The big idea: Climate change does not hit everyone equally. The same flood, drought or storm causes far more harm to some people and places than to others.
What decides the harm
- How badly a group is harmed depends on its vulnerability.
- Vulnerability is shaped mostly by human factors (wealth, location, government, gender), not just the physical hazard.
Key terms
- Vulnerability - how likely a group is to be harmed by a hazard, and how badly.
- Exposure - whether people are physically in the path of the hazard (e.g. living on a flood plain).
- Adaptive capacity - the ability to prepare for, cope with and recover from impacts (money, defences, warning systems).
- Uneven impacts - the idea that climate harms fall unequally across places and social groups.
Vulnerability = exposure + low capacity: A group is most vulnerable when it is highly exposed to a hazard and has low adaptive capacity to cope.
Wealth usually raises capacity - so poorer people are often more vulnerable even to the same hazard.
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Whether a hazard becomes a disaster depends on who it hits. A good answer names a human factor and explains the mechanism - why it raises or lowers vulnerability.
Human factors that raise vulnerability
- Poverty / low income - no savings, no insurance and no money to rebuild, so a shock pushes families into crisis.
- Where people live - the poor are pushed onto risky land (flood plains, steep slopes, dry margins).
- Weak governance - little money for defences, warnings or emergency services.
- Reliance on farming - rural livelihoods depend on rain and harvests, which climate change disrupts.
- Gender / age / health - women, children, the elderly and the sick often have fewer resources and less mobility.
Why richer groups are LESS exposed to harm
- Wealth and savings - they can pay to defend, relocate, insure and rebuild.
- Better infrastructure - sea walls, drainage, early-warning systems and emergency services protect them.
- Choice of where to live - they can afford safer land away from flood plains and unstable slopes.
Social differences that change vulnerability
- Age — the elderly suffer heat stress and are less mobile; young children are vulnerable to disease and malnutrition.
- Gender — in some societies women have less access to warnings, land, credit and mobility, and carry caring roles that slow evacuation.
- Education — affects understanding of warnings and the ability to prepare and find other work.
- Risk perception — people who underestimate a hazard may ignore warnings and stay in danger.
Explain two reasons why richer people are usually less exposed to the harms of climate change.
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Bangladesh - a low, poor delta: Bangladesh is a low-lying, densely populated delta where millions of poor farmers live on flood plains.
Why Bangladesh is so vulnerable
- Rising seas and stronger cyclones flood farmland and homes.
- Most families have no savings, no insurance and little protection.
- So each flood causes deep, lasting harm.
Sahel - women and farming: In the Sahel (e.g. Niger, Mali) longer droughts cut crop yields.
Why women are more vulnerable: they do much of the farming and water/fuel collection, often own less land and fewer assets, and may be last to eat or leave in a crisis - so the same drought harms them more than men.
Netherlands - wealth buys protection
Much of the Netherlands lies below sea level, yet it is far less vulnerable to flooding.
Why: it is a high-income country with world-class sea defences, dykes, pumps and early-warning systems, plus insurance and savings - high adaptive capacity offsets high exposure.
Pair a rich and a poor place: The best 'uneven impacts' answers contrast a vulnerable place (Bangladesh, the Sahel) with a protected one (Netherlands) to show that wealth and governance, not just the hazard, decide who suffers.
How this is tested: Vulnerability often reaches you as an infographic or bar chart comparing how badly different regions or income groups are hit by the same climate hazard - read the key and scale first.
The data feeds two question shapes
- A short Explain / Suggest (4 marks) on the human factors behind vulnerability.
- A 'To what extent' evaluation (6-10 marks) using the figure as evidence for how far impacts are spread unevenly.
- For the evaluation, argue For / Against / Judgement and end on a clear stance.
Read the scale first. Taller bars = bigger share of national income lost - which group is hit hardest?
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Using the bar chart: (a) identify the group losing the largest share of GDP [1]; (b) estimate the loss for high-income nations [1].
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Two places, same hazard, very different outcomes
| Place | Income level | Why it is more / less vulnerable |
|---|---|---|
| Netherlands | High income | Sea defences, early-warning, insurance, savings - LESS vulnerable |
| Bangladesh | Low income | Low, flat delta, dense rural poor, little flood protection - MORE vulnerable |
| Rich coastal suburb | High income | Can afford to rebuild, relocate or buy insurance - LESS vulnerable |
| Informal slum settlement | Low income | Built on risky land, no savings or insurance - MORE vulnerable |
Discuss how far you agree that the effects of global climate change are spread unevenly across the world.
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“A person’s age matters more than anything else in deciding how badly climate change affects them.” To what extent do you agree with this statement?
Model answer plan
See the answer broken into clear points, with guidance on how each point earns marks.
Reach a judgement: 'To what extent' must end with a clear stance (e.g. impacts are felt widely but the harm is very uneven) - never just list both sides and stop.