Why GAINS?
Supports policy and planning with transparent analyses of emissions, costs, and impacts - including synergies and trade-offs between air quality and climate.
Integrated Assessment Model (IAM)
GAINS: Making synergies between air quality and climate policies visible
Many air pollutants and greenhouse gases share common sources. The GAINS model analyzes costs, effects, and interactions and helps identify cost-effective policy packages - from local to global scale.
10 + 6
10 air pollutants & 6 greenhouse gases
1990-2050+
Time horizon in 5-year steps
~180
Regions / countries covered
Three main applications
Simulation
Estimate costs, health and ecosystem effects for user-defined policy packages.
Cost-effectiveness
Identify the least-cost combinations of measures to achieve given targets.
Cost-benefit
Determine interventions with the maximum (monetized) net benefit.
Source: Public GAINS descriptions and documentation.
Overview
Applications
From CLRTAP negotiations and EU clean air strategies to national roadmaps and global scenarios.
Data basis
Energy and industry structure, catalog of measures, costs, atmospheric chemistry, exposure & impact pathways on health and ecosystems.
Features & Modules
Scenario analysis
Compare historical emissions and future pathways, explore impacts, and assess policy options.
Optimization
Identify least-cost packages of measures that simultaneously meet defined emission or impact targets.
Multiple endpoints
PM2.5 health, ozone mortality, acidification & eutrophication of ecosystems, and climate impact metrics.
Coverage
Global model with regional implementations (Europe, Asia, etc.); analyses at country and sector level.
How it works
1. Activity & emission factors
Integration of international statistics and national data on energy use, technologies, and emission factors.
2. Measures & costs
Catalogue of technical and non-technical abatement options with effectiveness, costs, and applicability per sector.
3. Dispersion & concentration
Atmospheric processes lead to concentrations (e.g. PM2.5, ozone), depositions, and exposures in regions.
4. Impacts
Estimate health and ecosystem effects and climate metrics from concentrations/depositions.
5. Assessment
Simulation, cost-effectiveness or cost-benefit analyses - including optimization if needed.
Resources & further links
GAINS Online
Official entry page and login.
Documentation
Technical documentation with overview, methodology and extensions.
Background & publications
Scientific context and applications.