Are we willing to give what it takes? Willingness to pay for climate change adaptation in developing countries

O'Garra, Tanya and Mourato, Susana ORCID: 0000-0002-9361-9990 (2015) Are we willing to give what it takes? Willingness to pay for climate change adaptation in developing countries. Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy. ISSN 2160-6544

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Abstract

Climate change adaptation is gaining traction as a necessary policy alongside mitigation, particularly for developing countries, many of which lack the resources to adapt. However, funding for developing country adaptation remains woefully inadequate. This paper identifies the burden of responsibility that individuals in the UK are willing to incur in support of adaptation projects in developing countries. Results from a nationally representative survey indicate that UK residents are willing to contribute £27 per year (or a median of £6 per year) towards developing country adaptation (US$30 and $7 using the World Bank's purchasing power conversion factors). This represents less than one-third of the back-of-the-envelope $100–$140 per capita per year that the authors estimate would be needed to raise the $70–$100 bn/yr recommended by the World Bank to fund developing country adaptation. Regressions indicate that willingness to pay is driven mostly by a combination of beliefs and perceptions about one's own knowledge levels, rather than actual knowledge of climate change. We conclude that, to engage the many different audiences that make up the ‘public’, communication efforts must move beyond the simple provision of information and instead, connect with people's existing values and beliefs.

Item Type:	Article
Official URL:	http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/teep20
Additional Information:	© 2015 Journal of Environmental Economics and Policy Ltd
Divisions:	Geography & Environment Grantham Research Institute
Subjects:	G Geography. Anthropology. Recreation > GE Environmental Sciences H Social Sciences > HC Economic History and Conditions
Date Deposited:	14 Dec 2015 14:54
Last Modified:	01 Oct 2024 03:42
Projects:	226973, GIC07/56-IT-383-07
Funders:	EU FP7 Climate for Culture project, Basque Ministry of Education, Universities and Research
URI:	http://eprints.lse.ac.uk/id/eprint/64688

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