Economics of Climate Adaptation (ECA) - Guidebook for Practitioners

There is a growing consensus that climate change impacts should be considered in the development of adaptation strategies by decision makers at all levels. This requires identifying cost-efficient adaptation measures, resulting from a structured risk management approach. The Economics of Climate Adaptation (ECA) approach offers a unique contribution, which combines risk assessment, adaptation measures and risk transfer. Its results allow a flexible identification of cost-effective climate adaptation measures for a variety of projects and sectors. Recently, KfW decided to implement two pilot studies in Bangladesh and El Salvador using the ECA methodology. The main objectives were to support decision makers in developing their adaptation strategy and to develop a climate adaptation measures investment portfolio. Following the evaluation of these two pilot studies, the need to develop a document for practitioners has arisen. The ECA Guidebook aims at filling this gap while complementing the already existing ECA documentation and tools. This Guidebook is tailored for practitioners of developing projects, which promote resilience in developing countries. It aims also at 1) exploring whether ECA methodology is appropriate to the project’s goals and 2) offering step-by-step guidance while using the ECA methodology.