Democratizing global climate modeling

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https://phys.org/news/2025-10-democratizing-global-climate.html

A new international study co-led by IIASA researchers and Japanese partners aims to democratize the way global climate scenarios are developed. The authors propose a transparent, inclusive research platform that invites participation from scientists worldwide—especially from emerging and developing regions—to ensure that the foundations of climate policy analysis are globally representative and equitable.

As the world strives to keep the ambition of the Paris Agreement alive, a new international initiative aims to transform the way climate change research is conducted. The Perspective article, published in Nature Climate Change, responds to growing concerns that the scientific foundations of climate action, such as the scenarios assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), are largely produced by a limited number of institutions in Europe and North America. This imbalance risks overlooking the perspectives and priorities of developing and emerging countries.To address this, the authors propose an open and transparent international research platform that democratizes the process of generating and comparing Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) scenarios—the simulations that explore possible pathways to a low-carbon future.

"Climate change is a global challenge, but the science behind climate scenarios has not always reflected a truly global diversity of views," explains lead author Shinichiro Fujimori, Guest Senior Research Scholar in the IIASA Energy, Climate, and Environment Program and professor at Kyoto University, Japan. "Our proposal aims to open up this process so that researchers everywhere can participate, contribute their expertise, and shape the future of climate policy together."