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Can adaptation and mitigation be complements?

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  • Alan Ingham

  • Jie Ma

  • Alistair Ulph

Abstract

It is often claimed that mitigation of greenhouse gases and adaptation to climate change are complementary strategies. If this means that it will usually be optimal to use both mitigation and adaptation to deal with climate change; and that a perceived increase in the damages caused by climate change should require an increase in both mitigation and adaptation, then simple economic analysis would support such an interpretation. However, complementarity has a more technical meaning in economics, which implies if the costs of mitigation fell, then the optimal response would be to increase the level of both mitigation and adaptation. We develop a range of economic models to explore the relationship between mitigation and adaptation; and show that in general adaptation and mitigation will be substitutes. We also find that it is possible for complementarity to occur in the special case where adaptation costs depend on the amount of mitigation. Copyright Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013

Suggested Citation

  • Alan Ingham & Jie Ma & Alistair Ulph, 2013. "Can adaptation and mitigation be complements?," Climatic Change, Springer, vol. 120(1), pages 39-53, September.
    • Handle: RePEc:spr:climat:v:120:y:2013:i:1:p:39-53
    DOI: 10.1007/s10584-013-0815-3
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    Cited by:

    1. Hiroaki Sakamoto & Masako Ikefuji & Jan R. Magnus, 2020. "Adaptation for Mitigation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 75(3), pages 457-484, March.
    2. Catalano, Michele & Forni, Lorenzo & Pezzolla, Emilia, 2020. "Climate-change adaptation: The role of fiscal policy," Resource and Energy Economics, Elsevier, vol. 59(C).
    3. Francesco Furini & Francesco Bosello, 2021. "Accounting for adaptation and its effectiveness in International Environmental Agreements," Environmental Economics and Policy Studies, Springer;Society for Environmental Economics and Policy Studies - SEEPS, vol. 23(2), pages 467-493, April.
    4. Jianhong Mu & Anne Wein & Bruce McCarl, 2015. "Land use and management change under climate change adaptation and mitigation strategies: a U.S. case study," Mitigation and Adaptation Strategies for Global Change, Springer, vol. 20(7), pages 1041-1054, October.
    5. Martin Farnham & Peter Kennedy, 2015. "Adapting to Climate Change: Equilibrium Welfare Implications for Large and Small Economies," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 61(3), pages 345-363, July.
    6. Louis-Gaëtan Giraudet & Céline Guivarch, 2016. "Global warming as an asymmetric public bad," Working Papers 2016.26, FAERE - French Association of Environmental and Resource Economists.
    7. Finus, Michael & Furini, Francesco & Rohrer, Anna Viktoria, 2021. "The efficacy of international environmental agreements when adaptation matters: Nash-Cournot vs Stackelberg leadership," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 109(C).
    8. Rohrer, Anna Viktoria & Rubio, Santiago J., 2024. "The strategic role of adaptation in international environmental agreements," Journal of Environmental Economics and Management, Elsevier, vol. 124(C).
    9. Mukherjee Vivekananda & Rübbelke Dirk & Stahlke Theresa & Brumme Anja, 2022. "Allocation of Adaptation Aid: A Normative Theory," Journal of Economics and Statistics (Jahrbuecher fuer Nationaloekonomie und Statistik), De Gruyter, vol. 242(4), pages 471-499, August.
    10. Michèle Breton & Lucia Sbragia, 2017. "Adaptation to Climate Change: Commitment and Timing Issues," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 68(4), pages 975-995, December.
    11. Heike Auerswald & Kai A. Konrad & Marcel Thum, 2018. "Adaptation, mitigation and risk-taking in climate policy," Journal of Economics, Springer, vol. 124(3), pages 269-287, July.
    12. Ingmar Schumacher, 2019. "Climate Policy Must Favour Mitigation Over Adaptation," Environmental & Resource Economics, Springer;European Association of Environmental and Resource Economists, vol. 74(4), pages 1519-1531, December.
    13. Ralph Winkler, 2023. "On the Relationship between Adaptation and Mitigation," CESifo Working Paper Series 10371, CESifo.
    14. Claudia Schwirplies, 2015. "Adaptation vs. climate protection: Responses to climate change and policy preferences of individuals in China, Germany, and the USA," MAGKS Papers on Economics 201502, Philipps-Universität Marburg, Faculty of Business Administration and Economics, Department of Economics (Volkswirtschaftliche Abteilung).
    15. Johanna Etner & Meglena Jeleva & Natacha Raffin, 2021. "Climate policy: How to deal with ambiguity?," Economic Theory, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 72(1), pages 263-301, July.
    16. Doncaster, C. Patrick & Tavoni, Alessandro & Dyke, James G., 2017. "Using Adaptation Insurance to Incentivize Climate-change Mitigation," Ecological Economics, Elsevier, vol. 135(C), pages 246-258.
    17. Salpie Djoundourian, Walid Marrouch, and Nagham Sayour, 2022. "Adaptation Funding and Greenhouse Gas Emissions: Halo Effect or Complacency?," The Energy Journal, International Association for Energy Economics, vol. 0(Number 4).

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