Rules for data use and data sharing of the IAM ScenarioMIP Data

This page describes the use of the scenario data produced by Integrated Assessment Modeling (IAM) teams AIM, COFFEE, GCAM, IMAGE, MESSAGEix-GLOBIOM-GAINS, REMIND-MAGPIE and WITCH as part of ScenarioMIP.

The objective of this note is to provide the rules for early access to the scenario data while in parallel the IAM teams are preparing the documentation/papers that should be used by the users as the citation of the underlying scenario data.

The scenario data was uploaded to this database by the IAM teams early February 2026. After this point, the data can be used for scientific purposes. Scientific references for the scenario data will become available latest by 1 September 2026. This is the date when citable preprints of the underlying IAM publications are expected to become available.

The following restrictions apply to the data during the “early access period” between February 1, 2026 and August 31, 2026:

1. Data can be used only upon registration at the ScenarioMIP Explorer.
2. The data can be used only for scientific purposes aimed at the production of peer-reviewed publications. The posting of the scenario data and/or analyses based on the data on social media or other dissemination (in the public or the press) is thus strictly prohibited.
3. Data is provided only for own use by those registered at the ScenarioMIP Explorer. Sharing with third parties is not allowed.
4. Submissions of papers using the IAM scenario data need to wait until the descriptions of the underlying IAM scenarios are published as preprints. Papers based on the IAM scenario data should not be submitted until after 01 September 2026, when preprints of the underlying IAM documentation become available.
5. Papers using the data should use the appropriate citation (guidelines will become available in Spring 2026)
6. The use of the data in the IPCC Reports is allowed using the ScenarioMIP database as a preliminary citation. The IPCC Authors should make sure that citations in the report are updated in Spring 2026 when the citation guidance becomes available.

After the “early access” period (ending at 01 September 2026), above restrictions are lifted and the data can be used according to the database license agreement . Users are expected to follow standard scientific practice, using the citation guidance provided by the IAM teams involved in the ScenarioMIP effort. The IAM teams will provide preprints of their articles and create a DOI for the data.