Can ‘1°C of climate change adaptation’ replace ‘1°C of mitigation’?

The document asserts that the notion of replacing mitigation with adaptation to meet temperature targets is unrealistic because adaptation has absolute limits and varies by scale and region. It critiques integrated assessment models (IAMs) for underestimating climate damages and overestimating adaptation effectiveness due to flawed assumptions about rational behavior and optimal timing. The authors suggest that policy-makers should instead use risk-based frameworks and co-benefits analyses to maximize the combined benefits of both strategies.

• Adaptation and mitigation are complementary and cannot be swapped to reach temperature targets; specifically, the idea that 3°C of warming could be offset by '1°C of adaptation' to meet a 2°C target is not realistic.
• Integrated assessment models (IAMs) often provide misleading results because they underestimate climate damages and overestimate the amount and effectiveness of adaptation.
• IAMs rely on flawed assumptions regarding adaptation, such as the belief that adaptation is always optimally timed, that agents have perfect information and behave rationally, and that adaptation is uniform within regions.
• There are absolute limits to adaptation in both nature and society; once these thresholds are crossed, adaptation becomes impossible and irreversible change occurs.
• The effectiveness of adaptation is constrained by existing adaptation deficits and vulnerabilities, particularly in developing countries, which IAMs typically ignore by assuming a baseline of 'optimal resilience'.
• Policy-makers are encouraged to move beyond optimization models and instead utilize risk-based frameworks, co-benefits analyses, and assessments of 'implementability' to design climate strategies.

APA

Benzie, M., Davis, M., Klein, R., & Watkiss, P. (2012). Can ‘1°C of climate change adaptation’ replace ‘1°C of mitigation’? Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-pb-2012-adaptation-mitigation.pdf

Chicago

Benzie, Magnus, Marion Davis, Richard Klein, and Paul Watkiss. Can ‘1°C of climate change adaptation’ replace ‘1°C of mitigation’? Stockholm Environment Institute, 2012. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-pb-2012-adaptation-mitigation.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Benzie |first1=Magnus |last2=Davis |first2=Marion |last3=Klein |first3=Richard |last4=Watkiss |first4=Paul |title=Can ‘1°C of climate change adaptation’ replace ‘1°C of mitigation’? |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=2012 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-pb-2012-adaptation-mitigation.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{benzie2012can, author = {Benzie, Magnus and Davis, Marion and Klein, Richard and Watkiss, Paul}, title = {{Can ‘1°C of climate change adaptation’ replace ‘1°C of mitigation’?}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/sei-pb-2012-adaptation-mitigation.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }