Determinants of Vulnerability to Climate Change: Analysis of Municipalities in Mexico

Abraham Granados, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México

Research estimates indexes of vulnerability for 2 058 municipalities in Mexico. The use of indicators is a useful tool to display summary information about phenomena, as it condenses the complex reality in simple terms. Vulnerability to climate change is a central concept for natural hazards and disaster management, ecology, public health, poverty, and climate impacts. A system's vulnerability to climate change is determined by exposure, physical configuration and sensitivity, their ability and opportunity to adapt. The research goal is identify which variables determine vulnerability to climate change in 2058 municipalities in Mexico by Principal Components Analysis. The hypothesis is that vulnerability to climate change depends on sociodemographic characteristics (poverty --income--, education, health, demographic factors, and dependence on agriculture); housing characteristics; natural resources and type of government in the region.