How do Beijing Residents Value Environmental Improvements in Remote Parts of China

The benefits of climate adaptation policy are sometimes underestimated because its nonuse values perceived by people indirectly affected are usually ignored. Using data from a representative sample of Beijing’s urban population, it is shown that people living at a distance perceive nonuse values of climate change adaptation measures aimed at improving the environmental conditions in the Tarim River Basin in Northwest China. Using the contingent valuation method the monetized benefit of a particular set of climate adaptation measures experienced by a Beijing household is approximated. It is concluded that not only the preferences of local people, but also of people living in other parts of China should be considered when deciding if a climate adaptation policy is worthwhile implementing from a social welfare point of view. Ahlheim, M., O. Frör, J. Luo, et al., 2013: How do Beijing residents value environmental improvements in remote parts of China? Adv. Clim. Change Res., 4(3), doi: 10.3724/SP.J.1248.2013.190.