An <img> without intrinsic dimensions occupies zero height until it loads, then pushes everything below it down. Declaring width and height lets the browser reserve the space up front, which is the primary fix for layout shift.
Impact is importance multiplied by the confidence tier’s weight — SPECIFICATION 1.0, RESEARCH 0.7, EMERGING 0.3, EXPERIMENTAL 0.1. Two rules backed by the same class of evidence therefore always carry the same weight, which is what makes the score reproducible rather than hand-tuned.