Vulnerability of the São Paulo Macro Metropolis to Droughts and Natural Disasters: Local to Regional Climate Risk Assessments and Policy Responses

Published in Sustainability
Authors

Campello Torres, P.H. Gonçalves, D.A. Mendes de Almeida Collaço, F. Lopes dos Santos, K. Canil, K. Cabral de Sousa Júnior, W. Jacobi, P.R.
Publication year 2020
DOI https://doi.org/10.3390/su13010114
Affiliations
  • Divisão Científica de Gestão, Ciência e Tecnologia Ambiental, Instituto de Energia e Ambiente (IEE), Universidade de São Paulo, Av. Prof. Luciano Gualberto, 1289&mdashButantã, São Paulo SP 05508-010, Brazil
  • Engenharia de Infraestrutura Aeronáutica (PG-EIA), Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica (ITA), Praça Marechal Eduardo Gomes, 50&mdashVila das Acacias, São José dos Campos SP 12228-900, Brazil
  • Escola de Artes, Ciências e Humanidades (EACH), Universidade de São Paulo, Rua Arlindo Béttio, 1000&mdashErmelino Matarazzo, São Paulo SP 03828-000, Brazil
  • Centro de Engenharia, Modelagem e Ciências Sociais Aplicadas, Programa de Pós Graduação em Planejamento e Gestão do Território (PGT), Universidade Federal do ABC (UFABC), Av. dos Estados, 5001&mdashBangú, Santo André SP 09210-580, Brazil
  • Núcleo de Estudos em Infraestrutura, Ambiente e Sustentabilidade&mdashNINFA, Divisão de Engenharia Civil, Instituto Tecnológico de Aeronáutica, Praça Marechal Eduardo Gomes, 50&mdashVila das Acacias, São José dos Campos SP 12228-900, Brazil
     
IAI Program
  • The São Paulo Research Foundation (FAPESP)  grant numbers 2015/03804-9, 2017/22067-0, 2019/11987-7, 2018/06685-9, and 2019/05644-0. 
  • Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research (IAI): SGP-HW 056 (GovernAgua Project). 
IAI Project SGP-HW056
Keywords
climate risk assessment
climate change policy
climate emergency
subnational approach
São Paulo Macro Metropolis
PDFVulnerability of the São Paulo Macro Metropolis to Droughts and Natural Disasters Local to Regional Climate Risk Assessments and Policy Responses.pdf

Abstract

The São Paulo Macro Metropolis (SPMM) is one of the richest and most inequitable regions of the Global South and is already experiencing the impacts of severe climate events. This study analyzes climate risk assessments and policy responses for this territory as well as its vulnerabilities. The Index of Vulnerability to Natural Disasters related to Droughts in the Context of Climate Change (IVDNS&mdashacronym in Portuguese) was used to identify and select the most vulnerable municipalities in the SPMM. Following vulnerability analysis, the municipalities were subjected to risk analysis in the context of existing Brazilian legislation. The results indicate that, despite having positive capacities to respond to climate change, the analyzed municipalities are far from advancing from the status quo or taking the actions that are necessary to face future challenges in a climate emergency scenario. The results indicate that, despite being the most vulnerable to droughts and natural disasters, the cities analyzed are not the most vulnerable in the São Paulo Macro Metropolis from a socio-economic point of view. On the contrary, these are regions that could have a strong institutional capacity to respond to present and future challenges.