A scoping review of research on eco-social risks and inequality in a European context
Avendal, Christel LU
and Emilsson, Kajsa
LU
(2024)
ESPAnet Annual conference
- Abstract (Swedish)
- During the last decade the intersection between social welfare research and the ecological crisis
has been gaining increasing interest through discussions about sustainable welfare and eco-
social policies. Less attention has been paid, however, to eco-social risks and to how climate
change “will impact the nature and distribution of social risks across di!erent parts of the
population” (Hirvilammi et al. 2023), even though these kinds of risks which are directly related
to human health and security are expected to increase with further global warming. In order to
handle eco-social risks just and e!ective social security systems and policies will be needed.
However, in order to say something about welfare state... (More) - During the last decade the intersection between social welfare research and the ecological crisis
has been gaining increasing interest through discussions about sustainable welfare and eco-
social policies. Less attention has been paid, however, to eco-social risks and to how climate
change “will impact the nature and distribution of social risks across di!erent parts of the
population” (Hirvilammi et al. 2023), even though these kinds of risks which are directly related
to human health and security are expected to increase with further global warming. In order to
handle eco-social risks just and e!ective social security systems and policies will be needed.
However, in order to say something about welfare state responses and social protection
schemes it is crucial to know in what way these eco-social risks are manifested and for example
if certain groups in society are more or less exposed to them. Literature on disaster risks
highlight an ‘exposure bias’, where it is argued that “poor people are disproportionally a!ected
by natural hazards and disasters” (Hallegatte et al. 2020). Also the sustainable welfare literature
point to the fact that socio-economically disadvantaged groups are disproportionally a!ected by
climate change. With preliminary insights from the disaster research field, it seems as though
this general narrative is valid in certain geographical contexts but not in all and not with respect
to di!erent kinds of eco-social risks. Research also points to the fact that in some cases high
income residents will be more impacted by for example coastal flooding.
Moreover, and connected to the discussions about ‘exposure bias’, the concept of vulnerability
is highly salient in the disaster literature, emphasizing that certain people or groups are
particularly vulnerable to environmental hazards. There is, however, a lack of clarity on what this
concept holds. It is often used generically, simply to say that inequalities in relation to
environmental hazards exist. The concept per se is rarely defined or discussed, and the specifics
of alleged inequalities and vulnerabilities are seldom clarified. In addition, there are di!erent
terms and concepts in vogue to denote inequalities, making it di"cult to discern what alleged
inequalities studies actually point at.
Through a scoping review in databases such as Scopus, SocINDEX and GreenFILE we will screen
the empirical research on eco-social risks in a European welfare regime context. The specific aim
of the study is to present an overview of the empirical research on the unequal impacts of
environmental hazards on people and communities in a number of European countries that
each represent various European welfare regimes. In particular, the study aims to examine what
people and communities are considered to be particularly a!ected by environmental hazards in
various European countries. We also analyze how the vulnerability concept, when being used, is
conceptualized with respect to environmental hazards. Lastly, the study also aims to discuss
potential welfare state responses and social protection schemes to meet these new kinds of
eco-social risks that contemporary welfare states increasingly are faced with. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
https://lup.lub.lu.se/record/1d264e60-5813-4dda-90c4-15910efb2c60
- author
- Avendal, Christel
LU
and Emilsson, Kajsa
LU
- organization
- publishing date
- 2024
- type
- Contribution to conference
- publication status
- unpublished
- subject
- conference name
- ESPAnet Annual conference
- conference location
- Tampere, Finland
- conference dates
- 2024-08-28 - 2024-08-30
- language
- English
- LU publication?
- yes
- id
- 1d264e60-5813-4dda-90c4-15910efb2c60
- date added to LUP
- 2025-10-10 11:08:28
- date last changed
- 2025-10-17 13:57:46
@misc{1d264e60-5813-4dda-90c4-15910efb2c60,
abstract = {{During the last decade the intersection between social welfare research and the ecological crisis<br/>has been gaining increasing interest through discussions about sustainable welfare and eco-<br/>social policies. Less attention has been paid, however, to eco-social risks and to how climate<br/>change “will impact the nature and distribution of social risks across di!erent parts of the<br/>population” (Hirvilammi et al. 2023), even though these kinds of risks which are directly related<br/>to human health and security are expected to increase with further global warming. In order to<br/>handle eco-social risks just and e!ective social security systems and policies will be needed.<br/>However, in order to say something about welfare state responses and social protection<br/>schemes it is crucial to know in what way these eco-social risks are manifested and for example<br/>if certain groups in society are more or less exposed to them. Literature on disaster risks<br/>highlight an ‘exposure bias’, where it is argued that “poor people are disproportionally a!ected<br/>by natural hazards and disasters” (Hallegatte et al. 2020). Also the sustainable welfare literature<br/>point to the fact that socio-economically disadvantaged groups are disproportionally a!ected by<br/>climate change. With preliminary insights from the disaster research field, it seems as though<br/>this general narrative is valid in certain geographical contexts but not in all and not with respect<br/>to di!erent kinds of eco-social risks. Research also points to the fact that in some cases high<br/>income residents will be more impacted by for example coastal flooding.<br/>Moreover, and connected to the discussions about ‘exposure bias’, the concept of vulnerability<br/>is highly salient in the disaster literature, emphasizing that certain people or groups are<br/>particularly vulnerable to environmental hazards. There is, however, a lack of clarity on what this<br/>concept holds. It is often used generically, simply to say that inequalities in relation to<br/>environmental hazards exist. The concept per se is rarely defined or discussed, and the specifics<br/>of alleged inequalities and vulnerabilities are seldom clarified. In addition, there are di!erent<br/>terms and concepts in vogue to denote inequalities, making it di"cult to discern what alleged<br/>inequalities studies actually point at.<br/>Through a scoping review in databases such as Scopus, SocINDEX and GreenFILE we will screen<br/>the empirical research on eco-social risks in a European welfare regime context. The specific aim<br/>of the study is to present an overview of the empirical research on the unequal impacts of<br/>environmental hazards on people and communities in a number of European countries that<br/>each represent various European welfare regimes. In particular, the study aims to examine what<br/>people and communities are considered to be particularly a!ected by environmental hazards in<br/>various European countries. We also analyze how the vulnerability concept, when being used, is<br/>conceptualized with respect to environmental hazards. Lastly, the study also aims to discuss<br/>potential welfare state responses and social protection schemes to meet these new kinds of<br/>eco-social risks that contemporary welfare states increasingly are faced with.}},
author = {{Avendal, Christel and Emilsson, Kajsa}},
language = {{eng}},
title = {{A scoping review of research on eco-social risks and inequality in a European context}},
year = {{2024}},
}