Published February 12, 2026
| Version Published
Journal Article
Using markets to adapt to climate change
Creators
- Greenhill, Simon1, 2
- Hsiang, Solomon2
- Balboni, Clare3
- Barrage, Lint4
- Bolliger, Ian W.5
- Boomhower, Judson6
- Diaz, Delavane7
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Druckenmiller, Hannah8
- Garg, Teevrat6
- Hino, Miyuki9
- Hong, Harrison10
- Kousky, Carolyn11
- Martinich, Jeremy12
- Nath, Ishan13
- Oremus, Kimberly L.14
- Park, R. Jisung15
- Phan, Toan16
- Proctor, Jonathan17
- Rafey, Will18
- Sarofim, Marcus C.19
- Schlenker, Wolfram13
- Simon, Benjamin20
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1.
University of California, Berkeley
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2.
Stanford University
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3.
London School of Economics and Political Science
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4.
ETH Zurich
- 5. Reask, London, UK.
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6.
University of California, San Diego
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7.
Electric Power Research Institute
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8.
California Institute of Technology
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9.
University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
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10.
Columbia University
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11.
Environmental Defense Fund
-
12.
Environmental Protection Agency
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13.
Harvard University
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14.
University of Delaware
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15.
University of Pennsylvania
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16.
Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond
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17.
University of British Columbia
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18.
University of California, Los Angeles
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19.
Johns Hopkins University
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20.
George Washington University
Abstract
Research shows if and when markets can help limit the harms from climate change. Even under the most ambitious greenhouse gas emissions mitigation scenarios, climate change will continue to affect human well-being for generations, with the severity of these impacts differing across mitigation pathways. Adapting to climate change is thus a necessary complement to mitigation. Because individuals, businesses, and communities benefit directly from their adaptation choices, the incentives they face as individuals to adapt are generally stronger than the incentives they face to mitigate emissions. Yet evidence to date suggests that communities are not systematically adapting to recent climate changes (1). What can policy-makers do to facilitate adaptation? Here, we draw on a burgeoning field of economic research on climate adaptation to identify when and how markets can be a promising tool for effective and efficient adaptation.
Copyright and License
© 2026 American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Acknowledgement
We thank T. Kee for valuable administrative assistance. The authors of this article were originally brought together as authors of and technical contributors to the economics chapter of the US Fifth National Climate Assessment. The views expressed here are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the Federal Government, the US Global Change Research Program, or any of the authors’ employers, including any federal agencies, the Federal Reserve Bank of Richmond, and the Federal Reserve System. I.W.B. is employed by, and owns stock options in, Reask, a private company that simulates risk from climate-forced extreme events.
Additional details
Identifiers
- PMID
- 41678624
Caltech Custom Metadata
- Caltech groups
- Division of the Humanities and Social Sciences (HSS)
- Publication Status
- Published