Climate change: costs of impacts and lines of adaptation. Report to the Prime Minister and Parliament

The ONERC has steered in 2008 and 2009, with the Department of Ecology, Energy, Sustainable Development and the Sea, a working-group involving other Departments on the assessment of the impacts of the climate change, the adaptation and the related costs. Relying mainly on government's administrations, this cooperative work included participants from some research organizations and private utilities. Ten key-sectors have been studied: natural risks, water resource, biodiversity, health, road infrastructures, agriculture, forest, energy, tourism and territories. The present - third - ONERC report summarizes and comments the main findings of this working group. It provides estimates that the annual costs related to the climate change: they could reach several billion euros per year if no adaptation is undertaken in due time. Several ways and means of adaptation have been defined; they would reduce the negative impacts of climate change in France. Most of the adaptation measures are however largely dependent on the territorial characteristics, and will have to be studied and on a case-by-case basis at the local level. The acquired knowledge and the proposed adaptation solutions will be an input to the national adaptation plan which, by law, is scheduled to be ready in 2011