Guidelines to Incorporate the Costs and Benefits of Adaptation Measures in Preparation for Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change
Cost-benefit analysis (CBA) is useful for climate change response and adaptation, and if used properly, it has great potential for
long-range planning. CBA should help agencies navigate the spectrum of decisions from mitigation and
greenhouse gas reduction to adaptation: where does investing public funds generate the most public good?
The TRB National Cooperative Highway Research Program's
NCHRP Web-Only Document 271: Guidelines to Incorporate the Costs and
Benefits of Adaptation Measures in Preparation for Extreme Weather Events and Climate Change
is published as a companion document to
NCHRP Research Report 938. It includes two frameworks that were developed for the
project to allow practitioners to conduct CBAs to a level of detail they deem appropriate; a sketch-level
analysis can serve as a screening tool to evaluate if adaptation is even appropriate, while a more detailed
climate resilience analysis can help to answer the question, “How much can I spend on an adaptation
project and have it remain cost-effective?”
This Summary Last Modified On: 7/9/2020