The complementarity and comparability of climate change adaptation and mitigation

The review finds that the relationship between climate change mitigation and adaptation varies by scale and perspective. At the global level, economic literature often views them as substitutes, while scientific literature sees them as complementary; however, implementing a global mix is considered highly contentious. At national and local scales, there is greater potential for complementarity, though institutional and governance barriers prevent such actions from occurring autonomously.

• At the global level, perspectives on the relationship between mitigation and adaptation differ by discipline: economic literature generally views them as substitutes, whereas scientific literature views them as complementary because they address risks that differ in time and space.
• Implementing a global mix of mitigation and adaptation is described as extremely difficult and contentious according to governance, institutional, and policy-based literature.
• While there is higher potential for complementarity between mitigation and adaptation at national, local, and sector levels, institutional and governance barriers mean these complementary actions are unlikely to happen on their own.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2015). The complementarity and comparability of climate change adaptation and mitigation. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-complementarity-and-comparability-of-climate-change-adaptation-and-mitigation/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. The complementarity and comparability of climate change adaptation and mitigation. 2015. https://www.sei.org/publications/the-complementarity-and-comparability-of-climate-change-adaptation-and-mitigation/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=The complementarity and comparability of climate change adaptation and mitigation |date=30 September 2015 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/the-complementarity-and-comparability-of-climate-change-adaptation-and-mitigation/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2015complementarity, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{The complementarity and comparability of climate change adaptation and mitigation}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2015}, month = sep, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/the-complementarity-and-comparability-of-climate-change-adaptation-and-mitigation/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }