Climate Change and Social Vulnerability in the United States: A Focus on Six Impacts SEPA
Findings on Disproportionate Risks of Climate Change to
American Indian and Alaska Native Individuals
This report estimates risks to American Indian and
Alaska Native individuals living in the contiguous U.S.
Results are based on current demographic distributions
and projected changes in climate hazards.
This is a one-page summary of
findings from EPA's report Climate
Change and Social Vulnerability in
the United States: A Focus on Six
Impacts related to disproportion-
ate risks of climate change to
American Indian and Alaska Native
individuals. The report estimates
the disproportionate risks to
socially vulnerable populations
(defined based on age, income,
education, race, and ethnicity)
associated with six impact catego-
ries shown in the figure.
Risks are calculated for each
socially vulnerable group relative
to its "reference population" (all
individuals outside of each group)
for scenarios with 2°C of global
warming of 50 cm of sea level rise.
The estimated risks are based on
current demographic distributions
in the contiguous U.S.; due to data
limitations, risks to residents of
Alaska and Hawai'i are not ana-
lyzed in this report.
The report finds that American
Indian and Alaska Native individu-
als are more likely than non-Amer-
ican Indian and non-Alaska Native
individuals to currently live in
areas of the contiguous U.S. with
the highest percentage of land lost
to inundation and the highest
rates of labor hour losses for
weather-exposed workers due to
extreme temperatures.
Importantly, American Indian and
Alaska Native individuals are
currently experiencing a wide
range of impacts from climate
change, and each Tribe experienc-
es the impacts of climate change
differently. Furthermore, Ameri-
can Indian and Alaska Native
individuals may place a high value
on risks to subsistence, cultural,
and other natural resources that
are not explored in this report. For
more information, please refer to
the report and accompanying
appendices.
Coastal Flooding
and Traffic
22% less likely to currently
live in areas with the highest
estimated increases in traffic delays
due to coastal flooding with 50 cm
of global sea level rise
Extreme Temperature
and Health
4% less likely to currently live
in areas with the
highest projected increases
in extreme temperature-
related deaths with
2°C of global warming
Coastal Flooding
and Property
48% more likely to currently live
in areas where the highest
percentage of land is projected
to be lost to inundation with
50 cm of global sea level rise
Inland Flooding
and Property
3% less likely to currently live in
areas with the highest projected
damages from inland flooding with
2°C of global warming
Learn more about EPA's
work supporting Tribes
through EPA's Tribal Air and
Climate Resources.
EPA 430-R-21 -003 | September 2021

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