Welfare states under the weather: a research agenda on climate change and social protection against environmental risks

Beaussier, A.-L.; Cabane, L.D.; Chevalier, T.; Giry, B.

doi:doi:10.1177/09589287261458533

What does it mean for states to protect populations against climate change? As environmental risks are
becoming more frequent and severe, the ability of states to maintain the wellbeing of their populations is
challenged. Yet, despite growing debates about social-ecological risks and policies, the question of how to
protect societies from the social consequences of environmental risks and disasters remains little ad-
dressed in social policy and welfare state studies and a critical gap in the literature. This article advances a
research agenda for conceptualising social protection against environmental risks. We identify avenues for
research for understanding the various forms of socialisation of environmental risks and the policies that
protect populations against their impacts across Europe and North America. We analyse these policies
from a conceptual, historical, and comparative perspective, looking at how they provide forms of welfare,
how they...Show moreWhat does it mean for states to protect populations against climate change? As environmental risks are
becoming more frequent and severe, the ability of states to maintain the wellbeing of their populations is
challenged. Yet, despite growing debates about social-ecological risks and policies, the question of how to
protect societies from the social consequences of environmental risks and disasters remains little ad-
dressed in social policy and welfare state studies and a critical gap in the literature. This article advances a
research agenda for conceptualising social protection against environmental risks. We identify avenues for
research for understanding the various forms of socialisation of environmental risks and the policies that
protect populations against their impacts across Europe and North America. We analyse these policies
from a conceptual, historical, and comparative perspective, looking at how they provide forms of welfare,
how they interact with social policies, and how climate change transforms welfare states’ role in protecting
populations against environmental risks in the context of just adaptation.
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Welfare states under the weather: a research agenda on climate change and social protection against environmental risks