Growth and adaptation to climate change

Topic lead: Sam Fankhauser

This research topic allows us to understand better the connections between economic growth and resilience to climate change, combining work on the macro-scale with case studies of economy-wide relevance.

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The initial focus of the research topic will be on the following issues:

• The link between urban development and the magnitude of climate shocks, using the Asian megacities of the Pacific coast as a case study;
• The substitutability of development and adaptation, including an empirical evaluation of development-related and adaptation-related determinants of vulnerability to climate;
• The climate finance challenge implied by the order of magnitude of adaptation costs from the point of view of the adapters. The research will identify the economic agents in Latin American countries, including farmers and water utilities, who will bear the cost of adaptation and will describe their ability to raise money to finance adaptation. The research will examine the implications for climate finance and policy.