Technological inclusion, climate risk, adaptation, and inclusivity innovations

The field of climate adaptation is rapidly evolving to address the persistent disparities in who faces climate risks and who can effectively respond. As climate hazards intensify, exposure and adaptive capacity remain unequally distributed across geographies, genders, social groups, and livelihoods. Digital technologies such as remote sensing, climate information systems, distributed energy, and artificial intelligence are transforming the landscape, influencing access to warnings, finance, and adaptation opportunities. However, if not designed for inclusivity, these technologies risk perpetuating or even deepening inequity. This Research Topic advances the paradigm of “technology as inclusion,” seeking insights on innovations that are created, governed, and evaluated for equity, accessibility, and cultural relevance. We encourage contributions reflecting diverse global contexts including rapidly urbanizing regions, informal settlements, arid and coastal zones, small islands, and resource constrained or conflict-affected areas focusing on solutions that broaden participation and strengthen resilience for all.The aim of this Research Topic is to catalyse solutions that make technology an engine for inclusive, sustainable, and just climate adaptation. We invite submissions that provide cutting-edge evidence, novel theory, innovative methods, and scalable practices advancing technological inclusion across the climate risk adaptation continuum. Relevant areas include, but are not limited to, inclusive early warning and last-mile communication, equitable climate risk analytics, participatory mapping, community centered data creation, and citizen science. Topics such as climate-smart systems for health, food, and infrastructure, resilient and affordable housing, inclusive cooling and heat-health innovations; and climate mobility and displacement tools are also encouraged. We particularly value work that bridges technical achievements with key social outcomes: trust, usability, access barriers, gender and disability inclusion, affordability, institutional capacity, and the political economy of adaptation. This Research Topic welcomes diverse perspectives and contexts to ensure technologies genuinely support equitable climate resilience for all.This Research Topic welcomes contributions that address key dimensions of technological inclusion across the climate risk–adaptation continuum. We encourage manuscripts that speak to themes such as:Inclusive early warning systems and last-mile communicationEquitable climate risk analytics and decision supportCommunity centered data co-production, participatory mapping, and citizen scienceClimate-smart health, food, water, housing, and infrastructure technologiesClimate mobility and displacement tools, adaptation finance, and risk transferData governance, ethics, privacy, accountability, and avoidance of maladaptationWe are interested in a wide range of manuscript types, including:Empirical studies (qualitative, quantitative, mixed-methods)Modelling and simulation researchExperimental and implementation-focused studiesComparative case studies, natural experiments, field trialsPolicy evaluations, reproducible datasets, and methodological advancesSubmissions should define inclusion mechanisms, analyze equitable impacts, discuss beneficiaries and risks of exclusion, and describe transparent data/code availability and pathways to scale. Topic editors: Samuel Chukwujindu Nwokolo, Paul Okonkwo, Rita Orji Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/78499/technological-inclusion-climate-risk-adaptation-and-inclusivity-innovations