Step 5

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Step 5

Instructions

The next thing to do is to add up all of the costs related to your plan. The model will calculate the costs due to climate damages using the scheme from the modified DICE model (module 10 summative assessment) to do this. To get the total costs, we assume an economic growth rate (percent growth of gross economic output per year — the global GDP). It begins at $56 trillion per year grows at a constant annual growth rate of 1.5% for this time period.

The model then adds these climate damage costs to the total energy costs (renewables, plus switching costs, plus carbon-based energy) and the conservation costs to get the overall total costs.

For guidance on how to do this step, see the video below — Capstone Step 5 Instructions.

Video: Capstone Project Step 5 Instructions (2:11)

Click here for a video transcript of "Capstone Project Step 5 Instructions".

PRESENTER: Step 5 of the Capstone Project, we're going to focus on the total costs of your plan so far. Remember, your plan at this point will have consisted of a modified carbon emissions curve here, a modified per capita energy curve here, possibly a change in the population limit here, a change in the fossil fuel fractions, and a change in the renewable energy fractions.

And so, all of that leads to total costs here in yellow, this is page five of the graph pad, which is really just the sum of all these other curves. Four is the climate damage costs, which are quite high in this scenario, reaching a value of something like almost $50 trillion by the end of the time, which is significant. If you look at on page nine, the GDP at the end is about $600 trillion. So, it's you know, a little bit less than 10% of the GDP. It's pretty sizable chunk going to climate damage costs.

So, you take that value and you add to it, the renewable energy cost here - curve two, the carbon energy cost - curve one, and the conservation cost - curve three, which is zero, in this case. Zero because I haven't right now modified the per capita energy demands at all. So, we're not doing anything in terms of conservation. You're going to take a screenshot of this and include this in your, your poster, your presentation of your project and just comment about the relative magnitudes of these different costs, and then we'll consider some of these costs in a different way when we talk about Step 6 as the next thing.

Credit: Dutton Institute. Capstone Step 5 Instructions(link is external). YouTube. August 26, 2022.

Step 5 Deliverable

NOTE: Skip this deliverable until you've cycled through Steps 1-6 and found your ideal scenario. Then produce the following:

A graph showing the various costs (page 5 of the graph pad) -- the units here are all in trillions of dollars. This graph, along with some commentary will appear in your summary poster. The comments could draw the reader's attention to important things in the graph.