Energy and climate policy debates and the results both at the global and the national level are often driven by hidden biases, questionable assumptions, and at times, political or ideological needs, felt Shoibal Chakraborty, Princeton University, New Jersey, USA.
Speaking at a lecture on “Open source models and the development of associated website/computational infrastructure”, organised by the University Centre for Earth and Space Sciences (UCESS) and the Centre for Modelling, Simulation and Design (CMSD) at the University of Hyderabad, he said despite the importance and complexities involved the models are often closed, opaque and insufficiently documented.
Parameters
He said the modelling capacity is primarily limited to research institutions in developed countries.
This definitely hurts the position of developing countries in international climate change negotiations as the parameters of the debate are set by those producing the intellectual output.
In the case of India, a shortage of modelling capacity and scenario analysis has handicapped debate and discussion on this important issue in academia and civil society, said Dr. Chakraborty.
This makes a case for the need for open access models, developed primarily using open source software. “We propose institutional frameworks that will use open access model development and lead to capacity building in India in the field of energy and climate policy.
The goal is to bring down the cost of these tools, and develop these in an open, transparent and collaborative structure,” said Dr. Chakraborty, a Research Associate at Princeton Environmental Institute, Princeton University.
via The Hindu Newspaper http://www.thehindu.com/education/research/climate-policy-debates-driven-by-hidden-biases/article4111532.ece
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