A hybrid energy-economy model for analysis of climate policy in Asia

This research involves the development and application of CIMS- Asia, a hybrid energy-economy model designed for the analysis of climate policy in non-OECD Asia. The hybrid CIMS framework is selected because it incorporates all of the elements that improve the usefulness of a model including technological explicitness, behavioural realism, and macroeconomic feedbacks. Regionally, CIMS-Asia represents all non-OECD countries of Asia, except China. Temporally, modelling simulations run from 2000 to 2050 in five-year intervals. The primary purpose of applying CIMS-Asia was to forecast how the energy system of non-OECD Asia would evolve under a reference case and with the application of GHG emission abatement policies. Reference run results from CIMS-Asia suggest that the region will account for 17% of global GHG emissions by 2050. Results from the policy runs suggest that although there are significant opportunities for emissions reduction, they are not relatively low cost as expected.