climate adaptation

For nearly a century, Western Sydney has grown as a suburban frontier, now accommodating one in ten Australians. However, the region faces imminent threats from anthropogenic climate change, with heat, drought, fire, and flood poised to render parts uninhabitable within decades. Despite city-wide discussions on climate preparedness, the input of everyday residents, particularly migrant and low-income communities, is often overlooked. Our research highlights the valuable insights these residents offer on coping with environmental extremes both inside and outside their homes.

The differential impacts of climate change have highlighted the need to implement fit-for-purpose interventions that are reflective of the needs of vulnerable communities. However, adaptation projects tend to favour technocratic, market-driven, and Eurocentric approaches that inadvertently disregard the place-based and contextual adaptation strategies of many communities in the Global South. The paper aims to decolonise climate change adaptation guided by the critical tenets of ‘Decolonising Climate Adaptation Scholarship’ (DCAS).