2023/03/01 by Kimberley Anh Thomas · 1 voice
Agricultural and Biological Sciences · Economics, Econometrics and Finance · Social Sciences · #Agricultural risk and resilience #Climate Change Policy and Economics #Climate Change, Adaptation, Migration
paper · pdf · doi:10.1111/dech.12756
openalex publication_date 2023/03/01 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/06/12
ABSTRACT The imperative for vulnerable populations to adapt to greater environmental variability is increasing in lockstep with the onset of wide‐ranging climate change impacts. However, while critical adaptation research emphasizes the necessity of addressing the underlying drivers of vulnerability to climate change, mainstream approaches to adaptation stress economic growth as a prerequisite for climate responses. Accordingly, capital‐intensive adaptation measures promote competitiveness to spur economic growth in the Vietnamese Mekong Delta, where more than 18 million people face environmental hazards such as seawater intrusion, flood, drought and cyclones. This study evaluates competitiveness as a mandate for effective climate change adaptation. It finds that adaptation can advance either competition or vulnerability reduction, but it cannot logically or pragmatically pursue both.