EXPLORING THE GAP - TOP-DOWN VERSUS BOTTOM-UP ANALYSES OF THE COST OF MITIGATING GLOBAL WARMING

Top-down and bottom-up modelling techniques have been used to answer the question of how much would it cost to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. These two types of models, however, were conceived and designed through different disciplines, for different purposes and lead to very different conclusions. Recent attempts to compare the two modelling approaches illustrate the difficulty in reconciling their results. In this paper, both modelling techniques are described and discussed, and the gap between their results is explored.