Climate change adaptation is also a matter of social justice, as impacts are not distributed equally across social groups. One social group that has so far received limited academic and political attention is the group of people with disabilities. People with disabilities make up a large share of urban populations and are nonetheless often neglected in adaptation research and planning. This gap poses a fundamental climate justice problem since people with disabilities are a large group among the marginalised populations and are disproportionately affected by climate-related hazards.

In order to complement the TRANSCEND research on the dimensions of exposure and vulnerability in sustainable urban adaptation, I add a social justice lens to the project, with a focus on inclusive adaptation for people with disabilities. In March 2024 and February 2025, I had the opportunity to talk to diverse stakeholders from organisations for people with disabilities, civil society, academia, and local authorities in Mumbai and Jakarta. In my interviews, I addressed topics such as the impacts of flooding on people with diverse disabilities, their representation in decision-making, and regulations and mechanisms promoting inclusion.

Several interviewees and experts stress that a paradigm shift in political recognition and inclusion of the concerns of people with disabilities is necessary to implement inclusive adaptation measures effectively. There is a lack of reliable data on people with diverse disabilities and a lack of representation of diverse disabilities in planning and decision-making. At the same time, low public awareness and stigma, especially around mental disorders, need to be addressed in order to provide people with disabilities a voice in risk reduction strategies. Opportunities for overcoming these challenges lie in facilitating accessibility to public spaces and creating dedicated multi-stakeholder cells that involve disaster management and climate change adaptation actors, as well as civil society and disability rights organisations.

The next steps are to integrate the findings from this research into the TRANSCEND approach and to identify leverage points towards inclusive adaptation, considering diverse climate futures.