Configuring, Building and Running Models in CIAS

The Community Integrated Assessment System (CIAS) is a type of Integrated Assessment Model (IAM) developed at the University of East Anglia to analyse the linkages between the earths climate system, the impacts of climate change in various sectors, and the global economy. The scientific objectives of IAMs are significantly different from ESMs , and this is reflected in the design philosophy. IAMs link across disciplines, which may not necessarily include climate modelling. Typically ESMs form one component of an IAM. IAMs are designed to answer policy questions and therefore need to be computationally cheap and sufficiently user-friendly to cater for a diverse range of audience. ESMs such as the Met Office Hadley Centre suite of models (Chap. 4) are neither computationally cheap nor capable of reaching out to a diverse audience.