Line of action:

Drivers of biodiversity loss

Status:

Finalizado

Execution date:

2023

End date:

2025

Total budget:

€204,561.23

Amount of aid from the Biodiversity Foundation:

€110,290.60

Understanding the factors that increase resilience is essential to managing the risks and opportunities of climate change. Numerous economic studies have been carried out on the costs and benefits of adaptation measures, but, according to the UCM, these are extremely heterogeneous and it is not always easy to draw conclusions that can be extrapolated to different contexts.

This project will create a database on cost-benefit studies of adaptation measures and analyse the factors influencing adaptive capacity and their economic value. A model is proposed that addresses the problems of comparability between studies and the use of different risk and adaptation measures that normally complicate the identification of the underlying dose-response relationships. The project can help reduce uncertainty as to the relationship between the adaptation measures used and their economic benefits, helping to make new measures more efficient.

The general objective of the project is to standardise existing information on cost-benefit assessment of climate change adaptation measures in order to draw transferable conclusions to various areas and avoid maladaptation.

This goal has three main components:

• Compile a database on economic analysis of costs and benefits of climate change adaptation measures.
• Create a common measure that allows comparison between the different cost-benefit analyses of adaptation actions or measures available in the literature.
• Identify the main determinants that affect the cost-benefit assessment of climate change adaptation projects.
• To compile the results of the project in a synthetic way for dissemination to decision-makers.

• Compilation and preparation of a database of existing information and studies, both in relation to the current situation of climate change in the territory and plans and programmes in force at European, national and regional level.
• Establishment of priority threats and their adaptation measures under study. At least six different measures will be established for each of the main threats.
• Compilation and analysis of cost-benefit studies in different types of climate change adaptation initiatives. A database will be developed with the information collected.
• Identification of the gaps in information and knowledge available to evaluate the analysis of the success stories of the measures based on the information from the cost-benefit analysis found.
• Creation of standardised indicators for the treatment of study heterogeneity.
• Development of a new application of Heckman’s selection model as a knowledge transfer function on the cost-benefit analysis of adaptation measures. Development of valuation scenarios based on key factors.
• Development of a user rating survey in order to calibrate and validate the results of the model.
• Compilation documentation of the final results and conclusions of the project.
• Dissemination and communication of the project.

• It has been possible to generate a technical and scientific base that contributes significantly to the strategic planning of adaptation to climate change in Spain. The homogeneous database, which includes 64 studies and 303 quantitative observations, has made it possible to overcome the methodological heterogeneity that characterizes cost-benefit analyses (CBA) in this field.
• The results confirm that Nature-Based Solutions (NbS) and Early Warning Systems (EWS) are the most cost-effective measures , outperforming grey infrastructures. This finding reinforces the need to prioritize sustainable and anticipated approaches, given that early adaptation maximizes cost-effectiveness and reduces vulnerability to climate risks.
• It has been found that economic efficiency depends more on the type of risk and the local context than on factors such as geographical scale or time horizon, which underlines the importance of designing strategies adapted to each territory.
• Critical gaps in the information have been revealed, such as the lack of homogeneous criteria to include intangible and non-monetary benefits, as well as the scant consideration of social and environmental impacts in the studies reviewed.
• The application of the econometric model based on Heckman, together with validation through expert surveys, has provided an innovative tool to transfer knowledge and simulate scenarios based on key factors.