Philippine E-Journals

Global Predictors of People’s Vulnerability to Climate Change

Donna Lou E. Neri

Discipline: Natural Sciences, Environmental Science, Sociology

 

Abstract:

This study generally assessed the peoples’ vulnerability and coping to climate change. Vulnerability is a function of exposure, sensitivity (risk) and adaptive capacity or coping. This descriptive and analytic study considered the economic, social, and infrastructure and services vulnerabilities, as well as the adaptive capacity (coping) of each country to climate change through data mining. Data gathered went through Principal Components Analysis (PCA), regression and cluster analysis with the aid of the MINITAB Software. Countries were then grouped according to their extent of vulnerability and theories were developed basing on the statistical results. Stepwise regression was likewise conducted to validate the theories generated. Based on the highlighted results of the study: it can be concluded that majority of the countries (98 countries) are moderately vulnerable to climate change. Nonetheless, a third (44 countries) is already highly vulnerable and one country (Nicaragua) is very highly vulnerable to climate change. Inferentially, it can also be concluded that vulnerability to climate change is influenced by human development and environmental protection factors.