This report looks into the application of CLIMADA (CLIMate ADAptation), a natural catastrophe model that calculates climate risk and potential of adaptation in the Caribbean. The study marks a starting point to determine economic losses and damages as well as adaptation measures for the region which is commonly exposed to natural disasters.
Costs of residual damages
Damages can be reduced by adaptation measures, but not eliminated. The weak mitigation and adaptation effort increases the residual damages which will remain at all levels of adaptation and is unavoidable.
Publications
Africa is anticipated to be confronted with the severest adverse effects of human-induced climate change, compared to most other regions of the world, due to a combination of particularly severe projected impacts and relatively low adaptive capacity (e.g. IPCC AR4, World Bank 2013). The need for adaptation is expected to be high in Africa, especially in light of the existing deficit in adaptation to current climate variability and climate change. However, under any scenario of global mitigation and strong regional adaptation efforts, considerable adverse effects of climate change on Africa will remain, resulting in loss and damage.
Projects
The Assessing Climate Change Risk in Europe (ACCREU) project aims to advance science on economic impacts from climate change, adaptation actions, and enhancing macroeconomic frameworks for use in policy-making.
The Socioeconomic Pathways, Adaptation, and Resilience to a Changing Climate in Europe (SPARCCLE) project aims better inform decision-making on the risks posed by climate change. The project is updating climate risk projections and using these as the bases for creating new mitigation and adaptation strategies, taking into account local vulnerabilities and capacity constraints.
When climate impacts hit, there are those who don’t, or can’t, leave. The Immobility in a changing climate (ITHACA) project looks at the choices and constraints that lead to people’s immobility in the face of climate change, and what ramifications that has for their lives.
SLICE is investigating Short- and Long-Term Impacts of Climate Extremes and aims to develop a systematic understanding of the channels through which climate extremes impact socio-economic development all the way from the household to the macroeconomic level. This will help developing effective strategies for long-term economic development under climate change.