LEAP, globally popular software for energy, climate mitigation, and air pollution planning, to be offered free to an additional 54 countries
The Low Emissions Analysis Platform (LEAP), an integrated tool for energy, climate mitigation and air pollution planning, is now available at no charge to target users in an additional 54 countries – now in 146 countries total.
Screenshot from LEAP: Emissions variations by location.
The countries eligible for free LEAP licenses now include all upper-middle-countries and most Small Island Developing States (SIDS), making the tool freely available to governments, utilities, NGOs and academic organizations in 146 countries.
With Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) under the Paris Agreement due to the UNFCCC in 2025, more planners will now have access to LEAP’s comprehensive energy, climate mitigation and air pollution modelling capabilities. LEAP is already used by 68 000 users in almost every country and more than 60 governments have used it to support the development of their NDCs.
"LEAP has been invaluable in facilitating public policy dialogue around low-carbon transitions, offering a robust platform to test alternative decarbonisation scenarios,” says Antoine Godin, Head of Macroeconomic Modelling at Agence Française de Développement. “Our experience in Morocco highlighted not only the software’s capabilities but also the essential support and insights provided by the LEAP team, empowering more informed policy decisions.”
In July, Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) released a major update to LEAP designed to make policy-relevant analysis easier to undertake, more accessible, more inclusive, and better able to address important emerging concerns, such as energy affordability, environmental justice, and the role of expanded transmission in low carbon pathways.
SEI charges licensing fees to support the ongoing development and maintenance of the tool, with the goal of promoting scientifically sound energy and climate mitigation policy. In the past, SEI made LEAP licenses available free of charge to governments, NGOs and academic organizations in low-income and lower-middle-income countries and to students worldwide, while charging a license fee to users elsewhere.
Recent LEAP improvements have stoked a growth of interest in the tool among high-income countries and for-profit organizations such as utilities and consulting companies, allowing SEI to now make LEAP freely available to governments, NGOs and academic organizations in upper-middle-income countries and most SIDS.
“Small Island developing nations face unique climate vulnerabilities, so making LEAP broadly accessible in these economies helps promote fairer access to scientifically sound climate planning tools,” says Charlie Heaps, Senior Scientist at SEI US.
LEAP will be free to governments, NGOs and academic organizations in SIDS economies with a per capita income of less than USD $32 000 (roughly twice the per capita income threshold for high-income countries).
The list of 54 countries with new free access to LEAP includes: American Samoa, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, The Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Bosnia & Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, China, Colombia, Costa Rica, Curacao, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, French Polynesia, Gabon, Grenada, Guatemala, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kosovo, Lebanon, Malaysia, Maldives, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Mexico, Moldova, Montenegro, Nauru, North Macedonia, Northern Mariana Islands, Palau, Peru, Puerto Rico, Serbia, Seychelles, South Africa, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Thailand, Tonga, Trinidad & Tobago, Turkiye, Turkmenistan, Turks & Caicos Islands, Tuvalu and Venezuela.
This list is in addition to the low-income and lower-middle-income countries who can already access LEAP at no charge. LEAP continues to be available free of charge to accredited students worldwide.
More information about LEAP
LEAP is developed and distributed by Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI), a non-profit research organization working to bridge science, policy and practice for sustainable development.
Visit the LEAP website soon to download LEAP and to request a license.
For more information and interview requests, please contact:
Ulrika Lamberth, Senior Press Officer, Stockholm Environment Institute, + 46 73 801 70 53 (CET), ulrika.lamberth@sei.org
Lynsi Burton, Communications Officer, Stockholm Environment Institute, + 1 360 485 30 41 (PST), lynsi.burton@sei.org
Stockholm Environment Institute (SEI) is an international non-profit research institute that tackles environment and sustainable development challenges.
We empower partners to meet these challenges through cutting-edge research, knowledge, tools and capacity building. Through SEI’s HQ and seven centres around the world, we engage with policy, practice and development action for a sustainable, prosperous future for all. www.sei.org @SEIresearch @SEIclimate
