| ABSTRACT | Agriculture suffers significantly from changes in weather and climate conditions, which increases risks in farm survival and food security. Adaptability of farming systems to a variety of changes is therefore very important as it determines the residual impact of climate change. Cross-sectional studies are the only type of studies that take into account full adaptation when examining the effects of climate change on agriculture. These studies assume that adaptation occurs autonomously, giving policy makers the impression that adaptation is the solution to tackle climate change effects. However, the degree of autonomous adaptation is dependent on the level of a farm’s adaptive capacity. This adaptive capacity differs greatly between European member states, and policy incentives to increase climate change adaptive capacity are necessary. This paper therefore quantitatively shows the importance of adaptive capacity by accounting for it in a cross-sectional regression. Southern and Eastern European regions show significantly larger effects of climate change, and investments in climate change adaptive capacity are clearly needed. However, the relationship is nonlinear, implying that generic adaptive capacity will not continue increasing climate responsiveness and that investments in specific adaptive capacity are necessary. |