Given the scarcity of resources, an economic approach is necessary in order to determine an optimal strategy of adaptation to climate change. In this paper we develop an economic framework for the study of adaptation which allows distinguishing between decentralised adaptation by private agents, on the one hand, and centralised adaptation measures by the government, on the other hand. The paper is in two parts: in the first we present the neoclassical view of adaptation policy, which is based on the paradigm of market failure. In the second part we deal with challenges and complements of the neoclassical view arising from the introduction of equity principles, security of supply concerns, and a polycentric approach to the provision of public goods. The analysis is illustrated with examples of adaptation measures in Germany.
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