Environ. Res. Lett. 16 (2021) 124029 https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-9326/ac36f7 LETTER Three ways social identity shapes climate change adaptation OPEN ACCESS Jon Barnett1, Sonia Graham2,3,∗, Tara Quinn4, W Neil Adger4 and Catherine Butler4 RECEIVED 1 21 January 2021 School of Geography, University of Melbourne, Melbourne, Australia 2 School of Geography and Sustainable Communities, University of Wollongong, Wollongong, Australia REVISED 3 31 October 2021 Institut de Ciència i Technologia Ambientals, Universitat Autonoma de Barcelona, Bellaterra, Spain 4 Department of Geography, University of Exeter, Exeter, United Kingdom ACCEPTED FOR PUBLICATION ∗ Author to whom any correspondence should be addressed. 5 November 2021 E-mail: sgraham@uow.edu.au PUBLISHED 24 November 2021 Keywords: continuity, flood, sea-level rise, self-efficacy, self-esteem Original content from this work may be used under the terms of the Abstract Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 licence. Adaptation to climate change is inescapably influenced by processes of social identity—how people Any further distribution perceive themselves, others, and their place in the world around them. Yet there is sparse evidence of this work must maintain attribution to into the specific ways in which identity processes shape adaptation planning and responses. This the author(s) and the title paper proposes three key ways to understand the relationship between identity formation and of the work, journal citation and DOI. adaptation processes: (a) how social identities change in response to perceived climate change risks and threats; (b) how identity change may be an objective of adaptation; and (c) how identity issues can constrain or enable adaptive action. It examines these three areas of focus through a synthesis of evidence on community responses to flooding and subsequent policy responses in Somerset county, UK and the Gippsland East region in Australia, based on indepth longitudinal data collected among those experiencing and enacting adaptation. The results show that adaptation policies are more likely to be effective when they give individuals confidence in the continuity of their in-groups, enhance the self-esteem of these groups, and develop their sense of self-efficacy. These processes of identity formation and evolution are therefore central to individual and collective responses to climate risks. 1. Introduction Identity has been highlighted as an important factor in many environmental domains, including Identity is the emotionally significant self-image of on ethical consumption, pro-environmental beha- an individual which is derived from their member- viours, climate change activism, leadership of envir- ship of social groups, often referred to as in-groups onmental change initiatives, and sharing of inform- (Tajfel 1974). A positive identity is the product of con- ation about sustainability (Whitmarsh and O’Neill fidence in the continuity of in-groups, and a sense of 2010, Jaspal et al 2014, Unsworth and Fielding 2014, self-efficacy (belief in capacity to exert control), dis- Sapiains et al 2016). Emerging research suggests that tinctiveness, and self-esteem (sense of worth) (Break- social identity, and its sub-dimensions of distinct- well 2015). It is a key factor in individual behaviour iveness, continuity, self-esteem, and self-efficacy, can as people seek to act in ways that are consistent with also affect climate change adaptation (Frank et al the norms of their in-groups. 2011, Fresque-Baxter and Armitage 2012, Quinn et al People are aware of and sensitive to threats to 2015, Wernersson 2018, Ruoso 2019). We there- their identity, which can arise from changes in social fore posit three key mechanisms through which or environmental circumstances, or through labelling identity formation and climate adaptation inter- by others. Faced with such threats, individuals can act. Specifically, social identities can be an object- respond in several ways, including by changing their ive of adaptation, they can change in response to cli- behaviour, adapting their identity, denying the exist- mate change information, and they can constrain or ence of the threat, or accepting the existence of a enable adaptive action. The dimensions of relation- threat but not otherwise changing their identity or ships between identity and adaptation are outlined in behaviour (Breakwell 2010, Jaspal et al 2014). table 1. © 2021 The Author(s). Published by IOP Publishing Ltd Environ. Res. Lett. 16 (2021) 124029 J Barnett et al Table 1. Critical issues on the relationships between identity and adaptation and relevant theoretical approaches. Identity is the emotionally significant self-image of an individual that is derived from their membership of in-groups. Research question Theoretical proposition How does climate change threaten Identities may be threatened by: potential or direct experiences of climate identities? impacts, or climate change policies, which put at risk the continuity or distinctiveness of in-groups, and senses of self-esteem and self-efficacy. How do identities respond to climate Identities may respond by: denying the existence of climate change threats; threats? accepting the need for behavioural and policy change; transformation through changes to in-group and/or self-images. Maintaining and defending identity can be an but also in response to the discourses of vulnerability objective of adaptation, for example among Indigen- and adaptation that redefine the positions of subjects ous groups who are struggling to hold tight to place- and shape their entitlements to resources (Eriksen based and long-lived cultures that distinguish them et al 2015, Nightingale 2017). from Western and settler cultures (Frank et al 2011, Identities are further implicated in enabling and Rotarangi and Stephenson 2014, Eakin et al 2019). constraining adaptation. Adaptation policies and In cases where communities are tied to specific local- practices receive greater support when climate change ities, social constructions of place, or place identity, is portrayed as a threat to issues that are import- include the identity of people that belong to them ant for identity and when information about cli- and so place identity has a strong influence on iden- mate risk and responses is exchanged between groups tity (Adger et al 2011). Nevertheless, social identit- with similar identities (Frank et al 2011, Sapiains ies are not necessarily based on place, identities are et al 2016, Eakin et al 2019). By contrast, adapt- intersectional in that they arise in response to mul- ation policies and practices that threaten the con- tiple social constructions of difference (such as class, tinuity of Indigenous and local identities are often gender, nationality, and race), and this transpires at strongly resisted (Mortreux and Barnett 2009, Neilsen the collective (in-group) level as well as the individual and Reenberg 2010, Eriksen et al 2015). Similarly, level. dramatic messages of climate induced catastrophe Maintaining identity is also critical to responses threaten people’s desire for continuity, control, and to climate impacts among groups whose occupational self-efficacy, and so are often denied or minim- identity is tied to natural resources and management ised, especially when no information about ameli- practices (Warner et al 2015, Hyland et al 2016), orating behavioural change is available (O’Neill and such as fishers (Coulthard 2009), farmers (Ruoso Nicholson-Cole 2009, McCright and Dunlap 2011, 2019), ranchers (Murphy et al 2017) and pastoralists Jaspal et al 2014). (Wernersson 2018). The observation that experience There is mixed evidence about the effects of of environmental change is a good predictor of adapt- identifying with proximate and distant groups on ive behaviours may be explained by understanding support for adaptation policies and practices. Some those experiences as threats to identity that stimulate studies have shown how a strong place identity can adaptive responses (Demski et al 2017). inhibit recognition of local environmental changes, There is some evidence that identities are and erode the legitimacy of adaptation at local scales responding to exogenous framings of in-groups as (Bonaiuto et al 2002, Quinn et al 2019). Other stud- being more or less vulnerable to climate change ies have highlighted that sharing a sense of common (table 1). For example, people from low-lying islands cause with distant others who are risk from climate framed as future climate migrants have shifted change can stimulate changes in individual beha- towards understandings of self that are more fixed in viours and a sense of solidarity (Fresque-Baxter and place or towards identities that are oriented towards Armitage 2012, Devine-Wright et al 2015, Adger et al transnational mobility (Farbotko et al 2016). The 2017). identity of places and the people tied to them may also Understanding how climate change affects iden- be changing in response to climate impacts (Brown tity, and identity in turn affects climate change et al 2011). Nightingale (2017) shows how adaptation responses is, we suggest, a critical knowledge fron- policy intersects with identity politics in Nepal, with tier, and there is a strong call for more empirical political framings of diverse groups as being similarly research to further understanding of these connec- vulnerable mapping onto the positions of political tions (Fresque-Baxter and Armitage 2012, Adger et al parties impeding recognition of the particular needs 2013, Eakin et al 2019). Table 1 therefore outlines of local actors. Thus, because identity is intersec- the key research questions and associated theoretical tional, the response of identities to climate change propositions that help guide this contribution as well is shaped by more than climate change’s materiality, as further research. 2 Environ. Res. Lett. 16 (2021) 124029 J Barnett et al 2. Identity and adaptation in two not been inundated in their homes. Interview ques- vulnerable communities tions focused on residents’ relationships to the places they live and visit, the social groups they engage with, We provide answers to the research questions in and how social and place relationships are affected table 1 by synthesising findings from two detailed by flooding. Alongside the interviews, eight focus datasets about the responses of individuals to imme- groups (FG) were held with residents (n = 49) in diate risks from flooding and subsequent policy at-risk communities in March and April 2013. Ques- action in Somerset county (UK), and to long-term tions in the FGs explored residents’ relationships to changes in sea-level and associated policy responses in the places they live, their experiences with flooding Gippsland East (Australia). As explained below, these and how sea-level rise may affect their relationships studies were conducted independently, but the stud- to these places and the people who live in them (for ies have common characteristics that make synthesis more details about the methods see Graham et al across them meaningful. Both studies were conducted 2018). by social scientists who have a shared understanding For the analysis here, interview transcripts were of the social dimensions of climate change adaptation analysed thematically using NVivo qualitative data (e.g. Adger et al 2013, 2017, Quinn et al 2015, Graham analysis software. Two authors coded both Eng- et al 2018), and both used a similar methodology (see lish and Australian datasets. The data were analysed below). Further, in both places, flooding is the prin- under a pre-determined coding framework based cipal hazard, both are rural communities, and climate on the orienting concepts (Layder 2013) that con- change is the overarching discursive and governance stitute identity, as defined above, i.e. self-efficacy, frame through which flooding has been understood. self-esteem, distinctiveness and continuity. Data were We do not claim that these results can be generalised coded according to whether it reflected in-group or across climate risks in all locations, not least because out-group identity (groups that the respondent does both studies were of communities in high-income not identify with), and whether it captured how iden- countries. Nevertheless, our comparative synthesis of tities changed with flooding and adaptation pro- in-depth interview and focus group data from these cesses. The direct quotes reported are primarily selec- two studies enables identification of the common and ted to be as diverse as possible to show the range of distinct elements of identity that are threatened across ways identities were expressed by residents and stake- these different cases, and the responses of varied iden- holders. tities to different climate threats. In Somerset, flood-affected residents were inter- 2.1. Floods and identity in Somerset viewed in September–October 2014 (6 to 8 months Somerset has a long history of living with water. The after the floods) and in April–May 2015. In the 1st name derives from Old English meaning land of sum- round, 35 residents were interviewed (P1), and a sub- mer lakes; low lying parts of Somerset have been set of 25 residents took part in the 2nd round (P2). drained and reclaimed from seasonal wetlands and Interviews were conducted with residents who had lakes over centuries. Even with this drainage, the long been flooded in their homes directly, and those liv- association with flooding in the area is documented ing in affected villages but who had not been inund- following draining from 1400 and references to flood- ated in their homes. Interview questions focused on ing from the 1700s (McEwen et al 2014). This his- residents’ relationships with the place where they tory and the landscape associated with wetland areas live, and how social and place relationships were has led to residents developing a sense of place that affected by flooding. Stakeholders with a professional reflects living with water (McEwen et al 2014). The interest in flood risk management were also inter- present population in Somerset is older than the UK viewed (n = 52) (for more details see Butler et al national average, and many respondents in the ana- 2018). lysis here referred to retirement plans in the area, In Gippsland East, two sets of face-to-face semi- or relocation from urban areas. The perceived rural structured interviews were conducted. Between escape alongside the topography forms part of a dis- November 2010 and March 2011, interviews were tinct identity of place. conducted with 30 key stakeholders with an interest in Living with localised flooding is part of the land- adaptation to sea-level rise, including policy makers, scape, culture and history of lowland Somerset, with members of key community groups, and local gov- parts of agricultural land commonly being inundated ernment representatives. The key stakeholder inter- in winter. However, the nature (flooding of homes), views included questions about climate change risks duration and spatial extent of the floods in winter of concern, with a focus on understanding people 2013/14 marked these floods as a new experience for and places vulnerable to sea-level rise. In April–May locals. Unlike previous flooding in the area, these 2012, interviews (I) were conducted with 42 coastal extensive and catastrophic floods were the subject of residents who had been flooded in their homes dir- nation-wide media reporting, which has entangled ectly, and those living in affected villages but who had residents in local, national and global discussions of 3 Environ. Res. Lett. 16 (2021) 124029 J Barnett et al climate change risks and responses (Demski et al history, self-efficacy, and pride in the communities 2017). involved in the study. Interviews in Somerset suggest that the floods Part of this identity involves controlling and liv- had two principal effects on identities. First, many ing with environmental perturbations, particularly respondents suggested that the floods undermined flooding (but also fire). Indeed, many towns around their confidence in the continuity of their local com- the Gippsland Lakes are prone to coastal and riverine munities. One respondent explained that flooding is flooding and these can be most disruptive. The most ‘like this big black cloud that hangs over the whole recent disruptive flooding occurred in 2007, with village, the whole time. I just do not see a way out some minor flooding in 2012. Other minor coastal of that really’ (I5 P2, Somerset). Second, the response flooding from king tides is a semi-regular occurrence. of emergency management agencies during and after Disruptive flooding is expected to become more fre- the floods was a threat to the sense of self-efficacy quent with climate change as sea levels continue necessary for a positive identity: ‘one of the things to rise (DCC 2009). Almost all local communities that engenders fear if you like, in people and stress are socially disadvantaged, and the region is stig- and all the other things, is not having any informa- matised for being both flood prone and in decline, tion or being condescended to by the authorities’ (I12 which conflicts with local people’s sense of pride and P1, Somerset). Fears over the loss of continuity in and efficacy. control over their local communities and places of Between 2010 and 2012 the town of Lakes dwelling resulted in receptiveness to adaptation pro- Entrance became a test case for planning for cli- cesses that were subsequently proposed and enacted, mate change after a state planning tribunal found including residents becoming actively involved in that the local government had failed to take account developing adaptative actions at different scales. of sea-level rise in its decisions, and restrictions on The evolution of identities in Somerset in development were then imposed (Hurlimann et al response to flooding was two-fold. First, while the 2014). Amid local concerns about economic and pop- floods did not transform identities, they contributed ulation decline, these adaptation decisions can be to new bases for identity formation, i.e. people began seen as having undermined people’s self-efficacy, and identifying with others in their communities accord- their confidence in the continuity of their local in- ing to whether or not they had been flooded: ‘even groups. Policy makers ‘came in with a baseball bat… people a couple of doors down who were not flooded, They just destroyed everyone’s confidence’ (I1, Lakes they did not have much of a clue, really…[so] it was Entrance). The planning decisions also undermined nice to be able to go and talk flooding with people’ self-esteem of the local community: ‘[they] put a (I22 P1, Somerset). Second, respondents expressed really negative spin on the town’ (I1, Lakes Entrance) new bases of identification with others outside of and ‘the doubts about rising water levels, which are their communities in similar circumstances: ‘we felt affecting planning decisions, have stopped any pro- like refugees, you could empathise what refugees were spect of anybody spending any money upgrading the like and what the situation’s like for them’ (I2 P1, place’ (I2, Lakes Entrance). Similar effects on in- Somerset). group identities were observed in the other com- Residents accepted the need for adaptation, which munities, where planning decisions were described as was enabled in part by these processes of identifica- ‘destroying us’ (FG1, Seaspray), ‘unsettling for every- tion with distant others at risk of flooding, including one in the community’ (I2, Port Albert), where res- with those that were taking adaptive action: ‘why are idents feel they have been ‘blacklisted’ (I2, McLough- not we engaging more with the Dutch who historic- lins Beach) and cannot move on in their life ‘because ally helped drain the land here [and are now] looking of everything that’s been publically said’ (I1, Manns at more radical solutions?’ (I4 P1, Somerset). Beach). Yet the decisions did not undermine self-efficacy. A principal response to the threat to local continuity 2.2. Floods and identity in Gippsland East in all five towns was the construction of narratives of The research here reveals core characteristics of com- resilience to flooding. For example, respondents said munity identity in the study areas in Gippsland East. ‘it was happening when our grandfathers were here… Notwithstanding quite distinct social positions and it is not a new phenomenon’ (I3, Lakes Entrance) associated identities within each community (see and ‘if I get flooded out, so be it… you let it flood… Graham et al 2018), across the five towns involved I am not stressed about the floods’. (I1, McLough- in the research there was shared sense of people and lins Beach). Others stressed the importance of flood- their ancestors having made these communities dur- ing to the local environment, and normalized it, say- ing the settler period through hard work, and that ing ‘I find floods very interesting, quietly entertaining that work had produced peaceful and amenable social events’ (I5, Lakes Entrance), and ‘I love the floods… and natural environments (Fincher et al 2014, 2015). it just brings all this beautiful fresh water down into Thus there was very much a sense of shared colonial the lakes’ (FG3, Lakes Entrance). 4 Environ. Res. Lett. 16 (2021) 124029 J Barnett et al Table 2. Summary of identity responses to climate change in Somerset and Gippsland East. Identity is the emotionally significant self-image of an individual which is derived from their membership of in-groups. Research question Evidence from cases How does climate change In Somerset the magnitude of flooding threatened the community’s confidence threaten identities? in its ongoing continuity, and the disaster response and recovery processes threated the community’s self-esteem and self-efficacy. The distinction between those who were flooded and those were not also created new bases of distinctiveness and solidarity with local and distant others. In Gippsland East the imposition of planning restrictions to manage flood risk threatened the community’s confidence in its continuity and its sense of self-esteem. How do identities respond to In Somerset identities evolved to include flood risk as both part of the local climate threats? identity within the community and increasingly with distant others, and to accept that adaptation is necessary. There was little evidence of significant change in identities. In Gippsland East local identities related to resilience were challenged and this resulted in the rejection of warnings of climate change risks, with locals asserting their capacity (self-efficacy) to adapt, and identifying with distant others who share flood risks but not planning responses to those risks. There is little evidence of identities evolving to accept the need for change. Another response of people was to identify with Gippsland East). The desire to maintain in-group other groups in Victoria similarly at risk but not sub- continuity thus appears to be key to understand- ject to planning restrictions. For example, respond- ing community responses to adaptation imperatives, ents referred to a wealthy Melbourne suburb saying which were somewhat accommodating in Somerset in that ‘the risks that face towns like Lakes Entrance, are response to the experience of flooding, and somewhat no different to the risks that face St Kilda esplanade’ resistant in Gippsland East in response to government (KS1, Lakes Entrance). Through these logics most directives. respondents effectively denied the threat of flooding Second, identities change in response to climate to the continuity of communities, and in so doing change information. In Somerset there is a long rejected the need for adaptation: ‘we do not need all association with flooding but the 2013/14 experi- this crap that they sit there and put on us. They do ence exceeded and surpassed previous experiences not live here. They do not see what is going on here. and expectations. The increased discussion of climate It does not flood. It does not do all these things. It is change, and exchanges with agencies on future adapt- just a normal place’ (FG1, Port Albert). ation plans framed by climate change projections re- Table 2 summarises how climate change impacts situated the perception of living with water in Somer- and adaptation processes can both threaten identities set. In particular, respondents frequently mentioned and cause them to evolve and adapt across these dif- other populations experiencing the impact of climate ferent locations. As we explain below, these findings change, including displaced people elsewhere, and the have important implications for adapting to climate work of Dutch engineers was mentioned in discussion change. of responses. This identification with distant others was used to frame the respondent’s own experience, 3. Discussion and positioned the residents themselves withing a wider geopolitical landscape. In Gippsland East, gov- The research here provides evidence for three key ernment attempts to facilitate adaptation led to a rein- mechanisms through which identity formation and forcement of the existing colonial identity in as much climate adaptation interact, namely that: social iden- as historical associations and self-efficacy and self- tities can be an objective of adaptation, they can esteem were strongly reasserted as reasons to deny change in response to climate change information, that flooding was a problem and so, in turn, to res- and they can constrain or enable adaptive action. ist the idea that adaptation interventions were neces- These mechanisms are evident in the specific cases sary. This strong reassertion of communities being in of flood risk and externally-imposed government control, and good places to live, was also stimulated responses to future risks. by the stigmatisation of these communities as being First, in both Somerset and Gippsland East cases in decline. identities are explicitly an object of adaptation. In Third, the research here shows how identities can both cases the continuity of in-groups, in-place, enable or constrain adaptation. The experience in are threatened, by flooding (in Somerset), and by Somerset suggests that elements of identity tied to government responses to anticpated amplified flood belonging to and confidence in the local community risk due to climate change (in both Somerset and can enable adaptation. When people observe climate 5 Environ. Res. Lett. 16 (2021) 124029 J Barnett et al threats to their in-group they appear more likely to also help explain enablers and barriers of adaptation accept the need for adaptation to sustain the con- policies and plans. tinuity of their communities. This implies that inter- ventions for adaptation can be enabled after extreme 4. Conclusion events, and through engagement processes that work with the self-efficacy and self-esteem of communities. Identity can be harnessed to support the social accept- They may also be enhanced by building a network that ability of adaptation policies and plans. Conversely, enhances solidarity among similarly adapting com- efforts to initiate adaptation are likely to face chal- munities, through which knowledge and empathy can lenges of legitimacy, to lack popular support, and be shared. to be resisted if they threaten social identities. Yet The experience in Gippsland East suggests that the same interventions could be highly effective in identity can also present challenges for adaptation. cases where maintaining social identity is recognised When adaptation policies are not calibrated with as a goal, and where policies enhance self-esteem and local acceptance of climate change, communities may develop their sense of self-efficacy. perceive such policies as threats to their continuity. Desire for continuity and damage to self-esteem leads Data availability statement to denial of the existence of climate risks, in part by stressing their resilience and by downplaying the dis- All data that support the findings of this study are tinctiveness of their circumstances. Adaptation pro- included within the article (and any supplementary cesses must recognise local identities and experiences files). and tolerances of risk, and work with communities to find solutions that provide confidence in continuity Acknowledgments and which build on senses of self-efficacy. Our study has demonstrated the value of under- This research was conducted with the support standing climate change adaptation though a social of an Australian Research Council Linkage Grant identity lens. Such a lens includes analysis of LP100100586 and later analysis with the support of shared place identies—which ours and other stud- ARC FL180100040; the National Institute for Health ies show are important for climate change adapt- Research Health Protection Research Unit in Envir- ation (Cunsolo Willox et al 2012, Geoghegan and onmental Change and Health; the UK Economic and Leyson 2012)—but also draws attention to the way Social Research Council (Grant ES/M006867/1); the multiple constructions of social difference combine Wellcome Trust under the Our Planet Our Health to create forms of identity that enable or impede programme (Grant 216014/Z/19/Z), and a Brit- adaptation practices (e.g. Osborne 2015). Know- ish Academy Visiting Fellowship to the University ledge of how social identities are at risk from climate of Exeter VF1\103386. We acknowledge the finan- change and from climate change responses is key to cial support from the Spanish Ministry of Science, the broader endeavour of understanding the way cli- Innovation and Universities, through the “María de mate change affects the human experience, because Maeztu” program for Units of Excellence (MDM- they are central to many psychosocial phenomena, 2015-0552). We also appreciate the time that the including well being (Walker-Springett et al 2017), respondents took to participate in the interviews and and mental health (Cunsolo and Elllis 2018). They are focus groups. also a key motivator for of adaptive behaviours and support for or opposition to adaptation policies and ORCID iDs programmes, and so a social identity lens can help advance knowledge of barriers and enablers to adapt- Jon Barnett  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-0862- ation, particularly at the community level (Ensor 0808 and Berger 2009). Finally, mapping social identities Sonia Graham  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4195- can help explain degrees of cooperation within and 4559 between communities who may be expected to act Tara Quinn  https://orcid.org/0000-0002-5375- collectively because they share common climate risks, 6085 but who struggle to do so for reasons of socially con- W Neil Adger  https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4244- structed differences based on religion, race, or class; 2854 and conversely who may be amenable to coopera- Catherine Butler  https://orcid.org/0000-0001- tion and collective action on climate change despite 7589-9565 such social differences because they share a concern over climate change (Ide and Fröhlich 2015, Slevin References et al 2022). 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