Advancing a justice-centred approach to climate (un)inhabitability through transformative adaptation

Anisimov, A., Deubelli-Hwang, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7765-0552, & Schinko, T. ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1156-7574 (2026). Advancing a justice-centred approach to climate (un)inhabitability through transformative adaptation. Climate and Development 1-8. 10.1080/17565529.2026.2714547.

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Abstract

Uninhabitability under climate change raises critical questions for adaptation research and policy- and decision-making. Empirical evidence demonstrates that habitability is context-specific, dynamic, and constructed through interpersonal subjectivities, values, intergenerational experiences with hazards, social networks, and in-situ adaptation capacities. However, dominant discourses tend to frame uninhabitability as an external condition driven by climate hazards and the breaching of environmental thresholds, rather than as a politically mediated process shaped by structural inequalities and power relations. We thus propose transformative adaptation as a critical conceptual lens to shift the focus to the political, social, and ethical dimensions of (un)inhabitability. In particular, we argue for integrating justice considerations into understandings of communities’ agency in defining (un)inhabitability under climate change and in determining legitimate adaptation measures. Finally, we outline opportunities towards procedurally and recognitionally just approaches to research and decision-making on habitability, aiming to enable transformative adaptation by addressing the deeper structural causes of vulnerability.

Item Type:	Article
Uncontrolled Keywords:	Habitability, climate change, adaptation, climate justice, structural vulnerability
Research Programs:	Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA) Advancing Systems Analysis (ASA) > Systemic Risk and Resilience (SYRR) Population and Just Societies (POPJUS) Population and Just Societies (POPJUS) > Equity and Justice (EQU)
Depositing User:	Luke Kirwan
Date Deposited:	12 Aug 2026 08:48
Last Modified:	12 Aug 2026 08:48
URI:	https://pure.iiasa.ac.at/21802

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