This website provides background information and guidance on the use of data templates developed by the Integrated Assessment Modeling Consortium (IAMC) and the associated web-databases hosted by the International Institute for Applied Systems Analysis (IIASA).
The first data template that was developed by the IAMC scientific working group (SWG) on Data Protocols and Management is the initial Asian Modeling Exercise (AME) template which dates back to late 2009. The variable names used in the original AME template have been revised since and many other model intercomparison projects (e.g., EMF24, EMF27, RoSE, AMPERE, LIMITS) as well as larger assessment reports (e.g., IPCC WGIII Fifth Assessment Report) have adopted the IAMC data template format and extended the original set of variables. In this process the general naming convention established with the first template was taken into account, however, an overarching logic for constructing additional variable names was lacking, so that inconsistencies in different parts of the variable tree have developed. This led to significant differences between variable names in different ongoing modeling comparisons and makes some post-processing of variable names necessary to re-introduce compatibility across different applications of the IAMC data template format. To safeguard against diverging developments of the variable names that are being introduced by a number of ongoing model intercomparisons projects (e.g., ADVANCE, EMF30) and community activities (e.g., Shared Socioeconomic Pathways, SSPs), in particular in the areas of energy services, agriculture, forestry and other land uses, this document tries to establish a logic for the construction of variable names that is also applicable for future extensions of the IAMC data template. At present this logic has been developed with a focus on energy-related variables that constitute the majority of variables in existing templates, but there is the need to develop this further for other sectors, following the same structures as introduced for energy-related variables.
The following IAM model intercomparison projects have utilized or are currently utilizing the IAMC data template and/or the web-based database infrastructure.
In addition, several IPCC-related activities have used the IAMC data template and the web-based database infrastructure.