Brief Comments on the MARKAL Model and Its Use by the DTI
10th August 2003 publication
The White Paper, 'Our Energy Future-A Low Carbon Economy', published in February 2003, partly relies upon the MARKAL model to justify its
assertion that the costs of achieving the Royal Commission on Environmental Pollution's 60% target for the reduction of CO2 emissions by 2050 from current levels will be very small indeed, so small as to be almost unnoticeable in GDP measurement errors. This note provides a summary of some of the analytical and empirical criticisms of the MARKAL modelling and the way it has been used by the DTI, and shows why it should not be relied upon.