China-US teams celebrate the launch of GCAM-China-v6 in Beijing, China

On Friday, March 15, 2024, three member institutes of the IAMC — Peking University, Tsinghua University, and the Center for Global Sustainability at the University of Maryland — celebrated the launch of GCAM-China-v6 in Beijing, China. This launch marks a significant milestone in development of an open-source model, GCAM-China-v6, symbolizing over a decade of deep and dedicated collaboration between multiple research teams from the U.S. and China. This venture stands as a successful embodiment of U.S.-China climate cooperation.

The GCAM-China community is committed to facilitating an efficient, inclusive, and open academic exchange. It aims to foster the sharing of experiences, academic progress, and technological innovation. This initiative, upheld by voluntary organizations, serves as an essential and comprehensive tool for both domestic and international academic research and policy development.

“We are thrilled to be a part of this transformative initiative and to contribute to the building of a shared U.S.-China community of expertise on energy, climate, and development strategies” remarked Ryna Cui, CGS Research Director, at the launch event. “This partnership underscores our mutual commitment to advancing climate research and effecting meaningful change”.

“Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) are crucial for understanding the potential of new technologies and improved policies to achieve climate, energy, economic, and other societal objectives,” stated Hancheng Dai, Dean of the Department of Environmental Management and primary IAMC contact at Peking University. “The PKU teams have been engaged in various IAMs, ranging from developing our models such as IMED from scratch to incorporating established ones like GCAM with China’s domestic expertise. Together with our global partners, we are laying a strong analytical foundation for China and the world to navigate the transition to a sustainable future.”

The launch event was a significant gathering, attracting over 100 attendees in person and more than 10,000 online viewers. This demonstrates the dedication and enthusiasm of the international scientific community towards advancing climate research and policy development.

GCAM-China is now publicly accessible here.

For further information, please contact Yang Ou at yang.ou@pku.edu.cn.