Debates on investment in a climate-resilient built environment focuse primarily on costs, whilst existing financing mechanisms and the costs of inaction remain underexposed, preventing necessary action. This project addresses the systemic barrier of the ‘split incentive’, whereby decision-makers do not benefit from investments and the beneficiaries remain out of the picture. We estimate the costs of inaction, highlight where these costs fall and who bears them. By raising awareness, we encourage a fairer assessment of investment decisions. The project advances understanding of externalisation costs, societal risk management and a more integrated, future-oriented approach to climate adaptation.
Economic transition: the costs and benefits of (in)action
What does an economy look like that focuses not on GDP growth, but on well-being, ecology and justice?
What is needed to achieve this sustainable economy and how is our current economic system holding back these changes?
We are exploring these questions from a practical perspective as part of the program: ‘Economic transition: the costs and benefits of (in)action’. Together with partners from academia, the professional sector, government and social movements, we are working to shape this transition, set it in motion and anchor it. In doing so, we actively apply knowledge in practice to bring about a transformation of our current economic system.