Lecture by Prof. Peter Sammonds - Climate and Natural Hazard Risks
The climate is in transition. People are calling for a 'just transition' and for 'climate justice'. But what do these terms mean? Transition to what? And what even is progress?
Those calling for radical change, such as Naomi Klein in 'This Changes Everything' or Kate Raworth in 'Doughnut Economics', point to the threats from extreme hazards. But the focus needs to be on risk:
- Hazard risk is made up of the components of the hazard, exposure to the hazard, vulnerability and adaptive capacity.
- To address risk, we fundamentally need to address vulnerability, in all its dimensions.
- A multi-hazard risk approach is needed as climate driven hazards cannot be treated separately.