The Conference on the Economics of Climate Change in Southeast Asia was held on 27-28 February 2014 in Siem Reap, Cambodia. EEPSEA organized the event in collaboration with the East Asian Association of Environmental and Resource Economics (EAAERE). It served as a venue for those doing research on the economics of climate change (CC) in the region to hear about what others are doing and to share what they have done. It was attended by 78 participants from 13 countries.
Fifty-seven papers were presented on the following topics and methodological focus: CC impacts and adaptation gap analysis (29%); cost-benefit analysis of GHG reduction projects (17%); CC impacts and economics of adaptation in coastal areas (14%); economic analysis of adaptation projects (12%); flooding (10%); modeling impacts of carbon tax (9%); downscaling vulnerability mapping and adaptation planning (5%); and institutional and policy analysis (3%). Twenty-four percent (24%) of the conference papers are EEPSEA studies.
The conference’s four plenary presentations were given by notable experts in the field of CC economics. Dr. Benoit Laplante drew from his work with the World Bank and the Asian Development Bank on various projects aiming to enhance knowledge on the economics of adaptation to CC and talked about the knowledge gaps and research avenues on this area for SEA. Dr. Michael Hanemann of Arizona State University’s School of Sustainability explained that the traditional approach in estimating impacts and damages of CC based on future CC scenarios is deficient and does not consider spatial variation of warming and its corresponding CC impacts. Dr. Ian Coxhead of the University of Wisconsin-Madison pointed out that the removal of fuel subsidies in SEA will eliminate perverse incentives that drive up carbon emissions and create price signal for investment on low carbon emission. Dr. Kevin Parton of Charles Stuart University emphasized the need to find ways to incorporate ambiguity in economics of CC research.
The exchange during the conference gave rise to the need to do further research: on renewable energy sources to look into comparison of marginal cost functions across types of renewable energy; on sea level rise impacts that consider alternative use of inundated areas; on bio-ecological impacts of CC on fisheries and aquaculture; and on crop-specific adaptation and impact studies, particularly those that consider future climate scenarios.