Climate Damages in the FUND Model: A Disaggregated Analysis

This research paper analyzes the treatment of climate damages within the FUND model, specifically focusing on its agricultural projections and the technical validity of its temperature-yield equations.

• The FUND model, utilized by the U.S. government for social cost of carbon estimations, predicts that climate change will result in a net benefit for agriculture, though this is outweighed by a slightly larger estimate for all other types of damages.
• Within the agricultural category of the FUND model, the primary drivers are a large benefit from CO2 fertilization, a moderate cost associated with temperature effects on yields, and a smaller impact from the rate of change.
• The authors identify several technical and data-related flaws in FUND's agricultural modeling: the temperature-yield equation nearly divides by zero for certain Monte Carlo parameter values, the optimal temperature variation range exceeds physical plausibility (with 95% confidence intervals spanning 17°C above and below current temperatures), and the estimates rely on research from 1996 or earlier.

APA

Stockholm Environment Institute (2012). Climate Damages in the FUND Model: A Disaggregated Analysis. https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-damages-in-the-fund-model-a-disaggregated-analysis/

Chicago

Stockholm Environment Institute. Climate Damages in the FUND Model: A Disaggregated Analysis. 2012. https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-damages-in-the-fund-model-a-disaggregated-analysis/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Stockholm Environment Institute |title=Climate Damages in the FUND Model: A Disaggregated Analysis |date=12 April 2012 |url=https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-damages-in-the-fund-model-a-disaggregated-analysis/ |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{stockholmenvironmentinstitute2012climate, author = {{Stockholm Environment Institute}}, title = {{Climate Damages in the FUND Model: A Disaggregated Analysis}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, month = apr, url = {https://www.sei.org/publications/climate-damages-in-the-fund-model-a-disaggregated-analysis/}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }