JoAnn Carmin
Massachusetts Institute of TechnologyGovernance for Achieving Urban Climate AdaptationWhat do we know: What does Sociology bring to the table for studying the human dimensions of global
climate change?
Until recently, most climate change scholarship has focused on one of two issues. The first is rooted in scientific
debates on whether or not the climate actually is changing. Sociological research has enhanced our knowledge
of this arena by looking at the ways in which interest groups have worked to affect climate-related knowledge,
policy agendas, and political decisions in international and national contexts. The second dominant stream of
scholarship pertains to ways to mitigate climate change, either through policies and technological innovations that
will reduce GHG emissions or by altering demand. In this domain, sociologists have advanced our understanding
through research in areas such as environmental risk perception and communication, environmental values, and
the human dimensions of environmental degradation and protection.
In the past year or so, it appears that a shift has taken place in the general orientation and rhetoric of
many international discussions and national deliberations. Rather than debating the veracity of the science, many
countries have begun considering how national and sub-national governments can deal with the impacts of climate
change that they believe are certain to take place. In other words, climate adaptation has taken a seat alongside of
climate mitigation as a concern for many nations of the world.
In the period preceding a trip to Bali I noticed that a number of NGOs were expanding their efforts to
address issues related to climate vulnerability, justice, and adaptation. While this shift in NGO activity peaked
my curiosity and led me to initiate a modest study of the campaigns of environmental and non-environmental
organizations, several additional events resulted in climate adaptation becoming an integral aspect my research
agenda. First, I was contracted by the Europe and Central Asia Division of the World Bank to write a background
paper on urban climate adaptation in the region. Second, I am teaching a class on urban climate adaptation. In
addition to classroom work, my students are spending several weeks in South Africa where they are learning
about the activities of municipal agencies and thinking about how routine practices and established programs can
be linked to a climate adaptation agenda. The goal is that they will generate ideas about how climate adaptation
can be best achieved in highly vulnerable (and under resourced) cities and develop tools that public officials can
use to learn about adaptation and set their adaptation priorities.
I will draw on some of my current research on NGOs and recent experiences in Eastern Europe and South
Africa to address what we know about climate adaptation, what I believe we need to know, and the ways that
sociological scholarship is central to understanding two issues: urban climate adaptation and the contributions
being made by NGOs to climate adaptation planning and implementation. While these issues draw on different
bodies of theory, they are unified by the need to ensure that climate adaptation is a priority for cities, public
officials are familiar with the need for adaptation, and government agencies and departments understand how they
can use their existing capacity—including the contributions of NGOs—to move from planning to implementation.
What do we need to know: What are the major sociological research questions?
I. Achieving Urban Climate Adaptation: The impacts of climate change will not be limited to rural populations
and agricultural areas nor will they only affect a few select cities that are situated in highly vulnerable locales.