MESSAGE was developed in the late 1970s when modeling was in its infancy. The MESSAGE concept was ground-breaking. The model is a large-scale optimization model for global and regional energy supply analysis. It aims to find an optimum solution for the energy system as a whole, rather than for specific parts of it. Typical MESSAGE outputs provide information on the use of domestic resources, energy imports and export- and trade-related monetary flows, investment requirements, technology substitution, air pollution and greenhouse gases, and increasingly for detailed analysis of energy demand.
MESSAGE is a core component of the IIASA integrated assessment modeling framework. It has been integrated with the IIASA GLOBIOM land-use model to allow assessment of the implications of energy systems for land, forest, and water. An explicit linkage to the IIASA
GAINS air pollution framework also allows assessment of the health impacts of energy systems. In energy supply and demand terms, MESSAGE-MAGICC estimates the effects of energy use on net carbon flows and atmospheric CO2 concentrations plus changes in radiative
forcing, temperature, and sea level. MESSAGE-MACRO reflects the influence of energy supply costs on the wider economy and vice versa. MESSAGE-Access is used to assess future transitions in household energy use and the costs of alternative policies, and thereby accelerate universal transition to modern energy sources and technologies.
Impacts
CONTACT DETAILS
Program Director and Principal Research Scholar Energy, Climate, and Environment Program
Principal Research Scholar Integrated Assessment and Climate Change Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program
Principal Research Scholar Pollution Management Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program
Principal Research Scholar Sustainable Service Systems Research Group - Energy, Climate, and Environment Program
Planning for future energy needs (PDF)
International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA)
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