This report sets out to answer the question – when it comes to climate adaptation, are engineering-based solutions (e.g., sea walls) more effective and economical than ecosystem-based approaches (e.g., coastal revegetation)?
I first look at the environmental drivers of adaptation, current international efforts, and dive into a case study of a town in the Fiji Islands that’s specifically wrestled with these competing approaches to adaptation.
The goal of this work is to help institutions like the U.N. Adaptation Fund and Green Climate Fund prioritize which adaptation approaches have been most successful to inform their financing decisions as the world has little time to plan for how they will brace for the inevitable environmental impacts of a 1.5 to 2C rise.
About The Author
Chetan Hebbale is currently a graduate student at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS) in Washington, D.C. focused on international economics, climate change, and sustainability.
Prior to this, he spent over 4 years at Deloitte Consulting working on technology and strategy projects at the CDC and U.S. Treasury Department.
He is a native of Atlanta, GA and attended the University of Georgia.
Chetan Hebbale 