of data analytics in disaster management in the context of tourism and climate change for tourism education.

Purpose – The vulnerability and adaptive capacities of cities in Latin America have received relatively less attention compared to other regions of the world. This chapter seeks to address these gaps by (a) examining vulnerability to the health impacts from air pollution and temperature, and exploring whether socioeconomic factors between neighborhoods differentiate these risks within the cities of Bogota, Buenos Aires, Mexico City, and Santiago and (b) assessing the capacity of urban populations to perceive and respond to vulnerability and risk.

Design/methodology/approach – Because of the complex nature of vulnerability, we combined a set of quantitative and quantitative methods and data to determine whether and under what conditions the people in these cities are vulnerable (e.g., Time Series Analysis, Generalized Linear Model, and statistical correlations of exposure and human mortality with socioeconomic vulnerability).

Findings – We found high levels of PM10, ozone, and other criteria air pollutants in three cities for which we had data. However, the pattern of their impacts on health depends on the particulars of pollutant levels and atmospheric and weather conditions of each city. Our results reflect the varied facets of urban vulnerability and shed light on the nature of the associated human health risks. Although wealthy populations have access to education, good quality housing, and health services to mitigate some environmental risks, overall the data show that health impacts from air pollution and temperature in the study cities do not necessarily depend on socioeconomic differentiations.

Research limitations/implications – Although we sought to use quantitative and qualitative methods, given the complexity of the research, it has proven difficult to fully explore these issues across scales and with a full accounting of local context.

Practical implications – Our findings show that wealthy and educated populations may be equally at risk to the health implications of air pollution. Policies designed to mitigate these risks should not use socioeconomic characteristics as predictors of a population's risk in relation to air pollution.

Originality/value – This research contributes valuable insights into the dynamics of vulnerability to air pollution in Latin American cities, a region that has been historically underrepresented in empirical studies of urban risk. We have also combined a range of methods and approaches to improve our understanding of the multifaceted nature of urban vulnerability to global environmental change.