title: Better predictions, better allocations: scientific advances and adaptation to climate change.
abstract: Climate science initially aspired to improve understanding of what the future would bring, and thereby produce appropriate public policies and effective international climate agreements. If that hope is dashed, as now seems probable, effective policies for adapting to climate change become critical. Climate science assumes new responsibilities by helping to foster more appropriate adaptation measures, which might include shifting modes or locales of production. This theoretical article focuses on two broader tools: consumption smoothing in response to the risk of future losses, and physical adaptation measures to reduce potential damages. It shows that informative signals on the effects of climate change facilitate better decisions on the use of each tool, thereby increasing social welfare.
authors.affiliation: School of Business and Economics, Loughborough University, Loughborough, UK m.c.freeman@lboro.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Mark C
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4521-2720
authors.initials: MC
authors.lastname: Freeman
authors.affiliation: Department of Geography and Environment, London School of Economics, London, UK.
authors.forename: Ben
authors.initials: B
authors.lastname: Groom
authors.affiliation: Kennedy School, Harvard University, Cambridge, MA, USA.
authors.forename: Richard J
authors.identifier: http://orcid.org/0000-0002-4222-9546
authors.initials: RJ
authors.lastname: Zeckhauser
keywords: climate change adaptation; climate sensitivity; scientific uncertainty; value of information