Citation
Leal Filho, W. (2010), "Editorial", International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Vol. 2 No. 1. https://doi.org/10.1108/ijccsm.2010.41402aaa.001
Publisher
:Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Copyright © 2010, Emerald Group Publishing Limited
Editorial
Article Type: Editorial From: International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management, Volume 2, Issue 1
Welcome to the first issue of the second volume of International Journal of Climate Change Strategies and Management. Here, readers will find a further interesting set of papers dealing with matters related to climate change management worldwide, as well as a variety of views and perspectives on how to handle the various challenges posed by climate change.
In this editorial, I would like to discuss a new report published by the International Institute for Environment and Development and the Grantham Institute for Climate Change at Imperial College London, which indicates that the real costs of climate change adaptation are likely to be two-to-three times greater than estimates made by the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
The report[1] adds that costs will be even more when the full range of climate impacts on human activities is considered, and warns that this underestimate of the cost of adaptation may pose a problem in the future. The UNFCCC has estimated annual global costs of adapting to climate change to be US$40-170 billion, or the cost of about three Olympic Games per year. The report’s authors, however, warn that these estimates were produced too quickly and did not include key sectors such as energy, manufacturing, retailing, mining, tourism, and ecosystems. Other sectors that the UNFCCC did include were only partially covered. The report calls for detailed case studies of what adaptation costs will be, and points out that the few that already exist suggest that costs will be considerable.
This journal will report on current and future developments related to costs of climate change adaptation and keep its readers posted on progresses. Enjoy your reading!
Available at: www.iied.org/climate-change/key-issues/economics-and-equity-adaptation/ costs-adapting-climate-change-significantly-under-estimated
Walter Leal Filho