Rural Households in a Changing Climate

This paper argues that climate change
poses two distinct, if related, sets of challenges for poor
rural households: challenges related to the increasing
frequency and severity of weather shocks and challenges
related to long-term shifts in temperature, rainfall
patterns, water availability, and other environmental
factors. Within this framework, the paper examines evidence
from existing empirical literature to compose an initial
picture of household-level strategies for adapting to
climate change in rural settings. The authors find that
although households possess numerous strategies for managing
climate shocks and shifts, their adaptive capacity is
insufficient for the task of maintaining -- let alone
improving -- household welfare. They describe the role of
public policy in fortifying the ability of rural households
to adapt to a changing climate.