10 August 2010: The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) has released a working paper titled “Plan or react? Analysis of Adaptation Costs and Benefits Using Integrated Assessment Models.”

Authored by Shardul Agrawala, Francesco Bosello, Carlo Carraro, Kelly de Bruin, Enrica De Cian, Rob, Dellink and Elisa Lanzi, the paper examines adaptation costs and benefits by introducing reactive, and long-term proactive, adaptation measures as policy choices within three Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs): the global Dynamic Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (DICE); the Regional Integrated model of Climate and the Economy (RICE); and the World Induced Technical Change Hybrid (WITCH) model. “Plan or react” represents the first attempt to compare adaptation within these three IAMs. It finds that the most effective strategy of minimizing the costs of climate change is a combination of mitigation and pro-active as well as responsive adaptation measures. [The Working Paper “Plan or React”]