For the past couple of days, I’ve been thinking about pathways-to-net-zero and the role of public data. A deceptively simple question:

“can public data inform pathways to net zero?”

So, does the data published enable the creation of a clear pathway-to-net-zero? And, are there reliable timely metrics to adjust those plans as actions are taken?

Is there a framework out there that can use publically available information to design these pathways? If not, would it be feasible to design such a framework?

How would we build consensus on what to measure, what model we create, and what cost function to minimize?

Between connected governing organizations at different scales can we design plans that are synergetic, cost-effective and would those plans need increased collaboration or would self optimizing actors benefits the system as a whole.

If we expand the boundary condition of the model to go beyond national borders, what pathways would we design? Do national borders make sense to use as a boundary condition of our model?

Could we create a model that could scale along all those boundaries without oversimplifying the model? Does it make sense to have one model? Or should we have a multi-model approach?

What actions should we support in our model? How do we validate this model?

Really interesting questions that stress system thinking, individual models, and optimization problems.