Advancing the international political economy of climate change adaptation: political ecology, political economy and social justice

Although adaptation projects are a growing and necessary part of responding to climate change, they can generate undesirable outcomes. Drawing from concepts in political economy, political ecology, justice theory, and critical development studies, this chapter describes four ways in which adaptation projects can produce unintended, adverse, or inequitable results. Enclosure refers to when adaptation projects transfer public assets, shift costs, or redistribute risk. Exclusion refers to when adaptation projects limit access to resources or marginalise particular stakeholders. Encroachment refers to when adaptation projects intrude upon land use areas with predefined roles or degrade the natural environment. Entrenchment refers to when projects aggravate the disempowerment of women and minorities, or worsen social conditions such as income inequality or violent conflict. In exploring these themes, the chapter touches upon numerous themes in International Political Economy scholarship, including critical development studies, neoliberalism and the corporatisation of public assets and goods, and normative approaches to IPE such as global justice and Marxism.