Environmental Elites and the Climate Divide
Who gets to adapt to climate change—and who gets left behind?
As climate impacts intensify, adaptation is often framed as a technical challenge: stronger infrastructure, smarter planning, better data. But beneath those solutions lies a deeper, less examined reality—adaptation follows privilege.
In Environmental Elites and the Climate Divide, Robert W. Collin reveals how wealth, race, political power, and institutional access shape who is protected from climate impacts and who is not. While affluent communities rebound, retrofit, and future-proof, blue-collar and marginalized communities are more likely to experience incomplete recovery, repeated losses, and long-term decline.
Drawing on environmental law, planning, public policy, and real-world case studies, this book exposes how well-intentioned climate strategies can reinforce inequality—and why resilience alone is no longer enough.
Collin introduces flourishing as a more just and forward-looking framework for climate adaptation—one that moves beyond survival and recovery toward equity, stability, and opportunity. The book challenges policymakers, planners, advocates, and engaged citizens to rethink adaptation not as a privilege for the few, but as a shared societal responsibility.
This is not a book about blaming elites.It is a book about recognizing structural advantage—and redesigning systems so adaptation works for everyone.
Ideal for readers interested in:
- Climate justice and environmental equity
- Urban planning and public policy
- Environmental law and governance
- Climate adaptation, resilience, and recovery
- Social inequality in climate impacts
Environmental Elites and the Climate Divide is a clear, provocative, and deeply researched call to confront the uncomfortable truths behind climate protection—and to chart a fairer path forward
