CRED v.1.4 Technical Report

The CRED v.1.4 Technical Report describes the methodology of the Climate and Regional Economics of Development (CRED) model, an integrated assessment model designed to estimate the optimal pace and distribution of global investment in emissions mitigation and climate policy costs.

• CRED v.1.4 is an integrated assessment model that projects global climate and development scenarios over a 300-year time span, starting from a 2010 base year, with calculations performed at 10-year intervals.
• The model disaggregates the world into 16 regions, categorized by 2010 consumption per capita into high-income (average $25,000 or more), middle-income ($5,000 - $10,000), and low-income (below $3,000).
• The climate module is based on DICE 2007 equations but has been recalibrated to match the MAGICC5.3 model, using a default climate sensitivity parameter of 3.0°C for the temperature increase resulting from a doubling of atmospheric CO2 concentrations.
• CRED uses a Cobb-Douglas production function where 'green' (emission-reducing) investment is assumed to be half as productive of income as standard investment, represented by a fixed parameter s = 0.5.
• Global climate damages are apportioned among regions using a vulnerability index based on three factors: the proportion of GDP in agriculture and tourism, the share of the population living below 5 meters above sea level, and freshwater resources per person.
• The model offers four global damage function options (N-N, H-N, N-W, and H-W) to account for different estimates of low-temperature and high-temperature damages, incorporating perspectives from Nordhaus, Hanemann, and Weitzman.
• Abatement costs and potentials are derived from McKinsey Climate Desk Version 2.1 data, with the assumption that technological progress will make 100 percent abatement of industrial emissions possible in every region by the year 2100.
• The model's optimization process maximizes a global utility function based on the discounted sum of the logarithms of regional per capita consumption, using a default pure time preference rate of 0.1 percent per year.

APA

Ackerman, F., Stanton, E. A., & Bueno, R. (2012). CRED v.1.4 Technical Report. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-CRED-1.4-Technical-Report.pdf

Chicago

Ackerman, Frank, Elizabeth A. Stanton, and Ramón Bueno. CRED v.1.4 Technical Report. Stockholm Environment Institute, 2012. https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-CRED-1.4-Technical-Report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Ackerman |first1=Frank |last2=Stanton |first2=Elizabeth A. |last3=Bueno |first3=Ramón |title=CRED v.1.4 Technical Report |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |date=August 2012 |url=https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-CRED-1.4-Technical-Report.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{ackerman2012cred, author = {Ackerman, Frank and Stanton, Elizabeth A. and Bueno, Ramón}, title = {{CRED v.1.4 Technical Report}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, year = {2012}, month = aug, url = {https://www.sei.org/mediamanager/documents/Publications/Climate/SEI-CRED-1.4-Technical-Report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }