Economic Modeling of the Environment

The course will review different modelling tools and approaches used in environmental economics with a focus on climate change impact assessment and mitigation and adaptation policies. The course will describe first the theoretical basis of these tools, in particular Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) and Computable General Equilibrium (CGE) models. Then a practical part will apply the models to simulate different environmental/climate impacts and policies on computers. Students will be asked to run simulations in groups and interpret results of the modelling applications.

At the end of the course students are expected to get familiar with the main modelling approaches used in climate change and environmental economics and be able to distinguish the strengths and the limits of the different models. Students are expected to improve their capacity to work in a multi-disciplinary way and to understand the importance of interactions with other fields (ecology, agronomy, physics, geography etc).