A Six-Step Model for Disability-Inclusive Emergency Planning

Disabled people are some of those who suffer most in crises but are ignored in planning. Our 6-step model builds justice throughout.

Disabled people are excessively exposed and impacted by climate change, yet we are systematically excluded from the decisions that shape emergency preparedness. The Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland, Sensing Climate from the University of Exeter, and Inclusion Scotland have developed a six-step model to offer a practical, actionable path toward equity, inclusion and justice.

The effects of climate crisis are not equal. As temperatures rise and extreme weather becomes more frequent, the burdens fall heaviest on those already facing disproportionate and avoidable inequalities. Our recent report, produced in partnership with the Environmental Rights Centre for Scotland and Sensing Climate from the University of Exeter, reveals a stark reality: disabled people are consistently overlooked in emergency and climate planning. One participant of our roundtable event captured this devastation simply: the current policy landscape, they said, “assumes we will not survive.” This is an avoidable human catastrophe.

We have seen this pattern before. During the Covid-19 pandemic, disabled people were too often treated as an afterthought, with life-or-death decisions made without our input. The consequences were profound and, in many cases, fatal. When emergency systems are designed without diverse decision makers, or genuine coproduction, they fail the very communities who need them most.

Disabled people understand that the institutions meant to keep us safe often exclude us when it matters most. Our rights are weighed against budgets and time constraints, deprioritised precisely when they should be upheld and advanced. But being made vulnerable by poor policy is not the same as being inherently vulnerable. Our report, “Disability Inclusion in Emergency Planning,” makes this clear. It sets out a practical, evidence-based path forward.

At the heart of the report lies a six-step model for disability-inclusive emergency planning, a framework for building a culture that respects the human right to a healthy environment for everyone, taken from our report.

Proposing a Six-Step Model for Disability-Inclusive Emergency Planning:

1. Know the needs of disabled people: We cannot plan for what we do not understand. This step requires proactive ethical data collection and meaningful engagement with disabled people to understand their specific needs and lived experiences in emergencies.

2. Acknowledge and address existing inequality: Emergency planning cannot be done in a vacuum. It must recognise that disabled people already face systemic discrimination and inequality in health, housing, and employment. These pre-existing vulnerabilities are amplified in a crisis.

3. Develop inclusive governance: Disabled people must be regarded as experts and empowered to become decision makers. This means ensuring we have leadership roles and decision-making power in emergency planning and response structures.

4. Build awareness and capacity of disabled people in emergency planning: Empowering individuals and communities to be at the heart of environmental action means ensuring they have the information and resources to prepare for emergencies themselves.

5. Build awareness and capacity of emergency services: Emergency services and planners must be trained and resourced to understand and meet the needs of disabled people, ensuring their practices are accessible and inclusive.

6. Ensure emergency planning information and resources are accessible: Information is power. All emergency communications, warnings, and resources must be available in accessible formats: from BSL and Easy Read to plain language and digital accessibility.

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