Vulnerabilidades Socioambientais e Adaptação Frente às Mudanças Climáticas em Fortaleza-CE

Abstract

In the 20th century, the world underwent radical changes. On one hand, from a social point of view, the major change was the urbanisation process. On the other hand, considering the physical aspects, climate change is one of the main metamorphoses and possibly the main challenge to be faced in the 21st century. As urban activities are the main contributors to greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, the greatest actions to reduce emissions should be concentrated in urban centres. Similarly, as the largest contingents of vulnerable populations are in cities, adaptation actions to the effects of climate variability should also be concentrated in them. In search of solutions, in the last decade, there has been a consolidation of the International Climate Regime, which has stimulated actions at the local level, with strong interactions with urban planning. In view of this, Fortaleza has been developing climate planning processes since 2013, which have materialised in several diagnoses, action plans and policies. Among the

results, we highlight the Climate Vulnerability Index, which identifies the most climate- vulnerable territories; and among the planned actions is the implementation of the

Adaptation Plan. However, the social inequality that permeates the city remains a challenge. According to 2012 data, Fortaleza has more than 843 precarious urban settlements, many of which are already exposed to socio-environmental vulnerability, which tends to increase in the face of the impacts of the adverse effects of climate change. At the same time, the city's urban development policy remains averse to addressing disparities, as evidenced by the approval, in 2017, of the Land Parceling, Use and Occupation Law. This legislation regulated, among other instruments, the Urban and Social Development Zones (ZEDUS), which, distributed throughout the territory, seek to intensify social and economic activities. The need to reduce climate vulnerability is indisputable, and the preferred approach is to identify local vulnerabilities and align them with the guidelines of urban and climate policies, in particular those of adaptation. Therefore, this paper investigates the connections between climate vulnerability.