Socio-economic trends and climate change adaptation: the case of South East Queensland

Abstract

The effectiveness of climate change responses is influenced by the adaptive capacity of communities within regions over spatial and temporal scales. While climate change projections are commonly used to set policy and management responses, they are not always coupled with socio-economic projections over the same time periods. This article explores the interplay between socio-economic characteristics and their potential implications for regional vulnerability and adaptive capacity. Population growth presents one of the biggest challenges for the South East Queensland region (SEQ) of Australia. Indigenous people, the aged, lone person households and single parent families show marked increases relative to other population segments. The literature suggests that these groups are more vulnerable to the risks associated with climate change. Population growth will not only increase the number of vulnerable groups, but also the demand for land, goods and services, including energy, infrastructure and ecosystem services. However, such data need to be integrated with context-specific data to account for spatial and temporal variations (or differences) in the adaptive capacity of communities.

Keywords:

• demography
• adaptive capacity
• community
• context-specific data
• population projections

Acknowledgements

This research is part of the South East Queensland Climate Adaptation Research Initiative (SEQ-CARI), a partnership between the Queensland and Australian Governments, the CSIRO Climate Adaptation National Research Flagship, Griffith University, University of the Sunshine Coast and University of Queensland. The Initiative aims to provide research knowledge to enable the region to adapt and prepare for the impacts of climate change.