Adaptation Can Help Mitigation: An Integrated Approach to Post-2012 Climate Policy

Francesco Bosello, Carlo Carraro () and Enrica De Cian ()

No 2011.69, Working Papers from Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei

Abstract: The latest round of international negotiations in Copenhagen led to a set of commitments on emission reductions which are unlikely to stabilise global warming below or around 2°C. As a consequence, in the absence of additional ambitious policy measures, adaptation will be needed to address climate-related damages. What is the role of adaptation in this setting? How is it optimally allocated across regions and time? To address these questions, this paper analyses the optimal mix of adaptation and mitigation expenditures in a cost-effective setting in which countries cooperate to achieve a long-term stabilisation target (550 CO2-eq). It uses an Integrated Assessment Model (AD-WITCH) that describes the relationships between different adaptation modes (reactive and anticipatory), mitigation, and capacity-building to analyse the optimal portfolio of adaptation measures. Results show the optimal intertemporal distribution of climate policy measures is characterised by early investments in mitigation followed by large adaptation expenditures a few decades later. Hence, the possibility to adapt does not justify postponing mitigation, although it reduces its costs. Mitigation and adaptation are thus shown to be complements rather than substitutes.

Keywords: Climate Change Impacts; Mitigation; Adaptation; Integrated Assessment Model (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q43 Q54 Q56 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2011-09
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-ene and nep-env
References: Add references at CitEc
Citations: View citations in EconPapers (3)

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Related works:
Journal Article: Adaptation can help mitigation: an integrated approach to post-2012 climate policy (2013)
Working Paper: Adaptation Can Help Mitigation: An Integrated Approach to Post-2012 Climate Policy (2012)
Working Paper: Adaptation Can Help Mitigation: An Integrated Approach to Post-2012 Climate Policy (2011)
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