Fundamental questions on the economics of climate adaptation: Outlines of a new research programme

In view of the failure of international negotiations on climate protection and the improbability of a trend reversal in the climate changes that have already occurred, the option of climate change adaptation is becoming more and more important in climate change policy. A large number of countries have already initiated a process of adaptation by drafting strategies or catalogues of measures. Hence there is an urgent need to support this process at the scientific level. The discipline of economics has a key role to play in this context, especially with regard to the design, evaluation and selection of adaptation measures and instruments. The still relatively young field of research into the economics of adaptation is growing at a considerable pace and already exhibits a wide range of methodological approaches and research questions. Against this background, the present report aims to undertake a systematic structuring and synthesis of the individual research studies in order to provide political actors with an overview of the scientific recommendations and findings they must consider when making decisions. Another aim of the report is to identify open research questions and, based on this, to outline key pointers for the future direction of the research into the economics of climate adaptation.