Global integrated assessment model: A new analytical tool for assessing climate change risks and policies

• Much of the analysis on climate change in Australia has focused on the costs of mitigation poilicies. Analysis of the benefits of these policies in terms of reduced climate change impacts has been limited. The currently available analytical tools have a limited capacity to estimate both the economic impacts of climate change and the potential to reduce likely economic damages through either mitigation or adaptation. • abare in collaboration with CSIRO has developed a preliminary version of a 'global integrated assessment model' (GIAM) to fill this gap in analytical capacity. GIAM allows feedbacks and interactions between climate and economic systems and has the capacity to provide detailed information about the physical and economic impacts of climate change. • Development of this analytical capacity is particularly relevant as Australia and many other countries are moving or planning to move toward policy measures designed to address the impacts of climate change, including emissions trading schemes and adaptation measures. • Using GIAM, an illustrative long run 'reference case' (to 2100) of global and regional economic activity with climate change impacts, in the absence of mitigation and planned adaptation measures, is developed. • It is important to recognise the preliminary and illustrative nature of the analysis reported here. Additional work is needed to understand better the extent of climate change impacts and to further improve the analysis.