• Contributing to the fundamental question underlying the post-2012 negotiations “What will be the economic costs of adapting to a 5°C change in climate versus a 2°C change?“ by quantifying current and future risks of extreme weather in the EU, and identifying the costs of structural/technological and other paths for adapting to extremes (retreat and living with the risks being other paths);
• Building on estimates of disaster damages, and costs of prevention, to ask how adaptation (prevention and risk transfer) can be mainstreamed into EU policies;
• Examining two difficult issues:
1. Are there plausible climate-related stochastic events that lie beyond the limits of Europe’s willingness or ability to adapt, and how do we evaluate the risks? 2. What is Europe’s role in assisting developing countries, many of which are far more vulnerable to weather catastrophes? How can new forms of pro-active disaster support be mainstreamed into Europe’s current assistance policies?
