NAVIGATE/ENGAGE Expert Workshop 20-22 September 2021

SDG policies in the IMAGE model
Detlef van Vuuren (PBL, Netherlands)

Detlef van Vuuren presented how the SDGs and related policies can be analyzed in the IMAGE model. The model has the strongest coverage for SDGs related to physical indicators, like land use, energy, and pollution and their social implications, and less for SDGs with a strong societal focus. The SDGs are analyzed in the nexus context, bringing together energy, land use, and water sectors. The types of policies in the model to reflect the implementation of the SDGs are broad, ranging from direct target setting to pricing and standards, or assumptions about dietary and behavioral changes. One example was presented in which the IMAGE group performed analyzed achieving the SDGs through different scenarios, focusing on technological change, decentralized solutions, or consumption changes. Another example study focused on achieving targets in the domains of water, land, food and climate, and identifying their synergies and tradeoffs with the SDGs. 

Detlef van Vuuren is a Senior Researcher at the Department of Climate, Air, and Energy at the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency and a professor in Integrated Assessment of Global Environmental Change at the Faculty of Geosciences, Utrecht University. His research concentrates on response strategies to global environmental problems using integrated assessment models and other tools.