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Vulnerability and Capacity: Explaining Local Commitment to Climate-Change Policy

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  • Sammy Zahran

    (Department of Sociology, Colorado State University, B235 Clark Building, Fort Collins, CO 80523-1874, USA)

  • Samuel D Brody

    (Environmental Planning and Sustainability Research Unit, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3137, USA)

  • Arnold Vedlitz

    (Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy, George Bush School of Government and Public Service, 4350 TAMU, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4350, USA)

  • Himanshu Grover

    (Environmental Planning and Sustainability Research Unit, Department of Landscape Architecture and Urban Planning, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-3137, USA)

  • Caitlyn Miller

    (Institute for Science, Technology and Public Policy, George Bush School of Government and Public Service, 4350 TAMU, Texas A&M University, College Station, TX 77843-4350, USA)

Abstract

We examine the reasons why a US locality would voluntarily commit to the Cities for Climate Protection (CCP) campaign. Using geographic information systems analytic techniques, we map and measure a locality's vulnerability to climate-change impacts at the county level of spatial precision. We analyze multiple measures of climate-change vulnerability, including expected temperature change, extreme weather events, and coastal proximity, as well as economic variables, demographic variables, and civic-participation variables that constitute a locality's socioeconomic capacity to commit to costly climate-change policy initiatives. Bivariate and logistic regression results indicate that CCP-committed localities are quantitatively different to noncommitted localities on both climate-change risk and socioeconomic-capacity dimensions. On vulnerability measures, the odds of CCP-campaign participation increase significantly with the number of people killed and injured by extreme weather events, projected temperature change, and coastal proximity. On socioeconomic-capacity measures, the odds of CCP-campaign involvement increase with the percentage of citizens that vote Democrat and recycle, as well as the number of nonprofit organizations with an environment focus. The odds decrease in a county area as the percentage of the labor force employed in carbon-intensive industries increases.

Suggested Citation

  • Sammy Zahran & Samuel D Brody & Arnold Vedlitz & Himanshu Grover & Caitlyn Miller, 2008. "Vulnerability and Capacity: Explaining Local Commitment to Climate-Change Policy," Environment and Planning C, , vol. 26(3), pages 544-562, June.
    • Handle: RePEc:sae:envirc:v:26:y:2008:i:3:p:544-562
    DOI: 10.1068/c2g
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    References listed on IDEAS

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