Work is underway across Aotearoa to quantify the costs of climate change, including the costs of adaptation or of failure to adapt. 

But how do we understand “cost” and will our economic paradigm really lead to effective climate adaptation? If we can’t or don’t quantify/consider some costs of climate change (and benefits of adaptation!), how can we ensure these are factored in our adaptation decisions? 

On the one hand, we need frameworks and tools that help us analyse our adaptation decisions (and indecisions). On the other, we need to consider the paradigm driving our current thinking, and the limits of current economic tools and frameworks to help us make collectively oriented, intergenerational decisions. 

Are we capable of making decisions that return to Papa and Rangi value greater than what we have taken?