ICARP Climate Equity and Vulnerable Communities
Learn about vulnerability to climate change and the ICARP Vulnerable Communities Platform.
To reduce the potential risks of climate change, we must increase communities’ ability to adapt to climate change and recover from climate-change-related disruptions. Some communities are better positioned to adjust and recover than others. Historic disinvestment has caused low-income Black, Brown, Indigenous, and other marginalized communities to experience disproportionate climate impacts and limits climate adaptation ability.
Inequities stemming from institutionalized racism, environmental pollution, underinvestment, and exclusion from services and opportunities have made non-white communities with low incomes more likely to have substandard living conditions and chronic health or mental illnesses. These factors not only increase a community’s vulnerability to the impacts of climate change but also reduce their ability to adapt.
For guidance on identifying communities that are vulnerable to climate change using the Integrated Climate Adaptation and Resiliency Program (ICARP)’s definition of the term, “vulnerable communities,” see the section “What is a Vulnerable Community?” below.
The Vulnerable Communities Platform
The Vulnerable Communities Platform (VCP) is a new website and mapping tool created by the Governor’s Office of Land Use and Climate Innovation to help identify California communities most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change. The platform will provide a broad overview of a community’s vulnerability, helping to pinpoint key challenges that can be addressed with actions to improve resilience.
The VCP will help community organizations, local governments, and concerned residents understand where different climate hazards will be most severe, which communities are most vulnerable, and what makes them vulnerable.
The platform is now publicly available at Vulnerable Communities Platform. Take a look to learn more, access resilience related data and resources, and sign up for upcoming webinars.
What is a Vulnerable Community?
In 2018, the ICARP Technical Advisory Council defined the term “vulnerable communities” to clarify the many factors that affect communities’ climate adaptation and resilience and to help inform State climate adaptation efforts. To learn more about the Council’s vision for a resilient California and seven principles for achieving resilience, explore the ICARP Council Vision and Principles page.
Climate vulnerability describes the degree to which natural, built, and human systems are at risk of exposure to climate change impacts. Vulnerable communities experience heightened risk and increased sensitivity to climate change and have less capacity and fewer resources to cope with, adapt to, or recover from climate impacts. These disproportionate effects are caused by physical (built and environmental), social, political, and/or economic factor(s), which are exacerbated by climate impacts. These factors include, but are not limited to, race, ethnicity, class, gender, sexual orientation, national origin, income inequality, and disability. People facing multiple forms of marginalization and inequality will confront more intense climate change impacts and barriers to recovery.
To help climate adaptation practitioners identify climate vulnerable communities and define the term, ICARP staff developed a resource guide with input from the Technical Advisory Council. The guide includes:
- The ICARP Technical Advisory Council’s definition of vulnerable communities
- A summary of statewide tools available as of July 2018 for identifying which communities are most vulnerable to climate change, including a crosswalk with indicators that are required components of an SB1000 analysis
- Additional indicators for assessing underlying vulnerability on a case-by-case basis
- A list of process guides useful for selecting and prioritizing vulnerability indicators