Adaptation: The process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to mitigate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities.
Afforestation: Planting of new forests on lands that historically have not contained forests.
Albedo: The proportion of the incident light or radiation that is reflected by a surface.
Anaerobic Digestion: A series of processes in which microorganisms break down biodegradable material in the absence of oxygen.
Biogas: The mixture of gases produced by the breakdown of organic matter in the absence of oxygen, used as a source of energy.
Biomass: Organic material that comes from plants and animals, and it is a renewable source of energy.
Cap and Trade: A system where a government or authority sets a cap on the total level of greenhouse gas emissions and allows industries with low emissions to sell their extra allowances to larger emitters.
Carbon Credits: Certificates issued to countries that reduce their emission of greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2): A naturally occurring greenhouse gas, commonly produced by the burning of fossil fuels and biomass, and a significant contributor to global warming.
Carbon Footprint: The total emissions of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases expressed as carbon dioxide equivalents (CO2e), resulting from an individual, organization, event, product, or nation.
Carbon Market: A market that is created from the trading of carbon emission allowances to encourage countries and companies to reduce their carbon emissions.
Carbon Neutral: Achieving a balance between the amount of greenhouse gases emitted and removed from the atmosphere, often through carbon offsetting or renewable energy initiatives.
Carbon Sequestration: The process of capturing and storing atmospheric carbon dioxide. It is one method of reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere with the goal of reducing global climate change.
Carbon Sink: A carbon sink is a natural or artificial reservoir that absorbs and stores carbon dioxide from the atmosphere, helping mitigate climate change. Major natural carbon sinks include forests, oceans, and soil.
Carbon Tax: A tax on fossil fuels, especially those used by motor vehicles, intended to reduce the emission of carbon dioxide.
Climate Action Plan: A comprehensive strategy outlining specific measures and policies aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions and mitigating climate change impacts.
Climate Change: A change in global or regional climate patterns attributed largely to the increased levels of atmospheric carbon dioxide produced by the use of fossil fuels.
Climate Resilience: The ability to anticipate, prepare for, respond to, and recover from significant climate disturbances.
Decarbonization: Reducing or eliminating the carbon dioxide output of a country's economy.
Deforestation: The process of clearing or removing forests, leading to increased carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere, as trees act as carbon sinks.
Emission Factor: An emission factor quantifies the emissions of a gas per unit of activity, used to estimate emissions from various sources such as industrial processes, fuel combustion, or livestock management. It reflects the relationship between the amount of pollutants released and the activity producing the emission.
Emission Reduction: The act of lowering emitted greenhouse gases from a source.
Emission Reduction Targets: Specific goals set by countries or entities to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions over a defined period.
Energy Efficiency: Using less energy to provide the same service.
Energy Transition: The process of moving from fossil-based systems of energy production and consumption — including oil, natural gas, and coal — to renewable energy sources like wind and solar.
Feed-in Tariff (FiT): An economic policy created to promote active investment in and production of renewable energy sources.
Fluorinated gases: Man-made gases used in a range of industrial applications but are potent greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming.
Fossil Fuels: Natural fuels such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.
Geothermal Energy: Heat energy generated and stored in the Earth.
Global Warming: An increase in Earth's average surface temperature due to rising levels of greenhouse gases.
Green Technology: New technologies that aim to conserve the natural environment and resources.
Greenhouse Effect: The natural process by which greenhouse gases trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, maintaining a temperature suitable for life.
Greenhouse Gases (GHGs): Gases that trap heat in the earth's atmosphere, contributing to the greenhouse effect. The major GHGs are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N2O).
Heat Island Effect: An urban area or metropolitan area that is significantly warmer than its surrounding rural areas due to human activities.
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs): Compounds containing hydrogen, fluorine, and carbons, used as refrigerants, aerosol propellants, and solvents, and their emissions are potent greenhouse gases.
Inventory: A quantified list of a country's greenhouse gas emissions, sinks, and reservoirs.
Kyoto Protocol: An international treaty that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the premise that global warming exists and human-made CO2 emissions have caused it.
Life Cycle Assessment (LCA): A technique to assess environmental impacts associated with all the stages of a product's life from cradle to grave.
Low-carbon Economy: An economy based on low carbon power sources that therefore has a minimal output of greenhouse gas emissions.
Methane (CH4): A potent greenhouse gas released during the production and transport of coal, oil, and natural gas, as well as from livestock and other agricultural practices.
Mitigation Strategies: Actions and policies aimed at reducing or preventing the emission of greenhouse gases to limit the extent of climate change.
Mitigation: Actions to reduce the sources or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases.
Net Zero: The balance between the amount of greenhouse gas produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere.
Nitrous Oxide (N2O): A powerful greenhouse gas produced by soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, and biomass burning.
Ozone (O3): A gas that is found in the earth’s upper atmosphere and at ground level, which can absorb the majority of the sun's high-frequency ultraviolet light.
Paris Agreement: An agreement within the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance, starting in the year 2020. The treaty aims to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, with efforts to limit the increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs): A group of man-made compounds containing carbon, fluorine, and sometimes hydrogen.
Photovoltaic: Technology that converts light directly into electricity using the photoelectric effect.
Radiative Forcing: The change in energy in the atmosphere due to greenhouse gas emissions.
Reforestation: Planting of forests on lands that have previously contained forests but that have been converted to some other use.
Renewable Energy: Energy derived from sources that are naturally replenished, such as solar, wind, and hydroelectric power, which can help reduce reliance on fossil fuels.
Resilience: The capacity to recover quickly from difficulties; toughness, especially in the context of communities and climate.
Smart Grid: An electricity supply network that uses digital communications technology to detect and react to local changes in usage.
Sulfur Hexafluoride (SF6): An inorganic, colorless, odorless, non-flammable, extremely potent greenhouse gas, which is an excellent electrical insulator.
Sustainable Development: Economic development that is conducted without depletion of natural resources.
Sustainable Transport: Transportation methods that minimize environmental impact, such as electric vehicles, public transportation, and biking, reducing greenhouse gas emissions from the transportation sector.
Waste Management: Practices and policies to reduce, reuse, and recycle waste, minimizing the production of methane from decomposing organic matter in landfills.
