Interpreting the IPCC emissions scenarios Online publication date: Thu, 17-Sep-2009
by Robert M. Margolis
International Journal of Environment and Pollution (IJEP), Vol. 4, No. 3/4, 1994
Abstract: This paper discusses how two sets of emissions scenarios, generated using the Atmospheric Stabilization Framework, were used by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). In particular, it discusses how the scenarios were specified, what roles models played in developing the scenarios, and how the scenarios were interpreted by participants in the IPCC process. It draws on the results of interviews conducted with 14 participants in the IPCC process. After looking at how both sets of IPCC emissions scenarios were defined and interpreted, it is clear that analysts need to explore the effects of policies in the context of uncertainty. Thus, instead of testing policy options on a single future and/or generating a range of possible futures in the absence of policy intervention, analysts need to investigate the effectiveness of various policy options across an entire set of possible futures. Conducting this sort of analysis would be an important step beyond the IPCC emissions scenarios.
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