Inter-Temporal Investment in Climate Change Adaptation and Mitigation

Currently, different dimensions of mitigation strategies have been investigated in policy analysis. However, ambitious mitigation action aiming at reducing future climate change will not prevent much climate change before mid-century. Short-term and medium-term temperature as well as associated damages cannot be avoided completely. Increasingly there appears to be recognition of the need to simultaneously implement adaptation and mitigation. However, the optimal combination between adaptation and mitigation that can best address climate change over time is still an open question. Literature base is rather small, yet very diverse and inconsistent in conclusions. In this paper, we do an exploration of the temporal optimal investment mix between adaptation and mitigation and their relative contributions to climate change damage reduction. By proposing a conceptual framework that integrates both strategies and developing a more complete integrated assessment model, the temporal investment allocation between adaptation and mitigation is identified. Results suggest that adaptation is an effective climate change damages reduction strategy and a complement to mitigation. Adaptation investment tackles the short run reduction of damages in the first 250 years while mitigation dominates from thereon.