Sharing the Burden of Adaptation Financing: An Assessment of the Contributions of Countries

33 Pages Posted: 10 Aug 2009

See all articles by Rob Dellink

Rob Dellink

Wageningen University and Research (WUR) - Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group; Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD)

Michel Den Elzen

PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (Bilthoven)

Harry Aiking

VU University Amsterdam - Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)

Emmy Bergsma

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)

Frans Berkhout

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM

Thijs Dekker

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)

Joyeeta Gupta

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM)

Date Written: August 6, 2009

Abstract

Climate change may cause most harm to countries that contribute least to greenhouse gas emissions. This paper identifies deontology, solidarity and consequentialism as the principles that can serve as a basis for a fair international burden sharing scheme of adaptation costs. We translate these principles into criteria that can be applied in assigning contributions of individual countries, namely historical responsibility, equality and capacity to pay. Specific political and scientific choices are discussed, highlighting implications for international burden-sharing. Combining historical responsibility and capacity to pay seems a promising starting point for international negotiations on the design of burden-sharing schemes. From the numerical assessment, it is clear that UNFCCC Annex I countries carry the greatest burden under most scenarios, but contributions differ substantially subject to the choice of an indicator for capacity to pay. The total financial contribution by the Annex I countries could be in the range of $55-68 billion annually.

Keywords: Adaptation Financing, Burden-Sharing, Historical Responsibility

JEL Classification: F55, Q54

Suggested Citation

Dellink, Rob and Dellink, Rob and Elzen, Michel Den and Aiking, Harry and Bergsma, Emmy and Berkhout, Frans and Dekker, Thijs and Gupta, Joyeeta, Sharing the Burden of Adaptation Financing: An Assessment of the Contributions of Countries (August 6, 2009). FEEM Working Paper No. 59.2009, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=1444842 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.1444842

Rob Dellink (Contact Author)

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development (OECD) ( email )

Paris
France

HOME PAGE: http://www.oecd.org/env/cc/econ

Wageningen University and Research (WUR) - Environmental Economics and Natural Resources Group ( email )

P.O. Box 8130
Wageningen, 6700 EW
Netherlands
+31 (0)317 4 82009 (Phone)
+31 (0)317 4 84933 (Fax)

HOME PAGE: http://www.sls.wau.nl/enr/staff/dellink/

Michel Den Elzen

PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (Bilthoven) ( email )

Antonie van Leeuwenhoeklaan 9
Bilthoven, 3721 MA
Netherlands

Harry Aiking

VU University Amsterdam - Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) ( email )

De Boelelaan 1115
Amsterdam, 1081 HV
Netherlands

Emmy Bergsma

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) ( email )

De Boelelaan 1087
Amsterdam, 1081 HV
Netherlands

Frans Berkhout

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM ( email )

De Boelelaan 1115
Amsterdam, 1081 HV
Netherlands

Thijs Dekker

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) ( email )

De Boelelaan 1115
Amsterdam, 1081 HV
Netherlands

Joyeeta Gupta

Institute for Environmental Studies (IVM) ( email )

De Boelelaan 1115
Amsterdam, 1081 HV
Netherlands

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