P02 — FAIR Data Standards
SCD-P02 · Principle 2 of 10
FAIR Data Standards
“Findable. Accessible. Interoperable. Reusable.”
Technical Layer
Definition
Climate data must conform to FAIR principles: Findable (machine-readable metadata, persistent identifiers such as DOIs or stable URLs), Accessible (open API or public download, no authentication required), Interoperable (standard open formats: JSON-LD, GeoJSON, CSV, NetCDF), and Reusable (explicit open licence, fully documented provenance).
Rationale
FAIR compliance is a prerequisite for integration into global platforms (Climate TRACE, GFW, EDGAR) and for citation in ISSB S2 and EU CSRD disclosures. Data that is not FAIR cannot contribute to the AI-driven due-diligence economy. The 'From FAIR to FAIR²' framework (Frontiers, 2025) extends FAIR to also require machine-actionability — data that an AI agent can not only read but act upon.
Implementation Steps
- Assign a persistent identifier (DOI or stable public URL) to every dataset.
- Publish data in at least one open format: JSON, CSV, GeoJSON, or NetCDF.
- Add schema.org or DataCatalog markup to all public data pages.
- Declare a Creative Commons or equivalent open licence on every dataset.
- Register datasets with a public catalogue (CKAN, DataCite, or national open data portal).
Compliance Checklist
| Criterion | What it means | |
|---|---|---|
| ☐ | Persistent identifiers assigned | Every dataset has a DOI or stable URL that will not change. |
| ☐ | Open format export available | Data downloadable as JSON, CSV, or GeoJSON without login. |
| ☐ | schema.org markup present | Dataset metadata is readable by Google Dataset Search and AI agents. |
| ☐ | Licence declared | Explicit open licence (CC-BY 4.0 recommended) on every dataset. |
Regulatory References
- FAIR Data Principles — Wilkinson et al., Scientific Data (2016)
- EU CSRD — Art. 8 Digital Tagging & Machine-Readable Reporting
- ISSB IFRS S2 — Appendix A (Definitions, data quality)
Recommended Tools and Platforms
schema.org DataCite CKAN Zenodo OpenAire
Keywords
FAIR principles open data interoperability schema.org machine-readable data catalogue