ECONOMIC FOUNDATIONS OF SOCIAL SECURITY UNDER GLOBAL THREATS OF CLIMATE CHANGE IN WORLD REGIONS WITH EXTREME THRESHOLD CONDITIONS

Abstract

The article substantiates the need to analyse climate change not only as an environmental challenge but also as a factor transforming the economic foundations of social security. The relevance of the topic is determined by the growing impact of climate-related shocks on household income, employment, housing, food security, health, infrastructure, access to public services and the financial capacity of social protection systems. Particular attention is paid to world regions with extreme or threshold climate conditions, including Arctic and sub-Arctic territories, coastal areas, islands, arid and semi-arid regions, mountainous territories and regions dependent on a narrow range of natural resources. In such areas, relatively small changes in temperature, humidity, precipitation patterns, sea level, or water availability can quickly become social and economic risks. The article uses the case of Alaska to demonstrate how warming, thawing permafrost, changing wildlife migration, disruption of traditional livelihoods, transport difficulties, food import dependence and infrastructure vulnerability generate new demands for social security. The methodological approach combines analysis of the scientific literature, synthesis of climate-related socio-economic risks, and interpretation of social security mechanisms through the lens of prevention, compensation, and adaptation. The study also introduces the Ukrainian context, where climate risks are compounded by the consequences of war, including destruction of housing, energy and transport infrastructure, displacement of people, damage to agricultural land and growing needs for recovery and reconstruction. The article argues that social security in the context of climate change should not be limited to post-crisis cash transfers. It should also include employment support, retraining, housing assistance, energy and food support, social services, insurance mechanisms, local resilience programmes, digital registries, early identification of vulnerability and counselling on available rights and benefits. The practical significance of the article lies in the proposed interpretation of adaptive social security as a component of economic, social and humanitarian resilience. Such an approach is important for Ukraine, especially in frontline, agricultural, water-stressed and infrastructure-vulnerable communities. The article concludes that climate change requires a transition from a passive compensation model of social protection to a proactive model aimed at reducing vulnerability, preserving human potential and supporting a just and resilient recovery.