Issue Brief

This issue brief examines the impacts of climate and disaster risks on older adults, vulnerable populations, and local communities amid the intersecting challenges of intensifying climate change and the transition to a super-aged society. Moving beyond conventional mitigation policies focused primarily on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, it proposes adaptation strategies and policy priorities centered on climate resilience.

In particular, as extreme weather events such as heatwaves become more severe, the brief highlights the risk of a “Knowledge Paradox” facing disaster-vulnerable groups, including older adults and persons with disabilities. Even when these groups receive disaster-related information, such knowledge may not translate into effective action unless adequate transportation, evacuation assistance, and care systems are in place. The brief also emphasizes the need for locally tailored resilience strategies that reflect differences in demographic structure and infrastructure. In non-urban areas, population aging and limited access to emergency medical services and public transportation can heighten the risk of isolation. In densely populated metropolitan areas, meanwhile, compound disaster risks are amplified by urban heat island effects, flooding, aging infrastructure, and the high concentration of people and critical facilities.

Against this backdrop, the issue brief proposes linking environmental protection and social welfare budgets under the shared objectives of protecting vulnerable populations and improving local infrastructure. Specifically, it identifies three key national policy priorities: (1) institutionalizing integrated environmental and social welfare policies and coordinated budgeting; (2) establishing support systems that enable the effective mobility and evacuation of vulnerable populations; and (3) developing locally tailored disaster-prevention governance that reflects the spatial characteristics of each region.

In the short term, the brief recommends establishing protection systems for vulnerable populations by leveraging existing administrative structures and local networks. Over the medium to long term, it calls for integrating budgeting, governance, and spatial planning to reduce disparities in disaster resilience across regions.