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

38 Pages Posted: 10 Nov 2011 Last revised: 12 May 2013

See all articles by Francesco Bosello

Francesco Bosello

University of Milan - Department of Economics, Business and Statistics; CMCC - Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici

Carlo Carraro

Ca' Foscari University of Venice; CMCC - Euro Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change (Climate Policy Division); IPCC; Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR); CESifo (Center for Economic Studies and Ifo Institute); Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels; Green Growth Knowledge Platform

Enrica De Cian

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM); CMCC - Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici

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Date Written: November 10, 2011

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

JEL Classification: Q54, Q56, Q43

Suggested Citation

Bosello, Francesco and Carraro, Carlo and De Cian, Enrica, Adaptation Can Help Mitigation: An Integrated Approach to Post-2012 Climate Policy (November 10, 2011). FEEM Working Paper No. 69.2011, CMCC Research Paper No. 112, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1957537 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1957537

Francesco Bosello

University of Milan - Department of Economics, Business and Statistics

Via Festa del Perdono, 7
Milan, 20122
Italy

CMCC - Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici

via Augusto Imperatore, 16
Lecce, I-73100
Italy

Carlo Carraro (Contact Author)

Ca' Foscari University of Venice ( email )

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Venice, 30121
Italy
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HOME PAGE: http://www.carlocarraro.org/

CMCC - Euro Mediterranean Centre for Climate Change (Climate Policy Division) ( email )

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Centre for Economic Policy Research (CEPR)

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Centre for European Policy Studies, Brussels

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Green Growth Knowledge Platform ( email )

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HOME PAGE: http://www.greengrowthknowledge.org/

Enrica De Cian

Fondazione Eni Enrico Mattei (FEEM) ( email )

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Venice, 30122
Italy

CMCC - Centro Euro-Mediterraneo sui Cambiamenti Climatici ( email )

via Augusto Imperatore, 16
Lecce, I-73100
Italy

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