While race and income have been commonly used as factors in predicting climate change vulnerability, there is another specific form of risk that's vital to recognize, too: that of disabled people.
. And, as Stein notes, “Living in inaccessible environments without access to transport, education, employment, services” are all factors that create further risk for a disabled person during climate disasters. In particular, he stresses that “poverty, which impacts the disabled to a greater extent than nearly any other identity group, is a cross-cutting issue that impairs all marginalized populations.
So, for example, a deaf/hard-of-hearing person might require accessible early warning, and a mobility-impaired individual might require accessible transportation. That's why “a one-size-fits-all mentality [in climate disaster planning] that points to disability as the exception vastly oversimplifies these issues," he says, going on to describe the many issues that may affect a disabled person during a climate event such as a hurricane or wildfire.
A firefighter, pictured in early September, watches as smoke erupts from the rapidly spreading Fairview Fire in California.