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people changing the climate? |
2. What will
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Vulnerability refers to how easily a country can be damaged by climate change. Adaptive capacity, on the other hand, refers to how able a society is to make the necessary changes to be better prepared to handle climate change. A vulnerable society with little adaptive capacity will suffer more from climate change than a society that is less vulnerable or has a greater adaptive capacity. It is often the case that the poorest countries are the worst off when it comes to both vulnerability and adaptive capacity.
Example: Vulnerability to sea-level riseToday, 46 million people live in flood-endangered areas. A sea-level rise of half a meter will put 92 million people at risk, while a rise of one meter increases the number to 118 million (this is without taking future population growth into consideration). Loss of land area can be significant for coastal and island states and flat lowlands such as the Netherlands, Denmark, the Maldives, and Bangladesh. |
Although Denmark and the Netherlands are both rich, European countries, there are some differences in vulnerability. Compared to Denmark, the Netherlands has a shorter coastline to secure plus it already has a well-developed dike network and extensive experience in building dikes. In this sense, Denmark is more vulnerable than the Netherlands, but because both the Netherlands and Denmark are rich countries, they both have good possibilities to build dikes and take other actions to limit the economic damages and losses of life brought about by sea-level rise. |
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Author: Camilla Schreiner - CICERO (Center for International Climate and Environmental Research - Oslo) - Norway. Scientific reviewers: Andreas Tjernshaugen - CICERO (Center for International Climate and Environmental Research - Oslo) - Norway - 2004-01-20 and Knut Alfsen - Statistics Norway - Norway - 2003-09-12. Educational reviewer: Nina Arnesen - Marienlyst school in Oslo - Norway - 2004-03-10. Last update: 2004-03-27.
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