What is the XDC Model?

The X-Degree Compatibility (XDC) Model is an economic climate impact model.

It analyses the degree of global warming that an economic entity is compatible with under various scenarios, answering the question: How much global warming could be expected, if the entire world operated at the same emission intensity as the entity in question over a given timeframe?

Results are expressed in a tangible degree Celsius (°C) number: the XDC.

How it works

X-Degree Compatibility is calculated in four basic steps:

XDC Gaps ≤0 indicate that the entity is aligned with the chosen global warming scenario, while XDC Gaps >0 indicate Non-Alignment.

 

*Organisations such as the International Energy Agency (IEA) allocate the remaining emissions budget for a specific global warming scenario (e.g. <2°C) among sectors, taking into consideration their inherent differences in emissions intensity and cost-optimised capacity to reduce emissions. The XDC Model ‘translates’ this allocation into °C values, yielding sector-specific benchmarks (Target XDCs).

 

 

How customers use it

The XDC Model was developed by right. based on science and is the ‘engine’ powering our software products and services for companies, investors, asset managers, banks, and others to measure and manage their Paris Alignment.

Customers use the XDC Model to analyse their climate impact, simplify sustainability reporting, set science-based emission reduction targets, conduct forward-looking scenario analysis, guide climate-conscious investment and business decisions, and communicate with stakeholders.

 

What makes it special

The XDC Model is the only methodology of its kind to integrate a climate model.

It is science-based, peer-reviewed, forward-looking, scenario-agnostic, transparent and will be made available as an Open Source application at the end of 2021 (currently accessible for academic research).