Climate Change at the Margins: Unravelling Social Exclusion and Vulnerability in Rural Uttar Pradesh

Abstract

As the implications of climate change are getting manifested with its seemingly visible physical consequences, it is infelicitous to note that the international agreements and policies glossed with complex technical and economic vocabulary miss essential questions related to vulnerabilities and their link with social exclusion, inequitable distributional patterns and social justice issues. The article aims to bridge an academic gap by contributing to the knowledge domain through an empirical case study conducted in two contrasting rural landscapes of Uttar Pradesh, India. Since the study is mainly interpretative, qualitative research tools were employed. The study concludes that apart from physical conditions adding to a person’s vulnerability, the social dimensions, when added to it, exacerbate the scale of vulnerability, producing a newer form of social exclusion. The thrust of the argument presented in this article is to treat the multidimensional characteristic of social exclusion and climate change vulnerability as an intertwined iterative academic discourse. The ramifications of these findings were examined, including the probable policy interface to improve resilience and mitigate the potential risks of climate change for vulnerable populations.