Cost-effectiveness of adaptation options within the Integrated Assessment Platform Climate change integrated assessment methodology for cross-sectoral adaptation and vulnerability in Europe For further information contact Rob Tinch ( or Michalis Skourtos ( or visit the project website ( Funded under the European Commission Seventh Framework Programme Contract Number:
Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe Cost-effectiveness Options for adaptation and mitigation have: – Different costs to carry out; – Different direct effects; – Different incidental / cross-sectoral effects. Mitigation: clear unit of account: – compare options on € per tonne of CO2e. Adaptation: no similar unit: – challenge to compare options within and especially between sectors.
Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe Adaptation in CLIMSAVE Adaptation modelled via sliders: – each slider represents combined effects of multiple possible measures; – options from stakeholder consultation and literature evidence; – mix of ‘hard’ engineering options and ‘soft’ behavioural options.
Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe Adaptation option features to identify Need to summarise key aspects of adaptation options: – Costs to implement the option; – Effectiveness/potential to influence slider; – Uncertainty about costs/effectiveness; – Impacts on other sectors; – Capital requirements / limiting factors. Need information at the scale of the Integrated Assessment Platform: – Geographical: Europe or Scotland – Social/technical: as important parts of adaptation policy
Limiting capital for the implementation and efficacy of a measure (from dark green for very high capital availability to red for very low) Qualitative assessment of the cost of implementation of a measure across a sector Qualitative assessment of the potential contribution the measure could make to overall effective adaptation in a sector Cost-effectiveness screen
Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe Information sources Limited research in this area Database of adaptation cost studies Stakeholder consultation on options and effectiveness Expert judgement: – Sectoral expertise on costs and effects; – Knowledge of how sliders interact with Integrated Assessment Platform; – CrossAdapt tool for cross-sectoral impacts.
Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe Database of adaptation costs Extensive database developed for CLIMSAVE: – hundreds of published studies; – global scope; – assessment of variability in costs. Informs qualitative assessments at the scale of the Integrated Assessment Platform. Future resource for deeper quantitative analysis of specific local options.
Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe Development of ‘soft’ options Stakeholder workshops: – long lists of adaptation options produced by stakeholders for each of the CLIMSAVE socio-economic scenarios; – adaptation options were scenario-dependent; – estimated capital levels for each scenario; – limiting capitals for adaptation options. Refined via expert judgement: – linking options to Integrated Assessment Platform sliders; – qualitative classification of costs, effectiveness and uncertainty.
Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe CrossAdapt Analytical tool for eliciting expert views on cross-sectoral impacts: – direction of impact (positive/negative); – intensity of impact on secondary sectors (expressed as proportion of option cost). Varying divergence of views: – classification of uncertainty/ambiguity. Useful for qualitative understanding of cross-sectoral impacts.
Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe CrossAdapt
Climate Change Integrated Methodology for Cross-Sectoral Adaptation and Vulnerability in Europe Conclusions Costs, effects, cost/effect uncertainty, cross-sectoral impacts: – Estimated in qualitative terms; – Monetary detail impossible at the scale of the IA Platform; – Functions of local physical, social, governance and economic conditions. Platform aid to strategic thinking about generic costs/effects of adaptation strategy: ‒Specific projects/policies require further analysis.