Climate Change Vulnerability and Key Adaptation Trajectory of the Regional Economic System

Abstract

From the microperspective, climate change restricts human life in many aspects, and it affects the regional economic system from the macroperspective. The paper presents an inoperability input-output model (IIM) that is an extension approach of the Leontief input-output model. The IIM is able to provide a feasible methodology for measuring the impact of vulnerable economic factors on the whole economic system and identifying the key adaptation trajectory of the economic system. The IIM is applied in Tianjin to explore its dilemmas facing the increased demand for electricity, water, and public health service sectors under the RCP2.5, RCP4.5, and RCP8.5 climate scenarios. The results indicated that the inoperability ranking of all economic sectors is the same under the three climate scenarios. The key adaptation trajectory in Tianjin is S40, S27, S25, S17, S12, S02, S21, S16, S09, S24, S29, S33, S19, S13, and S15 sector in order. The costs required by the key adaptation trajectory to adapt to climate change account for more than 90% of that required by the whole economic system. These results can be helpful for policy-makers to prioritize sectors in terms of climate adaptation and understand the efficacy of climate change risk mitigation strategies.