Module 4: Risk Under Deep Uncertainty
Light-touch approaches
Though each of the methods described above require some amount of technical competency to implement, Watkiss and Cimato (2016) observe that many planners—without fully implementing these methods—use each approach to inform the way they approach decision-making under uncertainty. Watkiss and Cimato call this the “light touch approach”.
The table below provides a few examples of how each method can “lightly” be incorporated into thinking to improve decision-making.
|
Method |
Light-touch approach |
| Real options |
|
| Adaptation Pathways |
|
| Robust decision making |
|
Adapted from U.K. Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs. (2020, November). Accounting for the effects of climate change: Supplementary green book guidance and Watkiss, P., & Cimato, F. (2016, May). The economics of adaptation and climate-resilient development: Lessons from projects for key adaptation challenges. Centre for Climate Change Economics and Policy Working Paper, No. 265.