Advancing adaptation: How evolving hazards could shape the agenda

In this report, the authors undertake a first-of-its-kind comprehensive analysis of adaptation costs today and through 2050, using a granular, pixel-level, geospatial analysis. The 20 adaptation measures studied offer broad-based protection against four categories of hazards—heat, wildfires, drought, and flooding—and can be applied across diverse economies. Equipped with an understanding of how hazards could play out and the costs and benefits of adapting to them, leaders can make informed decisions about resilience today and for the long term.

At a glance:

• Societies have adapted to their climates for millennia.
• The world currently spends $190 billion annually to defend against extreme weather.
• As the climate warms, exposure to heat and drought will increase the most.
• At 2°C, maintaining current protection levels would cost 2.5 times today’s spending, while protection at developed-economy standards would require 6.2 times as much.
• Adaptation is a good buy—but spending is not a given.