Enni Lehtinen completed her master’s degree in the master’s programme of Environmental and Natural Resource Economics at the University of Helsinki. In her thesis, she assessed the avoided costs of climate services. The thesis was made in collaboration with the Finnish Meteorological Institute in connection to Arctic PASSION, and the examined case in the thesis is Arctic PASSION's lake ice extent (LIE) service.

In the thesis avoided costs of the LIE service are estimated quantitatively and qualitatively using avoided-cost assessment. The method can be applied in cost-benefit analysis to estimate the benefits of a climate service.

Avoided costs the LIE service generates comprise mainly of avoided in-situ lake ice monitoring trips and travel expenses, avoided flood and infrastructure damages, and potentially avoided injuries and mortality through improved safety. Although quantitatively estimated avoided costs are relatively low, the level of avoided costs using the LIE service is considerable when quantitatively and qualitatively assessed avoided costs are combined. Findings underline the importance of understanding the benefits of climate services that are difficult to quantify.

The thesis can be read here.