Quadro delle minacce, vulnerabilità e rischi in regime dei cambiamenti climatici e scarsità di risorse

This chapter examines the framework of vulnerabilities faced by cities, and the risks connected to higher sea levels and increased coastal flooding and river overflow, along with the related capacity for draining land in the stricken areas and the high degree of impermeability of urban land, as well as difficulties in communication, transport, and isolation of enormous territories and of urban areas in particular – all coming on top of increasingly frequent and persistent episodes of drought, especially in interior areas. The framework is obtained through reference to events occurring during the most recent period, and to possible scenarios that, with average temperatures rising by 2°C (the limit set by the Paris Conference), might come to pass by 2100 due to the damage caused by coastal erosion as well as to dwellings – especially for the populations that are the most impoverished and in the weakest segments (children, the elderly, the disabled) –, to economic activities, and to infrastructure, with the resulting loss of human life.