PlanZero Glossary

Terms, acronyms, data sources, and the conceptual modelling framework used to implement PlanZero.

Term list:

  1. Ablative Analysis, Ablative Analysis
  2. About Section, About Section, About Page
  3. Barrier
  4. CNZEAA, Canadian Net-Zero Accountability Act
  5. Code
  6. Critical Success Factor, Critical Success Factor, CSF
  7. Deterministic Model, Deterministic Model
  8. Draft Status, Draft Status
  9. Driver
  10. Dynamic Element, Dynamic Element
  11. EGFS
  12. Emission Factor, Emission Factor
  13. Emissions
  14. Environment and Climate Change Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, ECCC, "E-triple-C"
  15. Git
  16. GitHub, GH
  17. GitHub Fork, GitHub Fork
  18. GitHub Issue, GitHub Issue, gh issue
  19. GitHub Pull Request, GitHub Pull Request, pull request, PR
  20. GitHub Repository, GitHub Repository, GitHub Repo, repository, repo
  21. Git Branch, Git Branch
  22. Git Commit, Git Commit
  23. Git Graph, Git Graph, Git History
  24. Git Merge, Git Merge
  25. Greenhouse Gas, Greenhouse Gas
  26. IPCC Sector, IPCC Sector
  27. IPCC Sector Contribution, IPCC Sector Contribution
  28. International Panel on Climate Change, International Panel on Climate Change, IPCC
  29. Key Performance Indicator, Key Performance Indicator, KPI, Base KPI, Derived KPI
  30. Main Branch, Main Branch
  31. Model
  32. Model Metric, Model Metric
  33. NIR
  34. NIR Model, NIR Model
  35. National Energy Use Database, National Energy Use Database, NEUD
  36. National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, NGGI
  37. Natural Resources Canada, Natural Resources Canada, NRCan
  38. Net Zero, Net Zero, Net-Zero
  39. Paris Agreement, Paris Agreement
  40. Petrinex
  41. PlanZero
  42. PlanZero Site, PlanZero Site
  43. Post
  44. Python
  45. Rollout
  46. Scenario, Trajectory, Rollout (noun)
  47. Simulation, Rollout (verb)
  48. Simulations Section, Simulations Section
  49. Statistics Canada, Statistics Canada, StatsCan
  50. Stochastic Model, Stochastic Model
  51. Strategy
  52. Subsidy Factor, Subsidy Factor
  53. Subsidy Program, Subsidy Program
  54. Subsidy Requirement, Subsidy Requirement
  55. Time Series, Time Series
  56. Time Series Interpolation Mode, Time Series Interpolation Mode
  57. UNFCCC
  58. Unit of Measure, Unit of Measure

Ablative Analysis, Ablative Analysis

Ablative analysis in PlanZero is the study of models with and without certain elements (namely strategies), in order to characterize the impact of those elements on the behaviour of the whole model.

See Also

  • Simulation - Ablative analysis is part of model simulation.
  • Simulations Section - Strategies within simulations are evaluated and characterized based on an ablative analysis.
  • Strategy - Strategies within models are are ablated in order to assess their impact.

About Section, About Section, About Page

The "About" section of the planzero.ca website: planzero.ca/about

Barrier

A Barrier is a dynamic element that is not optional, that is, one whose omission would sacrifice the validity of a model.

PlanZero terminology may feel a bit cynical in this regard, but in this terminology, all of the following would qualify as barriers:

  • regulations
  • the life cycle of assets
  • consumer behaviour
  • the length of research and development cycles
  • return on investment requirements
  • the predictions of climate models
  • the laws of physics

I borrow the term from EGFS but its use in a computational modelling framework is, admittedly, a stretch.

Code References

See Also

  • EGFS - PlanZero adopts the Barrier term and definition from The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy.
  • Model - a set of dynamic elements, including barriers, that make a prediction
  • NIR Model - a model of Canada's future emissions
  • Simulation - the computation of scenarios from models
  • Strategy - a dynamic element designed to change the input to one or more barriers
  • [Post] New: the PlanZero glossary - see section "Barriers: Connecting Strategies to Outcomes"

CNZEAA, Canadian Net-Zero Accountability Act

The Canadian Net-Zero Accountability Act legislates federal ministries and agencies to uphold Canada's obligations under the Paris Agreement.

See Also

  • ECCC - Environment and Climate Change Canada is responsible for delivering an annual NIR to the UNFCCC
  • NIR - National Inventory Reports, published by ECCC, are one of the most critical data sources for PlanZero
  • UNFCCC - As a Paris Agreement signatory, Canada delivers an annual report to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change

Code

PlanZero is an open-source project, with [source] code on GitHub.

See Also

  • GitHub Repository - The development hub for PlanZero on GitHub
  • Python - PlanZero's source code is mostly written in the Python programming language

Critical Success Factor, Critical Success Factor, CSF

A Critical Success Factor is a necessary condition of a KPI to achieve an objective. For example, the KPI must be within a certain range of values for any or all of some period of time. The term Critical Success Factor has a long history. PlanZero's use of the term is based on the definition from EGFS, which is a "key conditions that must be created to achieve one or more objectives."

See Also

  • EGFS - The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy
  • IPCC Sector Contribution - an emissions contribution to an IPCC Sector
  • KPI - Key Performance Indicators are the time series contemplated by Critical Success Factors
  • [Post] New: the PlanZero glossary - see section "Emissions and Costs as Critical Success Factors"

Deterministic Model, Deterministic Model

A deterministic model is a model that corresponds to a specific scenario, and has no randomness.

See Also

  • Model - A set of dynamic elements that can be simulated
  • NIR Model - Model of Canada's national emissions in the style of the National Inventory Reports submitted to UNFCCC
  • Stochastic Model - A model that corresponds to a distribution over possible scenarios

Draft Status, Draft Status

A PlanZero Post may be in Draft Status, in which case it is still subject to significant change. A post that is not in Draft Status should not be materially changed, they should only be changed to include clarifications and annoted links to relevant newer content.

See Also

Driver

A driver, in the context of a model, is a quantity of activity or of physical stock, that is typically associated with a province or territory. Barrier dynamic elements can register time series as drivers. Drivers are meant to drive emission KPIs via emission factors, and subsidy KPIs via subsidy factors.

IPCC sector emissions are typically a sum of products (e.g. amount of activity multiplied by emissions per unit of activity, summed over one or more activities that count toward the category); in this typical case, each of the emission-contributing activities corresponds to a driver, and the emission of each greenhouse gas per unit of activity is referred to as an Emission Factor.

An Driver is a time series, whose unit is typically an amount of activity (in whatever unit is appropriate for the emissions source) totalled per year in a non-interpolating time series.

See Also

  • Barrier - Typically, Barriers are the dynamic elements that define Drivers
  • Emission Factor - the constant of proportionality of a driver to emissions
  • NIR Model - a model of national emissions
  • Subsidy Factor - the constant of proportionality of a driver to subsidy

Dynamic Element, Dynamic Element

A PlanZero modelling data structure for representing a modelling assumption, and defining one or more time series. A dynamic element is expected to be a Python code object, that is a subclass of either a Strategy or a Barrier.

Dynamic elements provide two important kinds of logic for definining time series: initialization logic and recurrence logic. Initialization logic creates time series, sets their unit of measure, their interpolation mode, and any initial values each time series should take. The Initialization logic of a dynamic element cannot refer to the values of other time series that aren't created by that element. The recurrence logic of a dynamic element can use the values of other time series to update its own time series for times up to and including the current simulation time.

Code References

See Also

  • Model - models are sets of dynamic elements
  • Simulation - dynamic elements provide the initialization and recurrence logic to define time series by simulation
  • Time Series - timeseries are the inputs and outputs of dynamic elements
  • [Post] New: the PlanZero glossary - see section on Dynamic Elements

EGFS

Wilkinson, M., The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy: featuring the Drivers Model, Atlanta: Leadership Strategies Publishing, 2011. Amazon

I've appropriated (hopefully not misappropriated) terms of implementation planning (Critical Success Factor, Barrier, Strategy) as defined in this book, to structure the visualization of model simulation. I have also tried to insert aspects of directional strategy (mission, vision, guiding principles, positioning) in the project overview on the About page.

See Also

  • Barrier - a non-ablatable model element, used to model the interactions of time series with KPIs
  • CSF - target values for target times of a KPI time series, in order to achieve an objective
  • KPI - a time series registered to participate in emissions or subsidy calculations
  • Strategy - an ablatable model element, used to represent a strategy in a model
  • [Post] New: the PlanZero glossary - see section on Modelling National Emissions

Emission Factor, Emission Factor

An emission factor is a constant of proportionality between an emission driver and the amount of some emitted greenhouse gas.

See Also

  • Driver - a quantity of activity or physical stock that causes emissions in proportion to one or more emission factors
  • Emissions - the result of multiplying an emission factor by a driver
  • Greenhouse Gas - an emission factor is a constant of proportionality to one greenhouse gas
  • KPI - an emission factor is one of PlanZero's base KPI types
  • NIR Model - a model of Canada's future emissions

Emissions

The combined emissions of the seven greenhouse gases, often quantified in units of CO2e. Canada estimates rates of emissions in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory.

See Also

  • Driver - a level of activity or physical stock, multiplied by an emission factor to calculate emissions
  • Emission Factor - a factor of proportionality between drivers and emissions
  • IPCC Sector - the lowest levels of granularity in National Greenhouse Gas Inventory
  • KPI - Emissions are Derived KPIs
  • NIR Model - a model of Canada's future emissions, calculated by summing up emissions across IPCC Sectors
  • National Greenhouse Gas Inventory - the data from which NIRs are generated

Environment and Climate Change Canada, Environment and Climate Change Canada, ECCC, "E-triple-C"

Federal ministry "protecting and conserving our natural heritage, predicting weather and environmental conditions, preventing and managing pollution, promoting clean growth and a sustainable environment for present and future generations."

ECCC, among many activities and responsibilities, prepares the annual NIR, and maintains the federal plan for Net-Zero by 2050.

See Also

  • NGGI - National Greenhouse Gas Inventory is maintained by ECCC
  • NIR - National Inventory Reports are prepared by ECCC
  • Natural Resources Canada - peer federal ministry

Git

Git is a "free and open source distributed version control system designed to handle everything from small to very large projects with speed and efficiency."

PlanZero is developed with git, and hosted on GitHub as a public code repository.

See Also

  • Git Branch - maintain versions of code with git branches
  • Git Commit - record source file changes to a git branch
  • Git Merge - merge changes from one branch into another
  • GitHub - git hosting for PlanZero

GitHub, GH

GitHub (site, wikipedia) is a web service for using the git version control system over the internet to collaborate on software projects. Circa 2023, it was the world's largest source code host, with over 100 million developers, and 420 million code repositories.

See Also

  • Git - version control software upon which GitHub is based
  • GitHub Fork - a copy of a GitHub repository into another user's GitHub account
  • GitHub Issue - a future-work item on the PlanZero project
  • GitHub Repository - git branches corresponding to one or more versions of a project's code and files

GitHub Fork, GitHub Fork

Public GitHub repos can be "forked" by users who wish to make and publish their own modifications. If you have a GitHub account, you can fork the PlanZero codebase, to make branches with your own modifications, and then submit them back as pull requests.

See Also

GitHub Issue, GitHub Issue, gh issue

GitHub issues, such as the PlanZero issues, are notices / reminders of future work. Issues are used differently by different projects, some projects don't use GitHub's issues at all. PlanZero uses GitHub issues to record a variety of ideas and To-Do items, but in particular, those that have been mentioned in posts.

See Also

  • GitHub - Code hosting for PlanZero
  • Post - A report on a piece of work on PlanZero, sometimes linking to GitHub issues corresponding to next steps beyond the scope of the post itself

GitHub Pull Request, GitHub Pull Request, pull request, PR

One of GitHub's main features is a web interface for people to suggest code changes to each other. Pull requests enable asynchronous loosely-coupled development over the net by giving contributors and developers a place to talk about the changes, and possibly even merge those changes. See Github documentation for full description of this capability.

See Also

  • GitHub Fork - typically a pull request represents a request to merge code from a branch in one fork (maintained by one person) into a branch on another fork (maintained by another person)
  • Git Branch - a pull request is a request to merge two branches
  • Main Branch - submit a pull request to this branch when a new development is ready

GitHub Repository, GitHub Repository, GitHub Repo, repository, repo

A GitHub code repository, or repo, is a GitHub-defined entity, it is a major point of configuration, especially for billing and permissions. A repo contains all of the code and files for one or more git branches. A repo may be created from some standard initial state (such as being empty), or it may be created by forking another repo. My ("James Bergstra", aka "jaberg") PlanZero repo is here. If a repo is not created by forking, then it may be called a "Source Repo" or "Upstream Repo".

See Also

  • Git - the version control system upon which GitHub operates
  • GitHub - the site that hosts GitHub code repositories
  • GitHub Fork - A repo can be forked to create a downstream copy of an upstream repo

Git Branch, Git Branch

A git branch is a way of tracking a single version of a set of files. Technically, it is a sequence of git commits (sometimes a graph) to source files leading from the initially empty project to some version that's full of files. The PlanZero site is populated by deploying the "main" branch. Anyone is welcome to suggest changes to main by creating a pull request on github, requesting that the main branch merge changes from another branch that they've created.

See Also

  • GitHub Pull Request - a request to merge branches made via GitHub
  • Git Commit - change a branch by adding a commit, which incorporates changes to local files
  • Git Graph - the commits and merges to a branch define a directed acyclic graph with a single source node (the beginning of development) and a single sink node (the current state of the branch)
  • Git Merge - changes from one branch can be merged into another
  • Main Branch - the branch from which the PlanZero site is generated

Git Commit, Git Commit

A "commit" is an increment of change to a codebase, across one or more changed files. It is a node in the graph of changes that make up a git repository.

See Also

  • Git Branch - a named graph of commits corresponding to a single version of set of files

Git Graph, Git Graph, Git History

A set of commits and merges that build on one another form a graph representing all of the development on a project. Try visualizing the graph for any git project by using purpose-built visual tools, or running a command such as 

git log --all --decorate --oneline --graph

See Also

Git Merge, Git Merge

A git "merge" is the operation of combining two branches together into a coherent set of files, extending one branch with commits from the other. Sometimes some fixing up is required, for example if both branches have changed the same part of the same file, but usually merging is mostly automatic. Merging is how people can contribute their changes back to the main branch. Merging can be done locally on a development computer, or on GitHub via a pull request.

See Also

Greenhouse Gas, Greenhouse Gas

One, or a mixture, of the seven gases (or families of gases) assessed by the IPCC as a significant factor in trapping heat within the Earth planetary system. They are CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs, NF3, and SF6.

See Also

  • IPCC - International Panel on Climate Change defines greenhouse gases and reporting standards for signatories to the Paris Agreement
  • NGGI - National Greenhouse Gas Inventory tracks Canadian greenhouse gas emissions
  • [Post] A Model of Greenhouse Gas Emissions - see section on Greenhouse gases

IPCC Sector, IPCC Sector

IPCC Sector is a PlanZero term, referring to an economic area for which Canada tracks emissions in the National Greenhouse Gas Inventory. Each such sector is analyzed in accordance with IPCC emissions reporting guidelines, but the UNFCCC leaves the level of granularity of each sector up to each country, in order to report on its progress appropriately. In PlanZero posts, the term almost always refers to a sector that is not a subtotal of other sectors. PlanZero uses a set of 71 IPCC Sectors, which match the ones used in NIR-2025.

See Also

  • IPCC - The International Panel on Climate Change, a scientific body that produces climate reports for the UN, and reporting guidelines for Paris Agreement signatories
  • NGGI - The National Greenhouse Gas Inventory of emissions from which Canada produces annual reports
  • NIR - National Inventory Reports of Greenhous Gases, organized in terms of [what PlanZero refers to as] IPCC Sectors
  • NIR Model - A PlanZero model that simulates emission amounts for IPCC Sectors
  • Paris Agreement - The international agreement on reporting guidelines for greenhouse gases
  • UNFCCC - The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international treaty aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere

IPCC Sector Contribution, IPCC Sector Contribution

The emissions associated with an IPCC Sector are generally computed as coming from one or more sources, each of which is associated by PlanZero with the product of a driver and an emission factor. This product is called a IPCC Sector Contribution.

See Also

  • Driver - A quantity of activity or physical stock that causes emissions (generally a time series)
  • Emission Factor - the factor of proportionality between a driver and an IPCC Sector Contribution (generally a time series)
  • IPCC Sector - the emissions for an IPCC Sector are calculated by summing one or more IPCC Sector Contributions
  • KPI - IPCC Sector Contributions are Derived KPIs
  • NIR Model - a model of Canada's future emissions

International Panel on Climate Change, International Panel on Climate Change, IPCC

International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change. Among many activities, and across many working groups, the IPCC maintains the methodology for emissions estimation that is to be used by signatories of the Paris Agreement. Canada uses this methodology to prepare its annual NIR.

See Also

  • CNZEAA - The Canadian Net-Zero Accountability Act, legislation to uphold Canada's responsibilities under the Paris Agreement
  • IPCC Sector - PlanZero term for the most granular categories used in NIR documents
  • NIR - National Inventory Reports of Greenhous Gases, prepared according to UNFCCC guidelines, which were developed by the IPCC
  • Paris Agreement - The international agreement on reporting guidelines for greenhouse gases
  • UNFCCC - The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international treaty aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere

Key Performance Indicator, Key Performance Indicator, KPI, Base KPI, Derived KPI

A Key Performance Indicator (KPI) in PlanZero is a time series that is registered to participate in the calculation of emissions or subsidies. A base KPI is a driver, an emission factor, or a subsidy factor. A derived KPI is the product of a driver with an emission factor, or the product of a driver with a subsidy factor, or the result of summing together other derived KPIs toward e.g. national totals.

See Also

  • CSF - target values for target times of a KPI time series, in order to achieve an objective
  • Driver - Base KPI in emissions calculation, referring to a level of activity or physical stock
  • Emission Factor - Base KPI in emissions calculations, referring to the factor of proportionality between a driver and an IPCC Sector Contribution
  • IPCC Sector Contribution - The Derived KPIs added together to calculate various emissions totals
  • NIR Model - a model of Canada's future emissions
  • Time Series - KPIs are time-varying quantities

Main Branch, Main Branch

PlanZero on GitHub generally has multiple git branches. The "main branch" is special, in that it is the one used to deploy the PlanZero site. New improvements to the codebase should be merged to the main branch.

See Also

  • GitHub Pull Request - a request to merge one branch into another is the preferred way to update the main branch of a project, because it prompts discussion and consideration
  • Git Branch - a version of a codebase

Model

A model, in PlanZero, is a set of time series and dynamic elements that can be simulated to generate one or more possible scenarios. A model can be either deterministic or stochastic.

See Also

Model Metric, Model Metric

A formula, procedure or rule for associating a single number to a Model. For example, NIR models could be evaluated in terms of prediction accuracy.

See Also

  • KPI - A Key Performance Indicator is a standard time series associated with multiple models
  • Model - A set of assumptions that can be simulated to produce one or more scenarios
  • NIR Model - NIR models have standard KPIs, which could support standard metrics

NIR

A National [Greenhouse Gas] Inventory Report, is published annually by Environment and Climate Change Canada, and submitted to the UNFCCC Secretariat. Specific reports are referred to as e.g. NIR-2023, NIR-2024, NIR-2025, an so on in PlanZero. The first report was NIR-2004. The most recent as-of writing is NIR-2026.

See Also

  • CNZEAA - The Canadian Net-Zero Accountability Act commits ECCC to problishing National Inventory Reports, setting emissions targets, and developing a plan to hit those targets
  • IPCC Sector - PlanZero term for the most granular categories used in NIR documents
  • UNFCCC - The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international treaty aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere

NIR Model, NIR Model

An NIR model is a model that generates emissions KPIs corresponding to the emission amounts in a National Inventory Report.

NIR Models are also the fully-featured models featured in the PlanZero Simulations section. In addition to KPIs relating to emissions, these models include KPIs relating to subsidy programs.

See Also

  • Driver - A level of activity or physical stock that drives emissions
  • Emission Factor - A factor of proportionality of how much of a greenhouse gas is emitted by a driver
  • IPCC Sector - NIR models calculate emissions for each IPCC Sector
  • IPCC Sector Contribution - the emissions calculated by an NIR model are sums across per-sector contributions
  • KPI - an emissions contribution to an IPCC Sector
  • Model - Any set of dynamic elements makes a model, NIR models have dynamic elements that declare drivers and emission factors
  • NIR - A National Inventory Report published by the ECCC with historical Canadian emissions data, organized by IPCC Sector
  • Simulations Section - NIR models are analyzed in this section of the PlanZero site
  • Subsidy Program - NIR models calculate subsidy requirements for each Subsidy Program
  • Subsidy Requirement - the total subsidies calculated by an NIR model are sums across per-program requirements

National Energy Use Database, National Energy Use Database, NEUD

The National Energy Usage Database, is developed and maintained by Natural Resources Canada. It reflects energy usage and movement by economic sector.

PlanZero uses this data to quantify drivers of emissions in certain IPCC sectors.

Code References

See Also

National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, National Greenhouse Gas Inventory, NGGI

Canada's National Greenhouse Gas Inventory tracks emissions across Canada, and is the basis for the annual National Inventory Reports.

See Also

  • ECCC - Environment and Climate Change Canada maintains and publishes the NGGI
  • NIR - National Inventory Reports are prepared from the NGGI

Natural Resources Canada, Natural Resources Canada, NRCan

Natural Resources Canada (sometimes, NRCan) is a federal ministry "Committed to improving the quality of life of Canadians by ensuring the country’s abundant natural resources are developed sustainably, competitively and inclusively.".

See Also

  • ECCC - Environment_and_Climate_Change_Canada is a peer federal ministry
  • NEUD - NRCan maintains and publishes the National Energy Use Database

Net Zero, Net Zero, Net-Zero

Net-zero is a hypothetical state, in which greenhouse gas emissions across the sectors of an economy, average out to zero. The goal of the PlanZero project is to explore models of how Canada might achieve net-zero.

See Also

  • ECCC - The ECCC is preparing a plan for Canada to reach net-zero
  • Paris Agreement - The Paris Agreement implores countries to reach net-zero by mid-century
  • PlanZero - PlanZero is this project, to model how Canada might reach net-zero

Paris Agreement, Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement is an international treaty committing signatories to report emissions in a standard way (as per IPCC recommendation), to set their own emissions targets (Nationally Determined Contributions, NDCs), and to strengthen those targets over time, ideally achieving net-zero emissions by mid-century, and limiting global warming to 1.5∘C.

See Also

  • CNZEAA - The Canadian Net-Zero Accountability Act, legislation to uphold Canada's responsibilities under the Paris Agreement
  • IPCC - The International Panel on Climate Change, the scientific body that defined the reporting guidelines adopted by the Paris Agreement
  • UNFCCC - Reports prepared by Paris Agreement signatories are delivered to the Secretariat of the United Nations Framework on Climate Change

Petrinex

Petrinex facilitates efficient, standardized, safe, and accurate management and exchange of "data of record" information essential for:

  1. the administration of Alberta's, British Columbia's, Saskatchewan's, Manitoba's, and Indian Oil and Gas Canada's royalty frameworks and regulatory enforcement, and
  2. the commercial operation of the upstream, midstream and downstream petroleum sector.
In PlanZero, Petrinex is a data source for emissions data relating to the oil and gas sector in Alberta and Saskatchewan.

Code References

See Also

PlanZero

This site and its supporting code, as well as the project of building and continually improving the site and its supporting code, is collectivey referred to as "PlanZero"

See Also

  • About Section - Read more about this project on the About page
  • ECCC - The ECCC is preparing a plan for Canada to reach net-zero
  • GitHub Repository - The development hub for PlanZero on GitHub
  • PlanZero Site - The site you probably used to access this page

PlanZero Site, PlanZero Site

The PlanZero site is the website hosted at https://planzero.ca.

See Also

  • GitHub Repository - The development hub for PlanZero on GitHub
  • Main Branch - the code from which the site is generated
  • PlanZero - A collective term for the site, the supporting code, and the project to develop them

Post

A post on this site (see e.g. https://planzero.ca/posts/).

The About page includes some guidelines for post content.

See Also

Python

PlanZero is implemented in the Python programming language

See Also

  • Code - PlanZero's source code is mostly written in the Python programming language
  • GitHub Repository - The development hub for PlanZero on GitHub

Rollout

Rollout is a conventionally used term in modelling and simulation, which means one of a few related things depending on the context of usage. A Scenario is constructed from a model by executing the initialization and recurrence logic of the model's dynamic elements. The recurrence logic is generally executed repeatedly, extending time series one time step at a time, until all of the time series in all of the dynamic elements are extended to at least the end-time of the simulation. This proces of repeated extension is sometimes called "rolling out" the model, perhaps like a carpet that unrolls to take up more space and reveal the intracacies of its design. Sometimes "rollout" is used as a noun, to refer to the resulting scenario, rather than the algorithm that built it.

See Also

  • Dynamic Element - the model elements being rolled out
  • Model - a set of dynamic elements that can be simulated (rolled out)
  • Scenario - The set of time series that result from simulating a model (a scenario may be called a rollout)
  • Simulation - The process of building a scenario (rolling out the model)
  • Time Series - the data structures being rolled out, or making up a rollout
  • [Post] New: the PlanZero glossary - see sub-sections about simulation and scenarios

Scenario, Trajectory, Rollout (noun)

A scenario is a set of time series covering a common time period. Typically in PlanZero it is the result of simulating a model.

Code References

See Also

Simulation, Rollout (verb)

Simulation in PlanZero refers to the the algorithm for building one or more Scenarios from a Model. Models comprise dynamic elements, which provide initialization and recurrence logic for defining time series. Simulation is the algorithm of using initialization logic and then iterative recurrence logic to extend time series forward in time (roll them out) until all of the time series cover a required time interval.

The strategies, in a model with strategies, are evaluated for PlanZero's Simulations Section by an Ablative Analysis. That is to say, the model with all of the strategies is simulated, and the model without a given strategy is also simulated, and the difference in resulting scenarios is shown on the site as the impact of the strategy. Depending on context, simulation refer to either the creation of these individual scenarios, or the creation of all of the scenarios necessary for ablative analysis.

A deterministic model corresponds to a single scenario, whereas a non-deterministic model corresponds to a distribution over possible scenarios. Simulation of a non-deterministic model means sampling from this distribution over scenarios by generating scenarios using pseudo-random numbers. Ablative analysis of a strategy in a non-deterministic model means sampling from the distributions both with and without the strategy. Simulation, in this context, may refer to the computation of any or all of the scenarios involved.

Code References

See Also

  • Ablative Analysis - the evaluation of a strategy by comparing scenarios with and without the strategy
  • Deterministic Model - a model that corresponds to a single scenario
  • Dynamic Element - the model elements providing initialization and recurrence logic
  • Model - a set of dynamic elements that can be simulated (rolled out)
  • Rollout - a synonym for either simulation or scenario, depending on context
  • Scenario - The set of time series that result from simulating a model
  • Simulations Section - Pages on the PlanZero site showing simulation results
  • Stochastic Model - a model that corresponds to a distribution over scenarios
  • Time Series - the data structures built up by simulation
  • [Post] New: the PlanZero glossary - see sub-section about simulation

Simulations Section, Simulations Section

The Simulations section of the planzero.ca website: https://planzero.ca/simulations/

See Also

  • Ablative Analysis - For each simulation, each strategy in the Simulations Section is evaluated by comparing scenarios with and without that strategy
  • Model - A set of dynamic elements that can be simulated
  • NIR Model - Models of Canada's national emissions provide content for the Simulations Section
  • Simulation - The algorithm for generating the data for the Simulations Section

Statistics Canada, Statistics Canada, StatsCan

Statistics Canada, Canada's national statistical office. Much of the data used in PlanZero is drawn from Statistics Canada tables, downloaded via open-source project stats_can.

See Also

  • NEUD - The National Energy Use Database draws on data products from Statistics Canada
  • NGGI - The National Greenhouse Gas Inventory draws on data products from Statistics Canada

Stochastic Model, Stochastic Model

A stochastic model corresponds to a distribution over possible scenarios. Simulating a stochastic model using pseudo-random numbers draws a sample from this distribution.

See Also

  • Deterministic Model - A model that corresponds to a unique scenario
  • Model - A set of dynamic elements that can be simulated
  • NIR Model - Model of Canada's national emissions in the style of the National Inventory Reports submitted to UNFCCC
  • Simulation - The procedure for converting a stochastic model to one or more scenarios

Strategy

A Strategy is a dynamic element that is meant to represent an inititive that could be undertaken within a model. Strategies are optional; they can be omitted without sacrificing the validity of a model. Indeed, simulating models with and without a strategy is how strategies are evaluated in the Simulations on the PlanZero site. This is called Ablative Analysis.

I adapt the term from EGFS where Strategies were defined as "broad activities required to achieve a goal, create a critical condition, or overcome a barrier."

Code References

See Also

  • Ablative Analysis - A strategy is evaluated in the context of a model by comparing scenarios with and without the strategy
  • Barrier - Barriers are the other kind of dynamic element in a model, which define KPIs, and relate the time series of a model to one another
  • Dynamic Element - at a computational level, a strategy is a type of dynamic element
  • EGFS - The Executive Guide to Facilitating Strategy provided the term definition adapted here in PlanZero
  • Model - Models are sets of dynamic elements, which may include Strategies
  • Simulation - The construction of a scenarios from a model, sometimes including the ablative analysis of strategies
  • Simulations Section - the Simulations section of the site features the strategies of each scenario
  • [Post] New: the PlanZero glossary - see modelling sub-section on strategies

Subsidy Factor, Subsidy Factor

A subsidy factor is a constant of proportionality between a Driver and a requirement of a real or hypothetical funding program. Subsidy Factors are Base KPIs of NIR Models.

See Also

  • Driver - A level of activity or physical stock that drives a subsidy requirement by multiplication with a subsidy factor
  • KPI - A standard metric associated with an NIR Model, subsidy factors are Base KPIs
  • NIR Model - a model of national emissions, and of subsidy requirements
  • Subsidy Requirement - the annual subsidy amount associated with a driver

Subsidy Program, Subsidy Program

A Subsidy Program is an actual or hypothetical government program, at any level of government, that directly or indirectly funds a set of related activities. A subsidy program is to total subsidies, as an IPCC Sector is to total national emissions.

See Also

  • Driver - A level of activity or physical stock that drives a subsidy requirement
  • IPCC Sector Contribution - the analogous term to a Subsidy Requirement in the calculation of emissions
  • KPI - Subsidy Requirements are a Derived KPI
  • NIR Model - a model of national emissions and subsidies
  • Subsidy Factor - The product of a Driver and a Subsidy Factor is a Subsidy Requirement
  • Subsidy Requirement - Subsidy Program totals are calculated by adding up one or more Subsidy Requirements, associated with different Drivers

Subsidy Requirement, Subsidy Requirement

A subsidy requirement is derived KPI representing an amount of funding required for something on an annual basis.

See Also

  • Driver - A level of activity or physical stock that drives a subsidy requirement
  • IPCC Sector Contribution - the analogous term to a Subsidy Requirement in the calculation of emissions
  • KPI - Subsidy Requirements are a Derived KPI
  • NIR Model - a model of national emissions, and also of subsidies
  • Subsidy Factor - The product of a Driver and a Subsidy Factor is a Subsidy Requirement

Time Series, Time Series

A PlanZero time series is a modelling data structure for representing a time-varying quantity in some unit of measure. The key attributes of a time series are:

  • a sequence of numeric values the series takes
  • a sequence of times marking when the series takes these values
  • a unit of measure for the values
  • an interpolation mode, indicating how to interpret value for times other than the enumerated ones

Code References

See Also

Time Series Interpolation Mode, Time Series Interpolation Mode

The time series interpolation mode is a mechanism that is partly for convenience and partly for error prevention. There are currently two possible interpolation modes. The value of a time series at times other than those explicitly mentioned is either

  • "current", defined to be the most recent value of the series
  • "no interpolation", which leaves such values undefined
The interpolation mode of a time series is configured by the initialization logic of a dynamic element when it creates the time series. Time series that are well-defined for continuous ranges of time, such as emission rates, should typically be configured with "current" interpolation. Time series that are well-defined only for specific points in time, such as annual totals, should typically be configured with "no interpolation" as the interpolation mode.

See Also

UNFCCC

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is the primary international treety aimed at stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. It has as an objective to limit global temperature rise to "well under 2∘C". It defined the annual "Conference Of the Parties (COP)" meetings to assess progress and negotiate new treaties and initiatives, such as the Paris Agreement, which is based upon the UNFCCC.

See Also

  • CNZEAA - The Canadian Net-Zero Accountability Act, legislation to uphold Canada's responsibilities under the Paris Agreement
  • IPCC - The International Panel on Climate Change, a scientific body that provides scientific input for ongoing UNFCCC initiatives
  • Paris Agreement - The international agreement that signatories would report emissions in standard ways, and set Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) targets

Unit of Measure, Unit of Measure

A PlanZero unit of measure is one that is registered in the ureg.py file, using the Pint unit package. The registry includes standard units of measure in e.g. the metric SI system in addition to various more traditional ones, and also custom units related to PlanZero modelling such as types of coal, greenhouse gases, farms, and vehicles.

Code References

See Also

  • Dynamic Element - Dynamic Element initialization logic configures the unit of measure of each time series in a simulation
  • Time Series - Time Series are associated with a unit of measure