People in deprived areas likely to be most affected by climate change
Around 140,000 people from more deprived communities in Greater Glasgow and Clyde may face heat hazards and flooding
People living in the most deprived areas of the country are likely to be the most affected by climate change - if nothing is done to tackle it.
It comes after the UN climate report yesterday claimed more severe weather events like flooding are likely to occur if things continue the way they are just now.
New figures from Climate Ready Clyde show in the Greater Glasgow area, around 140,000 people from more deprived communities may face heat hazards and flooding.
Fraser Stewart, researcher at Strathclyde University specialising in the impact of climate change on low income communities, said: "140,000 of the lowest income households are substantially more likely to experience the adverse health impacts associated with extreme temperatures caused by climate change, due to living in poorer quality housing - whilst also being most at risk of things like flooding as well.
"These are people who can't easily retrofit their homes or just up sticks and leave.
"So it means they're forced to disproportionately bare those impacts along with things like higher energy costs from trying to heat a draughty house as well."
He says the problem lies with not including people from lower-income households in conversations about how we tackle climate change.
He said: "We rarely listen to or represent folk in deprived or working class communities on climate issues, which means they're the ones that are not only baring the harshest impact, they're also the people who are finding themselves increasingly forgotten and left behind.
"We talk so much about these dead expensive personal lifestyle changes as if that's the only way to beat climate change.
"That's a very exclusionary conversation for anyone without that kind of money, which, let's face it - is probably most people."
Fraser says making public transport accessible and an easy choice for everyone is where we can make the most impact.
He said: "Public transport is a much bigger feature of every day life.
"This is what we need to be thinking about more in general - building a clean and expansive public transport system now that not only makes people across the board think twice about jumping in the car, but that better serves those communities to connect poorly served areas and creates new employment opportunities.
"Public transport in Scotland sadly isn't quite up to scratch - it's still really inefficient and still really expensive here in comparison to most places around Europe.
"The middle classes cannot buy us all out of the climate crisis.
"We need proper policy and funding incentives along with substantial investment in infrastructure - to make those choices the easiest and the most beneficial for people across the board."
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