Are Climate Models Global Public Goods?

As global climate change became an issue of major international concern beginning in the 1990s, models that accurately replicate observed climate trends and make projections of future changes have become increasingly important tools for both scientists and policy makers. These global and regional models require large investments and major computing power, and have been developed by a handful of government-sponsored institutions and universities, primarily located in the Global North. ¹ Over this same timeframe, many other scientific fields have undergone large-scale institutional reorganization, prioritizing research leading to privatizable commercial innovations (Mirowski, 2011, Lave et al., 2010, Lave, 2012; see chapters by Delfanti, Harrison et al., Lave and Robertson, Robinson, and Rossi, this volume).