Climate Data Governance Framework

• Framework Overview
• Constitutional Layer
• CTH as Framework Operator
• Governance Board
• Dispute Resolution & Framework Evolution
• Roles & Permissions
• Role Taxonomy Overview
• Data Submitter
• Accredited Validator
• Community Sovereign
• CTH Data Steward
• Regulator / Auditor
• AI Agent
• Decision Rules
• R-SUB: Submission Rules
• R-VAL: Validation Rules
• R-CON: Consent & Benefit Rules
• R-AGT: Agent Rules
• R-CHG: Change Governance Rules
• Technical Standards Stack
• Standards Overview
• T-01: Identity & Credential Layer
• T-02: Provenance & Quality Layer
• T-03: Policy & Enforcement Layer
• T-04: Discovery & AI Access Layer
• Regulatory Mappings
• EUDR — EU Deforestation Regulation
• CSRD — Corporate Sustainability Reporting
• CBAM — Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism
• ISSB IFRS S2 — Climate Disclosures
• Article 6.4 — Paris Agreement Carbon Credits

Framework Overview

This framework governs how climate data is collected, validated, consented, stored, and used across CleantechHUB's programmes and partner networks. It applies to all data that flows through CTH's infrastructure — from KoboToolbox field surveys in Colombian coffee regions to CBAM-compliant emissions records for LATAM exporters.

Framework Structure

Design Principles

Principle	What it means
Operator ≠ Owner	CTH operates the infrastructure but does not own or control the data. Analogous to ICANN for DNS.
Consent is structural	FPIC checks are enforced at database level — no role, including CTH, can bypass them.
Agents are first-class	AI agents have explicit permissions, mandatory audit logging, and must pass a policy check before every write.
Rules are executable	All decision rules are encoded as ODRL policies enforced by OPA — not prose guidelines.
Compliance is output, not goal	EUDR, CSRD, CBAM compliance reports are generated automatically from the governance ledger — not assembled manually.

Constitutional Layer

CTH as Framework Operator

The most important design choice in this framework: CTH is the operator, not the owner. CTH maintains the technical infrastructure, publishes the standards, certifies validators, and enforces the rules. CTH does not own, sell, or unilaterally access the climate data that flows through the system.

What CTH Can Do

What CTH Cannot Do

Legal Basis

Jurisdiction	Relevant instrument	Implication for CTH
Colombia	Law 21 of 1991 (ILO 169 ratification)	Free Prior and Informed Consent mandatory before collecting data in indigenous territories
Colombia	2016 Peace Accords — Ethnic Chapter	Community data rights recognised as part of territorial rights
EU	GDPR Article 5	Data minimisation and purpose limitation — encoded in ODRL policies
Brazil	LGPD (Lei 13.709/2018)	Consent requirements for personal data in emissions records
International	CARE Principles (GIDA 2018)	Collective benefit, authority to control, responsibility, ethics — all encoded in framework rules

Governance Board

The Governance Board makes decisions about the framework itself — what rules apply, which methodologies are accepted, how disputes are resolved. CTH holds one seat as Operator but cannot outvote the other four seats combined. The board structure is designed to prevent regulatory capture.

Board Composition

Voting Rules

Decision type	Required majority	Additional conditions
Major version change (new principles, breaking schema changes)	⅔ of all seats	30-day public comment period. Minimum 4/5 seats must vote (quorum).
Minor version change (new accepted methodology, optional field)	Simple majority	14-day comment period. CTH operator decision with board notification.
Any rule touching FPIC or indigenous data rights	⅔ of all seats plus affirmative Community Panel vote	Community Panel veto is structural — not procedural. Board supermajority alone is insufficient.
Validator accreditation / de-accreditation	Scientific Council recommendation + CTH Steward decision	No full board vote required unless disputed.
Emergency patch (security / data integrity)	CTH Operator alone	48h notification to all seats. Board ratification within 30 days or auto-rollback.

Decision Log

All board decisions are published in the framework's decision log within 7 days of vote. Individual seat votes are visible — no anonymous voting. The decision log is stored as an append-only series of governance events in the governance ledger, signed by each voting DID.

Dispute Resolution & Framework Evolution

Dispute Resolution

Two types of disputes require different arbitration tracks.

Framework Evolution — Semantic Versioning

Version type	Example	Process	Lead time
Patch (1.0.x)	Typo fix, language clarification	CTH Operator. 48h board notification.	Immediate after notification
Minor (1.x.0)	New accepted methodology, new optional field	14-day public comment. CTH Operator decision. Board notification.	30 days from proposal
Major (x.0.0)	New principle, breaking schema change, new mandatory field	30-day public comment. Full board vote (⅔ + quorum). Community Panel veto if FPIC-adjacent.	90 days minimum from proposal to implementation

Backward Compatibility

All prior major versions remain valid for 24 months after a new major version is released. Data submitted under version 1.0 continues to be verifiable after version 2.0 is released. Credential schemas are versioned — a version 1.0 DTE credential does not become invalid when the version 2.0 schema is published.

Framework Versioning in the Ledger

Each framework version is itself a signed Verifiable Credential issued by the CTH Data Steward DID. The credential contains: version number, release date, changelog URI, schema diff hash, and the board vote record (for major versions). This means framework version history is itself tamper-evident and auditable — not stored in a mutable database or git repository alone.

Roles & Permissions

Role Taxonomy Overview

Every actor in the framework — human, organisation, or AI agent — operates under one of six defined roles. Roles are not just labels: each role is a Verifiable Credential issued by CTH (or by the community for the Sovereign role) that gates API permissions. You cannot perform an action without the credential that authorises it.

Permissions Matrix

Permission	Submitter	Validator	Sovereign	Steward	Auditor	AI Agent
Submit polygon / emissions data	✅ Own data	—	—	—	—	⚡ If delegated by Submitter
Issue VALIDATED event / DCC	—	✅	—	—	—	⚡ If delegated by Validator
Issue / revoke FPIC credential	—	—	✅	—	—	—
Read own submitted data	✅	✅	✅ (own territory)	✅	✅ Public only	⚡ Delegated scope
Read all non-restricted data	—	✅	✅ Own territory	✅	✅ Public only	⚡ Public scope
Manage schemas / framework	—	—	—	✅	—	—
Call POST /policy/evaluate	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅	✅ Mandatory before write
Override FPIC consent block	🚫 Never	🚫 Never	N/A	🚫 Never	🚫 Never	🚫 Never

Data Submitter

Accredited Validator

Community Sovereign

CTH Data Steward

Regulator / Auditor

AI Agent

Decision Rules

R-SUB: Submission Rules

Submission Rules

These rules govern what constitutes a valid data submission. All three must pass before a submission enters the pending-validation queue.

R-VAL: Validation Rules

Validation Rules

Validation is the act of a credentialed third party signing that data meets a specific standard. These rules prevent conflicts of interest and ensure regulatory-grade assurance.

R-CON: Consent & Benefit Rules

Consent & Benefit Rules

Consent rules govern what happens after data is collected. They protect community sovereignty and ensure benefit flows back to data contributors.

R-AGT: Agent Rules

Agent Rules

AI agents are first-class participants in this framework. These rules ensure agents are accountable, auditable, and structurally cannot exceed the permissions of the humans who delegate to them.

R-CHG: Change Governance Rules

Change Governance Rules

These rules govern how the framework itself evolves. Stability is a feature — downstream systems (EU customs, carbon registries, AI agents) depend on predictable interfaces.

Version Type	Example	Approval Required	Notice Period
Major (X.0.0)	New role type, FPIC rule change	⅔ supermajority + Community Panel	90 days
Minor (x.Y.0)	New regulatory mapping, additional standard	Simple majority	30 days
Patch (x.y.Z)	Clarification, typo, bug fix	Steward + 1 board member	7 days
Emergency	Security/compliance critical	Steward (ratify within 30d)	Immediate

Technical Standards Stack

Standards Overview

7-Layer Technical Standards Stack

The framework uses a layered architecture where each layer has a specific, non-overlapping responsibility. No single existing standard covers the full pipeline — the stack was assembled to fill real gaps in LATAM climate data governance.

#	Layer	Standards	Purpose	CTH Contribution / Notes
1	Identity	W3C DID 1.1 + cth:FPICCredential	Who is acting	CTH-original: FPICCredential as W3C VC
2	Credential Format	W3C VC 2.0 (BBS+) + UNTP DTE/DCC + OID4VP	What is asserted	UNTP maps directly to EUDR Article 9
3	Provenance & Quality	W3C PROV-O + ISO 8000-220:2025 + cth:FieldDataQuality SHACL	How was it measured	CTH-original: EUDR GPS precision + Andean IoT calibration rules
4	Governance Ledger	Append-only Postgres + rolling SHA-256 + KERI anchoring	What decisions were made	5-year persistence; KERI for cross-org verifiability
5	Policy & Enforcement	ODRL + W3C DPV 2.0 + OPA (ODRE pattern) + SHACL	What is allowed	ODRE = ODRL policy evaluated by OPA at runtime
6	Discovery & AI Access	W3C DCAT v3 + OpenAPI 3.1 + llms.txt + JSON-LD context	How to find and query	llms.txt enables direct agent access without scraping
7	Compliance Outputs	EUDR DDS, CSRD ESRS E1/E4, CBAM, ISSB IFRS S2, Art.6	What gets reported	One data pipeline → five regulatory outputs

CTH-Original Contributions

Two standards were created by CTH because no existing specification covers these requirements for LATAM:

T-01: Identity & Credential Layer

T-01: Identity & Credential Layer

Credential Type	Issued By	Held By	Expires	Revocable
cth:SubmitterCredential	CTH Accreditation Svc	Data Submitter	12 months	Yes — by CTH Steward
cth:ValidatorCredential	CTH Accreditation Committee	Accredited Validator	24 months	Yes — by Governance Board
cth:CommunityCredential	CTH + Community Council	Community Sovereign	Indefinite	Yes — by Community only
cth:StewardCredential	Governance Board	CTH Staff Member	12 months	Yes — by Board vote
cth:AuditorCredential	CTH (on regulatory mandate)	Regulator	Audit scope only	Yes — auto-expires
cth:AgentCredential	Delegating human DID	AI Agent / Script	Human session	Yes — immediate

T-02: Provenance & Quality Layer

T-02: Provenance & Quality Layer

Shape	Rule	Rationale
cth:GpsPrecision	Polygon vertices must have ≥6 decimal place precision	EUDR Article 9 requires parcel identification; 5dp = ~1m accuracy; 6dp = ~10cm
cth:DeforestationDataVintage	IDEAM reference raster must be ≤24 months old	EUDR requires current deforestation status; stale data invalidates DDS
cth:IotCalibration	IoT soil/weather sensors must have calibration certificate ≤180 days old	Sensor drift; CSRD ESRS E4 requires traceable measurement
cth:AndeanGpsLock	GPS receiver must record ≥90 second lock wait per polygon vertex	Mountain terrain + tree canopy causes GPS multipath error; 90s reduces error below EUDR threshold

Ledger Integrity

The governance ledger is an append-only Postgres table with rolling SHA-256 hashes. Each entry hashes the previous entry's hash (blockchain-like chain). KERI (Key Event Receipt Infrastructure) anchoring is used for cross-organisational verifiability — validators can independently verify ledger integrity without trusting CTH's infrastructure.

T-03: Policy & Enforcement Layer

T-03: Policy & Enforcement Layer

POST /policy/evaluate — Agent Integration

This is the primary integration point for AI agents. Every agent must call this endpoint before any write operation.

POST /policy/evaluate
Authorization: Bearer <agent-jwt>

{
  "principal_did": "did:key:z6Mk...",
  "delegating_did": "did:web:example.org#gideon",
  "action": "submit_parcel",
  "resource": {
    "type": "parcel",
    "territory_id": "COL-CHO-001",
    "purpose": "eudr"
  }
}

Response 200 (allow):
{
  "allow": true,
  "policy_token": "eyJ...",
  "expires_in": 30
}

Response 403 (deny):
{
  "allow": false,
  "reason": "FPIC_NOT_GRANTED",
  "territory_id": "COL-CHO-001"
}

T-04: Discovery & AI Access Layer

T-04: Discovery & AI Access Layer

Agent Access Pattern

Recommended pattern for an AI agent integrating with the framework:

1. Fetch /llms.txt to identify relevant framework sections
2. Read specific wiki pages via BookStack API (read-only, no credential required for public pages)
3. Request a delegated cth:AgentCredential from the delegating human's session
4. Call POST /policy/evaluate with the intended action
5. If allow: true, proceed with the action using the policy token
6. PROV-O record is auto-generated by the API gateway (no agent action required)

Regulatory Mappings

EUDR — EU Deforestation Regulation

EUDR — EU Deforestation Regulation

Deadline: 30 December 2026 Large & Medium Operators

EU Regulation 2023/1115. Requires operators placing commodities (coffee, cocoa, cattle, soy, palm oil, wood, rubber) on the EU market to prove they are deforestation-free and produced in compliance with local laws.

Framework Mapping

EUDR Requirement	Article	Framework Component
Geolocation of production plots	Art. 9	KoboToolbox GPS polygon → UNTP DTE with cth:GpsPrecision SHACL shape
Deforestation-free assessment	Art. 10	IDEAM raster overlay → cth:DeforestationDataVintage ≤24 months
Due Diligence Statement	Art. 4	Automated EUDR DDS export from compliance API; signed as UNTP DCC
Supply chain traceability	Art. 9(1)(g)	UNTP Digital Traceability Event chain from farm → cooperative → exporter
Country risk classification	Art. 29	High/standard/low risk country flag auto-applied from EU country benchmarking list
Substantiated concern	Art. 31	Whistle-blower endpoint; triggers Steward review workflow

Data Pipeline

KoboToolbox field submission → SHACL validation (R-SUB-01) → FPIC check (R-SUB-02) → IDEAM deforestation overlay → Validator DCC signature (R-VAL-01) → EUDR DDS export → OID4VP presentation to EU customs

CSRD — Corporate Sustainability Reporting

CSRD — Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive

Early Adoption: FY2026 Mandatory: FY2027

EU Directive 2022/2464. Requires large companies to report on sustainability impacts under European Sustainability Reporting Standards (ESRS). Climate-relevant standards: ESRS E1 (Climate Change) and ESRS E4 (Biodiversity).

Framework Mapping

CSRD Requirement	ESRS	Framework Component
GHG emissions Scope 1/2/3	ESRS E1-6	IoT sensor data + satellite biomass estimates → emission factor calculations
Transition plan	ESRS E1-1	Not in scope for framework v1.0 — requires company-level data
Biodiversity impact	ESRS E4-5	KoboToolbox biodiversity surveys → PROV-O linked to parcel DTEs
Value chain engagement	ESRS G1-3	Supplier credential status dashboard — are all cooperatives EUDR-certified?
Double materiality	ESRS 1 §25	Framework provides data layer; materiality assessment remains with reporting company

CBAM — Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

CBAM — Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism

First Declaration: September 2027 For 2026 Imports

EU Regulation 2023/956. Requires EU importers to declare the embedded carbon in imported goods (cement, iron, steel, aluminium, fertilisers, electricity, hydrogen). Coffee is not currently in scope but is expected in Phase 2 (2030+).

Framework Mapping (Phase 2 readiness)

CBAM Requirement	Article	Framework Component
Embedded carbon calculation	Art. 7	IoT sensor + satellite biomass data → emission intensity per tonne
Third-party verification	Art. 10	Accredited Validator DCC (R-VAL-03 — CBAM requires validation, unlike EUDR DDS)
Production country emissions factor	Art. 7(2)	IDEAM national emissions inventory integration
CBAM certificate surrender	Art. 22	Out of scope — EU importer action; framework provides the data package

ISSB IFRS S2 — Climate Disclosures

ISSB IFRS S2 — Climate-Related Disclosures

Brazil CVM: Jan 1 2026 Mexico CNBV: FY2025

IFRS Sustainability Disclosure Standard S2 — Climate-related Disclosures. Mandatory for listed companies in Brazil (CVM Resolution 193) and Mexico (CNBV circular). Aligned with TCFD framework.

Framework Mapping

IFRS S2 Requirement	Paragraph	Framework Component
Physical climate risks	§9	Satellite climate data overlay on farm parcels → risk scoring per asset
Transition risks	§10	Regulatory status tracker — EUDR compliance rate for supply chain
GHG metrics	§29	IoT + satellite emission estimates → verified by Accredited Validator
Climate scenario analysis	§22	Not in framework scope — requires financial modelling layer
Scope 3 value chain	§29(a)	Supplier EUDR status as proxy for Scope 3 land-use change emissions

Article 6.4 — Paris Agreement Carbon Credits

Article 6.4 — Paris Agreement Carbon Credits

UNFCCC Mechanism Operationalised 2024

Article 6.4 of the Paris Agreement establishes a UN-supervised carbon crediting mechanism (successor to CDM). Article 6.4 Emission Reductions (A6.4ERs) are the highest-integrity carbon credits — issued by the UNFCCC Supervisory Body, not private standard bodies.

The Shared Evidence Layer Innovation

Article 6.4 Requirement	Framework Component
Additionality demonstration	Baseline deforestation rate from IDEAM raster vs. current parcel status
Permanence monitoring	Annual IoT + satellite biomass comparison against baseline DTE
Leakage assessment	Adjacent parcel monitoring — IDEAM deforestation flag propagation
Corresponding adjustment	Requires host country (Colombia) approval — CTH provides data package to IDEAM/MADS
Third-party validation	R-VAL-03: Accredited Validator DCC required (UNFCCC-approved Designated Operational Entity)
Registry issuance	A6.4ER registry (UNFCCC) — CTH provides data; registry issues the credit