The Real Economic Dimensions of Climate Change

2021 ◽  
pp. 2131001
Author(s):  
Koko Warner ◽  
Zinta Zommers ◽  
Anita Wreford
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Financial Services ◽  
Spatial Dynamics ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Real Economy ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Real ◽  
Additional Information ◽  
Work Related ◽  
Climate Risks

The impacts of COVID-19 and efforts to stimulate recovery from the pandemic have highlighted the need for information about how disasters affect the real economy: temporal and spatial dynamics, cascading risks of disruption to employment, debt, trade, investments, bond markets, and real estate markets, among others. This commentary explores what information on the economic dimensions of climate change is needed to inform decisions about adapting to and effectively averting, minimizing, and addressing climate risks. We review the economic information presented in special reports from the IPCC AR6 cycle (SR1.5, SROCC, and SRCCL). We find that the information presented in these reports expands beyond costs of mitigation options, and potential negative GDP effects of climate impacts to include real economic dimensions in food production and land use (forestry and agriculture), coastal areas and fisheries, among others. This reflects an emerging literature which addresses a wider spectrum of economic and financial aspects relevant to climate change and national and regional priorities. Five emerging areas of work related to climate impacts on the real economy and on financial services provide essential additional information for decisions about efforts at all levels to achieve the objectives of the Paris Agreement and the overall objective of the UNFCCC Convention. Insights from economic analysis of the coronavirus pandemic—a sustained, complex disaster with global consequences across the real economy and financial services—can help highlight useful areas of research and discussion for policy makers considering climate impacts, vulnerabilities, and risks.

Costing the Earth: A Numbers Game or a Moral Imperative?

2013 ◽  
Vol 5 (4) ◽  
pp. 378-380 ◽  
Author(s):  
Gerard Roe
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Regional Climate ◽  
Relative Weight ◽  
Global Scale ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Economic Consequences ◽  
Economic Costs ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Earth ◽  
Moral Arguments

Abstract It is a simple truism that public policy must be guided by an objective analysis of the physical and economic consequences of climate change. It is equally true that policy making is an inherently value-laden endeavor. While these two threads are interconnected, the relative weight given to each depends on the certainty that the technical analyses can deliver. For climate change, the envelope of uncertainty is best understood at the global scale, and there are some well known and formidable challenges to reducing it. This uncertainty must in turn be compounded with much more poorly constrained uncertainties in regional climate, climate impacts, and future economic costs. The case can be made that technical analyses have reached the point of diminishing returns. Should meaningful action on climate change await greater analytical certainty? This paper argues that policy makers should give greater weight to moral arguments, in no small part because that is where the heart of the debate really lies.

scholarly journals Fine-Tuning Climate Resilience in Marine Socio-Ecological Systems: The Need for Accurate Space-Time Representativeness to Identify Relevant Consequences and Responses

2021 ◽  
Vol 7 ◽  
Author(s):  
Romeo Saldívar-Lucio ◽  
Armando Trasviña-Castro ◽  
Narriman Jiddawi ◽  
Ratana Chuenpagdee ◽  
Lars Lindström ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Social Engagement ◽  
Large Scale ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Psychological Distance ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Fine Tuning ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Climate Resilience ◽  
Perceive Risk

Climate change triggers a wide mosaic of regional and local responses, often different to the large-scale variability in magnitude and direction. Because of the psychological connections (cognitive and emotional) with the frequency, intensity and age of a climatic event, people may have the capacity to recognize key variations at lower scales, especially those from which they perceive risk. Yet, the anticipatory actions and social engagement to respond or adapt to climate change are difficult to achieve, mostly when there exists a long psychological distance to climatic phenomena. Research about climate change communication provides clues about the relevance of place-based discussion to gauge risk perception and improve response protocols, their design and prioritization. It argues that strategies and actions required to face climate risks may widely differ depending on the scale and accuracy of the local representations displayed during discussions of climate impacts. This work examines how local attributes (from climate to social) operate and control place-specific risks and priorities, by comparing coastal communities in two locations, Cabo Pulmo, Mexico and Zanzibar, Tanzania, which are subject to different climate dynamics. This paper discusses the need to identify relevant climate risks/responses at the local level and how psycho-social factors (e.g., psychological distance, collective memory, and social engagement) may operate positively for building climate resilience. We also illustrate a workflow to increase and enhance collaboration between researchers and local people by promoting dialogue, participation and narratives that rigorously consider the local knowledge.

scholarly journals Cassava Farmers’ Perception on Climate Change: A Case Study in Van Yen District, Yen Bai Province

2021 ◽  
Vol 3 (3) ◽  
pp. 700-711
Author(s):  
Nguyen Hai Nui ◽  
Vu Thanh Bien ◽  
Nguyen Duc Trung ◽  
Trieu Hong Lua ◽  
Nguyen Tuan Cuong ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Structural Equation ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Partial Least Square ◽  
Least Square ◽  
Mitigation Strategies ◽  
Support Programs ◽  
Independent Variables ◽  
Climate Risks

Situated in the Northern Mountain Region, one of the most climate-vulnerable regions of Vietnam, Yen Bai province is exposed to many climate risks. This study investigated how well Yen Bai farmers were aware of the impacts of the changing climate on production and their livelihoods and how they referred support programs from the central and local governments to make decisions on adaptation and resilience strategies. Data were collected through direct interviews of 488 cassava households in six communes of Van Yen district. Descriptive statistics, One-way ANOVA, and Chi-square test were used to statistically analyze the data. In addition, we employed the Partial Least Square Structural Equation Modelling (PLS-SEM) to study the relationships of three identified independent variables: (i) understanding of support programs/policies; (ii) access to weather information; and (iii) experience of climate risks and impacts, and farmers’ perceptions of climate impacts. Results from the PLS-SEM model showed that farmers with higher positive scores in the three independent variables above had better perceptions of climate change and its possible impacts, from which better adaptation decisions and strategies could be derived. These research findings emphasized the need for improving the understanding of climate change that could impact farmers’ livelihoods, farmers’ access to accurate near-time and medium-term weather forecasts, and thoroughly using local knowledge on climate risks and effective native adaptation measures for better adaptation and mitigation strategies and actions in rural climate-vulnerable communities in Vietnam.

Understanding climate-related risks to infrastructure in Chinese cities, Climate Risk Assessment of Infrastructure Tool

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Maria Sunyer ◽  
Louise Parry ◽  
Oliver Pritchard ◽  
Harriet Obrien ◽  
Astrid Kagan ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Risk Assessment ◽  
Climate Science ◽  
Future Climate ◽  
Climate Risk ◽  
Future Climate Change ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
Infrastructure Systems ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Resilient Infrastructure

<p>Climate resilient infrastructure is essential for the safety, wellbeing, sustainability and economic prosperity of cities. An understanding of current and future climate risks is an essential consideration for the planning, design, delivery and management of new and existing resilient infrastructure systems. While there is a growing number of tools which focus on assessing specific components of climate risk there is a need for tools which help bridge the gap between climate science, resilience practitioners, infrastructure owners and policy makers.</p><p>The Climate Risk Infrastructure Assessment Tool developed within the Climate Science for Service Partnership China (CSSP China) aims to help planners and policy-makers understand how climate change may impact a city’s infrastructure systems. CSSP China seeks to bring together climate practitioners in China and the UK, and to forge links between climate scientists and industry practitioners to develop practical tools that translate the science into valuable insights for policymaking, planning and design. The development of this tools builds on earlier work carried out with the Shanghai Met Service and the British Embassy in Beijing to develop a qualitative tool to guide the assessment of climate risks for infrastructure.</p><p>The tool guides the user through a semi-quantitative climate risk assessment for a section of an infrastructure system. At present it uses ensemble data from global climate models from the Coupled Model Intercomparison Project Phase 5 (CMIP5) to estimate and visualise future climate change projections helping cities understand the current and future likelihood of weather events. The tool then enables cities to assess the overall impact of severe weather on infrastructure by determining its vulnerability and criticality. Risk is estimated as a combination of event likelihood and impact. For key risks, guidance on implementing appropriate adaptation measures is provided to support planners and policy-makers to consider what action is needed.</p>

Strengthening climate-resilience in the Mekong Delta – an application of the Economics of Climate Adaption (ECA) methodology

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arun Rana ◽  
David N. Bresch ◽  
Annette Detken ◽  
Maxime Souvignet
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Local Governments ◽  
Climate Adaptation ◽  
Cost Benefit Analysis ◽  
Mekong Delta ◽  
Cost Benefit ◽  
Evaluation Process ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Adaptation Measures ◽  
Climate Risks

<p>Climate Change has presented an ongoing and eminent threat to various regions, communities and infrastructure worldwide and in-turn increasingly pressuring national and local governments to take action. In the current study we identify and evaluate climate impacts faced by the city of Can Tho in Vietnam and the broader Mekong Delta and appraise preparedness options to manage today’s as well as future climate risk. We first, identify the climate risks in co-operation with various local, national and international stakeholders in the region. This is done on the current and future time scales under Socio-Economic Pathways (SSPs) as suggested in the current iteration of IPCC evaluation process. Based on these development pathways, we apply the Economics of Climate Adaptation (ECA) methodology to quantify the climate risks various sectors of the economy will be facing until 2050 with a focus on flood. Further we assess a range of possible adaption measures - including behavioral, environmental, physical as well as financial measures that can mitigate the identified risks by providing a cost-benefit analysis for each of the adaptation measures as well as for bundles thereof. The ECA methodology has proven to be an established tool to enhance our knowledge on the topic and its application in this specific context will enable stakeholders to strengthen societal resilience in the context of both socio-economic development and climate change.</p>

scholarly journals Impactos y capacidad de adaptación como factores determinantes para priorizar la adaptación agrícola al cambio climático en Europa

2011 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
pp. 59
Author(s):  
Jeremy Schlickenrieder ◽  
Sonia Quiroga ◽  
Agustín Diz ◽  
Ana Iglesias
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Current Knowledge ◽  
Spatial Scales ◽  
Policy Instruments ◽  
Interdisciplinary Approach ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Assessment Tools ◽  
Climate Projections ◽  
Policy Makers ◽  
The Face

<p><span>In the face of likely climate change </span>impacts policy makers at different spatial scales need access to assessment tools that enable informed policy instruments to be designed. Recent scientific advances have facilitated the development of improved climate projections, but it remains to be seen whether these are translated into effective adaptation strategies. This paper uses existing databases on climate impacts on European agriculture and combines them with an assessment of adaptive capacity to develop an interdisciplinary approach for prioritising policies. It proposes a method for identifying relevant policies for different EU countries that are representative of various agroclimatic zones. Our analysis presents a framework for integrating current knowledge of future climate impacts with an understanding of the underlying socio-economic, agricultural and environmental traits that determine a region’s capacity for adapting to climate change.</p>

scholarly journals Informing UK governance of resilience to climate risks: improving the local evidence-base

2020 ◽  
Vol 163 (1) ◽  
pp. 499-520
Author(s):  
Candice Howarth ◽  
Sian Morse-Jones ◽  
Andrew Kythreotis ◽  
Katya Brooks ◽  
Matt Lane
Keyword(s):  
Climate Change ◽  
Decision Making ◽  
Local Level ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Intergovernmental Panel ◽  
Climate Change Risk ◽  
Local Climate ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Local Evidence

AbstractInternational assessments of evidence on climate change (e.g. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC) or national climate change risk assessments (e.g. UK Climate Change Risk Assessment, CCRA) do not offer a sufficiently granular perspective on climate impacts to adequately inform governance of resilience to climate risks at the local level. Using an analysis of UK decision-makers managing and responding to heatwaves and flood risks, this paper argues how more robust local evidence is needed to inform decision-making regarding adaptation options for enhancing local resilience. We identify evidence gaps and issues relating to local climate change impacts, including sources and quality of evidence used, adequacy and accessibility of evidence available, ill-communicated evidence and conflicting or misused evidence. A lack of appreciation regarding how scientific evidence and personal judgement can mutually enhance the quality of decision-making underpins all of these gaps. Additionally, we find that the majority of evidence currently used is reductively based upon socio-economic and physical characteristics of climate risks. We argue that a step change is needed in local climate resilience that moves beyond current physical and socio-economic risk characterisation to a more inclusive co-constitution of social and politically defined climate risks at the local scale that are better aligned with the local impacts felt and needs of stakeholders.

Climate Change Discourse and Adaptation Narrative

2017 ◽  
pp. 6-14
Keyword(s):  
Social Sciences ◽  
Climate Change ◽  
Adaptive Capacity ◽  
Climate Change Adaptation ◽  
Climate Extremes ◽  
Climate Impacts ◽  
Learning Science ◽  
Climate Risks ◽  
Discussion Threads ◽  
Climate Change Community

This chapter defines the dominant climate change discourse and the adaptation narrative linking the latter with mainstream social sciences. As commonly observed, the current discourse on climate change adaptation is rich and dynamic. However, because of the diversity of disciplines engaged in it, the narrative at times would lack coherence as seen in discussion threads on vulnerability, awareness and resilience. The climate change community submits that one's exposure to climate threats, sensitivity to climate extremes and adaptive capacity to climate impacts determine vulnerability to climate risks. Furthermore, the community uses the terms awareness and knowledge interchangeably when the behavioral and learning science traditions make clear distinctions and differentiations between the two. The current discourse also pays emphasis on the words resilience and sustainability and highlights the transdisciplinary nature of each. The authors present their arguments on how these discussion threads should be effectively treated.

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