CTE Methodology

Evidence & data governance

Every important figure on this platform should be traceable to a source, carry a date, and be open to challenge. This section shows how claims are sourced, reviewed, corrected and versioned.

CTE Principle

Every important fact should have an evidence trail.

  • A claim without a source is not published as a fact.
  • A company statement stays a company statement until independent evidence exists.
  • Where evidence is missing we publish Unknown, not an estimate dressed as data.

Source hierarchy

Sources are ranked by how directly they evidence a fact. A higher tier does not make a source infallible; it means less distance between the fact and the record of it.

  1. 1.Official legal text
  2. 2.Government publication
  3. 3.Regulator or enforcement decision
  4. 4.Permit or licence document
  5. 5.Court ruling
  6. 6.Official statistics
  7. 7.Peer-reviewed research
  8. 8.Government-commissioned research
  9. 9.Independent research institute
  10. 10.Industry association publication
  11. 11.Company annual report
  12. 12.Company website or press release
  13. 13.Trade media
  14. 14.General media
  15. 15.Interview or testimony
  16. 16.Observation

Evidence status

Official source verified
The fact is stated in an official document we have read.
Multiple sources
Independent sources report the same fact.
Single source
One source only. Treat with care.
Company reported
Stated by the company. Not independently confirmed.
Industry reported
Stated by an industry body. Not independently confirmed.
Media reported
Reported by media. Not independently confirmed.
CTE estimate
Calculated by us, with the method shown.
Unverified
Recorded but not yet evidenced.
Disputed
Sources contradict each other. The disagreement is shown.
Unknown
No reliable information found.

Methodology versions

  • CTE Methodology 1.0 — 1.0

    Evidence labels, source hierarchy, capacity terminology, route classification, impact layers, forecast model structure and the corrections process.

    2026-09-23