Adaptation and Climate Change Costs
Provided by: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative|Published on: December 9, 2022|Last updated: September 26, 2026
Grades: 11, 12, AP
Type: Lesson Plans
Subjects: Economics, Engineering
Authors: MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Learn about our review process →
Synopsis
- This lesson introduces students to the financial costs already experienced because of climate change and highlights some ingenious solutions to help reduce the costs of investing in climate solutions.
- The lesson includes a teacher's guide, a podcast, three activities, data on the costs of extreme weather events, and case studies of adaptation projects.
Teaching Materials
Positives
- This lesson is a great way to integrate solutions thinking and introduce students to multisolving.
- The teacher's guide includes discussion questions, an answer key, and background information.
Additional Prerequisites
- Each activity can be used as a standalone, in sequence, or integrated with other curriculum needs.
- Although the information in the lesson is relevant everywhere, the data presented in the second activity focuses on the United States.
- Students should be comfortable reading graphs and charts and should know that climate change can increase the severity or frequency of extreme weather events before starting the lesson.
Differentiation
- Extra care should be given to students whose families have been affected by storms, floods, fires, or other extreme weather events.
- To make the final activity more relevant to students outside of the United States, students can be tasked with researching a case study in their country or region and answering the questions accordingly.
- This resource can also be used in math or statistics classes during lessons about analyzing and interpreting data and in English classes during lessons about communicating complex information.
- Use this online course as an extension to learn more about climate adaptation.
This resource is a guide for teachers that includes skills learned, standards, core ideas, a teacher guide, student handouts, and a ~14 minute podcast, all of which discuss the need for financial investments to slow down climate change and prepare for the impacts of climate change. The information is well-sourced and researched and would be a great addition to a class discussing different needs to address climate change. This resource is recommended for teaching.
Teaching Tips
Standards
Resource Type and Format
Scientist Reviewed
This resource has been reviewed by SubjectToClimate's climate scientists and verified for scientific accuracy and up-to-date information. Our review process ensures that every resource in our library reflects the current state of climate science.
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