"One of the weaknesses of Integrated Assessment Models (IAMs) is their characterization of the impacts of climate change. The models have tended to rely on very simple reduced form damage functions that provide very little detail about climate impacts and their distribution. The aggregate quality of these damage functions makes it very difficult to determine how to measure damages. Parameter values and functional forms have been somewhat arbitrary. The values for these damage functions have not been updated as impact research has evolved to include adaptation.The objective of the research project is to address this general shortcoming in IAMs. The research will begin with a broad review of the literature on impacts and adaptation. The project will then focus on incorporating the latest findings into a more detailed model of climate impacts. The focus of this effort is to provide the most accurate measure of the damages from potential future climate changes. Finally, the new climate impact model will be integrated into the a well-known IAM to perform cost-benefit analysis of stabilizing Greenhouse gases concentrations at low levels, at the end of the century."