Disabled people face greater climate change risks – and they can also help New Zealand adapt. But they need to be included in the conversation and decision-making processes.
The impacts of climate change are increasingly being felt across New Zealand, from unprecedented rainfall and landslides to heatwaves fuelled by warming seas. However, disabled people are disproportionately affected by these impacts, and their voices are often overlooked in climate policy and adaptation planning.
In my recent research, I interviewed disabled people about their experiences with climate change. They described a wide range of concerns, but the common message was that they want to be heard and to play a leading role in guiding how New Zealand adapts to a changing climate.
The deck is stacked against disabled people, as they face existing barriers that affect their health, wellbeing, and financial security. They are less likely to be in paid employment, more likely to live in substandard rental housing, and more likely to experience material hardship and poverty. These inequities leave many with fewer resources to prepare for, respond to, and recover from climate-related impacts.
The ongoing impact of extreme weather events is the greatest and most immediate concern for disabled people. They identified barriers across emergency preparedness, response, and recovery, including inaccessible information, a lack of inclusive disaster risk reduction programmes, and financial barriers to preparing for emergencies. Many also described difficulties accessing safe and timely evacuation, with evacuation centres and emergency services often proving inaccessible.
However, it would be a mistake to view disabled people only as those at greater risk. Their lived experience gives them valuable expertise in adapting to change. Disabled people and their whānau are already well-versed in adapting to an inaccessible world, and their experience gives them valuable expertise in anticipating risk and adapting to disruption.
There are already promising examples of disabled people leading climate adaptation efforts. In Auckland, the Disability Led Climate Adaptation pilot has funded six projects, including an accessible adaptation app and educational films created by Māori. In Christchurch and Dunedin, the Disabled Person’s Assembly has worked with Civil Defence and emergency services to improve disability-informed preparedness.
The Wellington Region Emergency Management Office has produced an emergency preparedness guide developed by and for disabled people. As climate impacts become more frequent and severe, the disabled community must be at the forefront of work to adapt, as key stakeholders and agents for change.
The work to build a more accessible, climate-adapted future is necessary to build a more adaptive, creative, and diverse future where no one is left behind. It is time to include disabled people in the conversation and decision-making processes, and to recognize their valuable expertise in adapting to change.
