Reference card - IMAGE
The reference card is a clearly defined description of model features. The numerous options have been organized into a limited amount of default and model specific (non default) options. In addition some features are described by a short clarifying text.
Legend:
- not implemented
- implemented
- implemented (not default option)
About
Name and version
IMAGE framework 3.0
Model link
Institution
PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency (PBL), Netherlands, https://www.pbl.nl/en.
Documentation
IMAGE documentation consists of a referencecard and detailed model documentation
Process state
published
Model scope and methods
Model documentation: Model scope and methods - IMAGE
Model type
- Integrated assessment model
- Energy system model
- CGE
- CBA-integrated assessment model
Geographical scope
- Global
- Regional
Objective
IMAGE is an ecological-environmental model framework that simulates the environmental consequences of human activities worldwide. The objective of the IMAGE model is to explore the long- term dynamics and impacts of global changes that result. More specifically, the model aims
- to analyse interactions between human development and the natural environment to gain better insight into the processes of global environmental change;
- to identify response strategies to global environmental change based on assessment of options and
- to indicate key inter-linkages and associated levels of uncertainty in processes of global environmental change.
Solution concept
- Partial equilibrium (price elastic demand)
- Partial equilibrium (fixed demand)
- General equilibrium (closed economy)
Solution horizon
- Recursive dynamic (myopic)
- Intertemporal optimization (foresight)
Solution method
- Simulation
- Optimization
Anticipation
Simulation modelling framework, without foresight. However, a simplified version of the energy/climate part of the model (called FAIR) can be run prior to running the framework to obtain data for climate policy simulations.
Temporal dimension
Base year:1970, time steps:1-5 year time step, horizon: 2100
Spatial dimension
Number of regions:26
- Canada
- USA
- Mexico
- Rest of Central America
- Brazil
- Rest of South America
- Northern Africa
- Western Africa
- Eastern Africa
- South Africa
- Western Europe
- Central Europe
- Turkey
- Ukraine +
- Asian-Stan
- Russia +
- Middle East
- India +
- Korea
- China +
- Southeastern Asia
- Indonesia +
- Japan
- Oceania
- Rest of South Asia
- Rest of Southern Africa
Time discounting type
- Discount rate exogenous
- Discount rate endogenous
Policies
- Emission tax
- Emission pricing
- Cap and trade
- Fuel taxes
- Fuel subsidies
- Feed-in-tariff
- Portfolio standard
- Capacity targets
- Emission standards
- Energy efficiency standards
- Agricultural producer subsidies
- Agricultural consumer subsidies
- Land protection
- Pricing carbon stocks
Socio-economic drivers
Model documentation: Socio-economic drivers - IMAGE
Population
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Population age structure
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Education level
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Urbanization rate
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
GDP
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Income distribution
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Employment rate
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Labor productivity
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Total factor productivity
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Autonomous energy efficiency improvements
- Yes (exogenous)
- Yes (endogenous)
Macro-economy
Model documentation: Macro-economy - IMAGE
Economic sector
Industry
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Energy
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Transportation
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Residential and commercial
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Agriculture
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Forestry
- Yes (physical)
- Yes (economic)
- Yes (physical & economic)
Macro-economy
Trade
- Coal
- Oil
- Gas
- Uranium
- Electricity
- Bioenergy crops
- Food crops
- Capital
- Emissions permits
- Non-energy goods
Cost measures
- GDP loss
- Welfare loss
- Consumption loss
- Area under MAC
- Energy system cost mark-up
Categorization by group
- Income
- Urban - rural
- Technology adoption
- Age
- Gender
- Education level
- Household size
Institutional and political factors
- Early retirement of capital allowed
- Interest rates differentiated by country/region
- Regional risk factors included
- Technology costs differentiated by country/region
- Technological change differentiated by country/region
- Behavioural change differentiated by country/region
- Constraints on cross country financial transfers
Resource use
Coal
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Conventional Oil
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Unconventional Oil
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Conventional Gas
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Unconventional Gas
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Uranium
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Bioenergy
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Water
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Raw Materials
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Land
- Yes (fixed)
- Yes (supply curve)
- Yes (process model)
Technological change
Energy conversion technologies
- No technological change
- Exogenous technological change
- Endogenous technological change
Energy End-use
- No technological change
- Exogenous technological change
- Endogenous technological change
Material Use
- No technological change
- Exogenous technological change
- Endogenous technological change
Agriculture (tc)
- No technological change
- Exogenous technological change
- Endogenous technological change
Energy
Model documentation: Energy - IMAGE
Behaviour
In the energy model, substitution among technologies is described in the model using the multinomial logit formulation. The multinomial logit model implies that the market share of a certain technology or fuel type depends on costs relative to competing technologies. The option with the lowest costs gets the largest market share, but in most cases not the full market. We interpret the latter as a representation of heterogeneity in the form of specific market niches for every technology or fuel.
Energy technology substitution
Energy technology choice
- No discrete technology choices
- Logit choice model
- Production function
- Linear choice (lowest cost)
- Lowest cost with adjustment penalties
Energy technology substitutability
- Mostly high substitutability
- Mostly low substitutability
- Mixed high and low substitutability
Energy technology deployment
- Expansion and decline constraints
- System integration constraints
Energy
Electricity technologies
- Coal w/o CCS
- Coal w/ CCS
- Gas w/o CCS
- Gas w/ CCS
- Oil w/o CCS
- Oil w/ CCS
- Bioenergy w/o CCS
- Bioenergy w/ CCS
- Geothermal power
- Nuclear power
- Solar power
- Solar power-central PV
- Solar power-distributed PV
- Solar power-CSP
- Wind power
- Wind power-onshore
- Wind power-offshore
- Hydroelectric power
- Ocean power
Hydrogen production
- Coal to hydrogen w/o CCS
- Coal to hydrogen w/ CCS
- Natural gas to hydrogen w/o CCS
- Natural gas to hydrogen w/ CCS
- Oil to hydrogen w/o CCS
- Oil to hydrogen w/ CCS
- Biomass to hydrogen w/o CCS
- Biomass to hydrogen w/ CCS
- Nuclear thermochemical hydrogen
- Solar thermochemical hydrogen
- Electrolysis
Refined liquids
- Coal to liquids w/o CCS
- Coal to liquids w/ CCS
- Gas to liquids w/o CCS
- Gas to liquids w/ CCS
- Bioliquids w/o CCS
- Bioliquids w/ CCS
- Oil refining
Refined gases
- Coal to gas w/o CCS
- Coal to gas w/ CCS
- Oil to gas w/o CCS
- Oil to gas w/ CCS
- Biomass to gas w/o CCS
- Biomass to gas w/ CCS
Heat generation
- Coal heat
- Natural gas heat
- Oil heat
- Biomass heat
- Geothermal heat
- Solarthermal heat
- CHP (coupled heat and power)
Grid Infra Structure
Electricity
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
Gas
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
Heat
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
CO2
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
Hydrogen
- Yes (aggregate)
- Yes (spatially explicit)
Energy end-use technologies
Passenger transportation
- Passenger trains
- Buses
- Light Duty Vehicles (LDVs)
- Electric LDVs
- Hydrogen LDVs
- Hybrid LDVs
- Gasoline LDVs
- Diesel LDVs
- Passenger aircrafts
Freight transportation
- Freight trains
- Heavy duty vehicles
- Freight aircrafts
- Freight ships
Industry
- Steel production
- Aluminium production
- Cement production
- Petrochemical production
- Paper production
- Plastics production
- Pulp production
Residential and commercial
- Space heating
- Space cooling
- Cooking
- Refrigeration
- Washing
- Lighting
Land-use
Model documentation: Land-use - IMAGE
Land cover
- Cropland
- Cropland irrigated
- Cropland food crops
- Cropland feed crops
- Cropland energy crops
- Forest
- Managed forest
- Natural forest
- Pasture
- Shrubland
- Built-up area
Agriculture and forestry demands
- Agriculture food
- Agriculture food crops
- Agriculture food livestock
- Agriculture feed
- Agriculture feed crops
- Agriculture feed livestock
- Agriculture non-food
- Agriculture non-food crops
- Agriculture non-food livestock
- Agriculture bioenergy
- Agriculture residues
- Forest industrial roundwood
- Forest fuelwood
- Forest residues
Agricultural commodities
- Wheat
- Rice
- Other coarse grains
- Oilseeds
- Sugar crops
- Ruminant meat
- Non-ruminant meat and eggs
- Dairy products
Emission, climate and impacts
Model documentation: Emissions - IMAGE, Climate - IMAGE, Non-climate sustainability dimension - IMAGE
Greenhouse gases
- CO2 fossil fuels
- CO2 cement
- CO2 land use
- CH4 energy
- CH4 land use
- CH4 other
- N2O energy
- N2O land use
- N2O other
- CFCs
- HFCs
- SF6
- PFCs
Pollutants
- CO energy
- CO land use
- CO other
- NOx energy
- NOx land use
- NOx other
- VOC energy
- VOC land use
- VOC other
- SO2 energy
- SO2 land use
- SO2 other
- BC energy
- BC land use
- BC other
- OC energy
- OC land use
- OC other
- NH3 energy
- NH3 land use
- NH3 other
Climate indicators
- Concentration: CO2
- Concentration: CH4
- Concentration: N2O
- Concentration: Kyoto gases
- Radiative forcing: CO2
- Radiative forcing: CH4
- Radiative forcing: N2O
- Radiative forcing: F-gases
- Radiative forcing: Kyoto gases
- Radiative forcing: aerosols
- Radiative forcing: land albedo
- Radiative forcing: AN3A
- Radiative forcing: total
- Temperature change
- Sea level rise
- Ocean acidification
Carbon dioxide removal
- Bioenergy with CCS
- Reforestation
- Afforestation
- Soil carbon enhancement
- Direct air capture
- Enhanced weathering
Climate change impacts
- Agriculture
- Energy supply
- Energy demand
- Economic output
- Built capital
- Inequality
Co-Linkages
- Energy security: Fossil fuel imports & exports (region)
- Energy access: Household energy consumption
- Air pollution & health: Source-based aerosol emissions
- Air pollution & health: Health impacts of air Pollution
- Food access
- Water availability
- Biodiversity
Note: CHP also has a CCS option