Environmental Studies 80
Integrated Assessment Modeling of Global Climate Change
Course description:
Integrated assessment models—models that combine simplified representations of the socioeconomic determinants of greenhouse gas emissions, the atmosphere and oceans, and impacts on human activities and ecosystems—have been used extensively to analyze the impacts of a warmer climate and possible mitigation policies. In addition, these models seek to combine knowledge from multiple disciplines in formal integrated representations; inform policy-making, structure knowledge, and prioritize key uncertainties; and advance knowledge of broad system linkages and feedbacks, particularly between socioeconomic and biophysical processes. This seminar will examine the scientific, socioeconomic, and ecological issues that modelers face when building integrated assessment models of global climate change. This course is modeling intensive and students will be required to complete a number of model building exercises using Excel.
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Karen Fisher-Vanden
