Current Information Provision Rarely Helps Coastal Households Adapt to Climate Change

Carmen E. Elrick-Barr; Timothy F. Smith

doi:10.3390/su14052904

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Current Information Provision Rarely Helps Coastal Households Adapt to Climate Change

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Current Information Provision Rarely Helps Coastal Households Adapt to Climate Change

Carmen E. Elrick-Barr and Timothy F. Smith

Sustainability , Vol.14(5), pp.1-12

2022

DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/su14052904

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Abstract

Communication

climate change

household

resilience

sustainability

transformation

coastal management

adaptation

Australia

Households play an important role in reducing coastal vulnerability through individual and collective action. Information provision is a key strategy adopted by governments to support household adaptation. However, there is limited evidence of the effectiveness of the different types of information and their influence on coastal household response. Drawing on case study research in two Australian coastal communities, we explore the types of information shaping household responses to three hazard scenarios: a heatwave, a severe storm, and sea-level rise. We find that passive information informs action in fewer than half of all households. Furthermore, even current attempts at more action-oriented information only informs coping strategies. If coastal adaptation is to achieve the transformational changes vital to manage the impacts of climate change, information provision must transition from passive and generic delivery via traditional modes, to actively communicating adaptation as the ‘glue’ between hazard management and household resilience through context-relevant and household-driven communication modes. Further research into the types of information that promote more-than-coping responses, such as information to facilitate collective action, is also recommended.

Details

Title: Current Information Provision Rarely Helps Coastal Households Adapt to Climate Change
Authors: Carmen E. Elrick-Barr (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sustainability Research Cluster
Timothy F. Smith (Author) - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, Sustainability Research Cluster
Publication details: Sustainability , Vol.14(5), pp.1-12
Publisher: MDPI AG
Date published: 2022
DOI: 10.3390/su14052904
ISSN: 2071-1050
Copyright note: Copyright: © 2022 by the authors. Licensee MDPI, Basel, Switzerland. This article is an open access article distributed under the terms and conditions of the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).
Data Availability: Raw data is confidential in accordance with Ethics approval (A/12/351).
Grants: Coastal Governance: Embracing Vulnerability and Change, FT180100652, Australian Research Council (Australia, Canberra) - ARC
Climate Change and extreme events: Developing a typology of coastal settlement vulnerability to aid adaptation strategies, DP1093583, Griffith University (Australia, Brisbane)
Organisation Unit: School of Law and Society; Sustainability Research Cluster
Language: English
Record Identifier: 99621540502621
Output Type: Journal article

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