Indulge and acquaint yourself with terms related to the green transition and more.
1.5°C Warmer Worlds
Global warming has resulted in a world that is 1.5 °C warmer. The Paris Agreement sets a limit on the average global temperature rise of 1.5°C above or below pre-industrial levels. If the temperature of the Earth rose above this level, the planet would become uninhabitable.
As part of a new global development framework with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its cornerstone, the United Nations established a plan for and the environment in
September 2015. The UN has created the 2030 Agenda as a global strategy to alleviate poverty, promote justice, and preserve the environment.
The process through which human systems acclimate to the effects of a changing climate to mitigate harm.
ACMI is a scheme launched at COP27, that aims to boost Africa’s voluntary carbon markets, address challenges, and drive economic development by 2030, focusing on energy access, clean energy transition, forest protection, and agricultural improvement.
The establishment of trees to the entirely new land.
Air pollution refers to the contamination of air quality due to the presence of harmful substances that have a direct (primary) or indirect (secondary) negative impact on human health or other living organisms.
The American Carbon Registry (ACR), named after philanthropist Winthrop Rockefeller, is the first global private, voluntary greenhouse gas registry. Its primary goal is to establish trust in carbon offsets and promote initiatives to reduce emissions.
The Paris Agreement’s Article 6 deals with market mechanisms like emissions trading, collaborative strategies, and globally shared mitigation outcomes, all aimed at reaching climate targets.
The envelope of gases that surrounds the earth. The troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere—the outermost layer of the atmosphere—are the five layers that make up the atmosphere. With traces of argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapors, the atmosphere is primarily composed of nitrogen (78.1%) and oxygen (20.9%).
A type of electric vehicle that runs on electricity. It lacks a conventional internal combustion
engine.
A charcoal-like substance produced by burning biomass in a low-oxygen
atmosphere. Biochar is added to soil to increase its productivity.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of living organisms found among species, within
species, and at the ecosystem level.
Renewable energy that comes from biomass.
BECCS is a process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide.
Fuel derived from biomass, usually in liquid form. Bioethanol and biodiesel are examples of
biofuel.
Organic material that comes from dead animals and plants. It is used as fuel.
The term "blue carbon" describes the carbon that is captured and stored by living creatures in
marine and coastal ecosystems.
A regulated market-based system that allows companies to sell permits (allocations) in order to keep under a predetermined limit on emissions of a particular pollutant, which encourages companies to reduce their emissions.
The predicted total global carbon dioxide emissions, taking into account the greenhouse gas contributors to global surface temperature that are necessary to keep the temperature from rising over a certain threshold.
A quantifiable, tradeable indicator of greenhouse gas emission reduction, carbon credits are used to promote sustainable behavior and emission reductions to prevent climate change.
The phrase refers to the reversible transfer of carbon from the environment into living things via photosynthesis and back to the climate via respiration.
A naturally occurring gas called CO2 is created when organic stuff burns. It is the main greenhouse gas that is linked to the global warming. Its global warming potential (GWP), which is 1, makes it the standard by which other GHGs are assessed.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a process that removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere, then cleans, compresses, and delivers to a storage unit for prolonged isolation from the environment.
A process for capturing CO2 before it enters the environment and recycling it to produce new, high-value goods.
CCUS involves capturing CO2 directly from the atmosphere or from industrial units that use fossil fuel or biomass. The captured CO2 is then transported for usage or storage.
The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that are produced for every unit of output energy used.
Carbon pricing, also known as an emission trading scheme (ETS), is a tool to measure the cost of carbon dioxide emissions. It is a useful strategy for lowering CO2 emissions.
It is the process of storing atmospheric carbon dioxide for long-term purposes. It is a very effective way to address climate catastrophe by lowering atmospheric CO2.
A natural reservoir or anything that absorbs and stores some carbon-containing compounds. Examples of carbon sinks are forests and the ocean.
A system that makes it possible for investors from affluent countries to support initiatives in poor nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Both developing and developed
nations succeed in achieving their objectives set forth in the Kyoto Protocol.
The word “climate” is frequently used to describe how the weather varies over time in a particular region.
How a region’s natural climate changes over time as a consequence of calamities caused by nature or by human activities.
The future climate change that is inevitable due to the past human activities. The commitment to combating climate change is measured in terms of rise in temperature, sea level, harsh weather, extreme climate, and the hydrological cycle.
Climate justice is a movement that believes the whole world should have an equitable division of climate change effects in the sense of pros and cons.
Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) highest voting-ranking representatives of UN treaties meet to discuss achievements in combating climate change.
An artificial scenario in which there is no observable effect of human activities on the earth’s climate. Equilibrating emissions (such as carbon dioxide) and absorbing them would be necessary.
The iterative methods for addressing climate change in systems and achieving the goal of sustainable development.
Climate targets are limits on temperature, concentration levels, or emission reduction targets that are meant to combat climate change.
In cumulative emission, fossil fuel reserves are used to calculate the overall amount of emissions released.
The process by which countries try to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
It is cutting down the forests to meet agricultural, residential and energy needs.
It is a technology that allows for the storage of CO2 after it has been captured from the
atmosphere.
A time frame during which there is a significant water deficit.
Early warning systems provide prompt and accurate warning information so that precautions can be taken to prevent any harmful consequences.
An ecosystem is a functional entity that contains interactions between environmental elements that are both biological and non-biological.
Electric vehicles are eco-friendly vehicles that run on electricity.
A market-based tool which aims to lower greenhouse gases emissions.
The ratio of output or useful energy obtained from system to the input of energy.
Extratropical cyclones are developed between 30° or 60° latitudes from the equator due to temperature transitions, unlike typical tropical storms.
An extreme weather event is an unusual weather event in a particular region at a particular time. Heavy rainfall is an example of an extreme weather event.
Flood is a water-overflowing natural calamity that affects land.
A forest is an area that is covered in trees, meadows, vegetation, etc.
The fuel that is obtained from naturally occurring, decomposing organisms on the surface of the Earth is known as fossil fuel.
Glaciers are large masses of ice that move gradually due to their weight.
Global warming is the rise in the Earths temperature due to the combustion of fossil fuels and
the burning of wood.
One of the well-known and highly regarded registries for the certification of emission reduction projects, ensuring environmental integrity and sustainable development in the voluntary carbon market.
A multi-functional network that enhances the quality of life by
providing ecosystem services to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Gases like methane and carbon dioxide that release and absorb radiation and cause greenhouse effects.
An approach that seeks to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
An approach that seeks to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
Deceptive public relations or actions misrepresenting environmental commitment, masking harm, such as accounting practices or portfolio investments in offshore subsidiaries or trusts.
compounds in which carbon is covalently bonded to a halogen.
Chlorofluorocarbons contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer.
A two-day period of extremely hot weather.
a gigantic mass of ice that extends over a large piece of land. They can only be found in Greenland and Antarctica.
The cumulative and dynamic knowledge indigenous people and communities have amassed over centuries about how to use their natural resources.
A respected governance body which establishes and enforces the highest standards of ethics, sustainability, and transparency in the global voluntary carbon offset & credit market.
The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an alliance between countries to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This coalition requires nations to meet set obligatory limits.
A methodology that appraises the impact of a product on the environment throughout the course of its existence.
Found in hydrocarbon fuels. Methane is one of the major greenhouse gases (GHGs) that must be reduced to mitigate climate change.
The Millennium Development Goals are a set of objectives agreed upon by the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 to improve the standard of life of the underprivileged by abating poverty, disease, and hunger.
National Determined Contributors (NDCs) are countries that agreed to follow long-term plans to reduce global warming through alignment with the Paris Agreement or Paris Climate Accords.
Negative emissions refer to a process by which the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide is reduced by using carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.
The removal of greenhouse gases from the environment together with the equivalent discharge of atmospheric CO2.
The technique of ocean fertilization is used to lessen the consequences of climate change by enriching the nutrition of the ocean’s surface. Ocean fertilization enhances the absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide by promoting photosynthetic activity.
Ozone is an allotrope of oxygen that exists as trioxygen (O3). In the stratosphere, ozone functions as a UV ray blocker while in the troposphere it is a harmful air contaminant.
The Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was ratified in December 2015 in Paris. The goal of the Agreement is to assist countries in coping with the effects of climate change. One of the objectives of the Agreement is to keep the increase in average world temperature to 1.5 °.
A layer below the earth that has been frozen for almost two years.
A framework established by the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) to reduce the impact of human activities on forests in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions. REDD+ is a mechanism that ensures the maintenance and viable management of forests.
The planting of trees in forests where the number of existing trees is dwindling.
A sink is a reservoir that retains greenhouse gases.
Involves removing excess carbon from the environment and
managing the carbon content of soil.
Assets at risk of being obsolete due to short-term or long-term climate-related regulations or policies. Due to unanticipated fluctuations in their initially anticipated income brought on by changes in the business scenario, these assets are susceptible to depreciation.
Meeting our needs without interfering with the next generation’s ability to meet their own. It is the coexistence of natural and human resources for a long time.
Global objectives established by the United Nations that include the eradication of universal issues such as poverty, illiteracy, diseases, famine, and global warming.
It is a periodic hurricane or typhoon emerging above the ocean that is considered a natural disaster.
The UNFCCC is a global agreement that now has 197 parties and was adopted in May 1992 at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit. The Convention's objective is to limit greenhouse gas emissions by preventing human activities. The Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement put the Convention’s provisions into effect.
Global warming has resulted in a world that is 1.5 °C warmer. The Paris Agreement sets a limit on the average global temperature rise of 1.5°C above or below pre-industrial levels. If the temperature of the Earth rose above this level, the planet would become uninhabitable.
As part of a new global development framework with 17 Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) as its cornerstone, the United Nations established a plan for and the environment in
September 2015. The UN has created the 2030 Agenda as a global strategy to alleviate poverty, promote justice, and preserve the environment.
The process through which human systems acclimate to the effects of a changing climate to mitigate harm.
The establishment of trees to the entirely new land.
Air pollution refers to the contamination of air quality due to the presence of harmful substances that have a direct (primary) or indirect (secondary) negative impact on human health or other living organisms.
The envelope of gases that surrounds the earth. The troposphere, stratosphere, mesosphere, thermosphere, and exosphere—the outermost layer of the atmosphere—are the five layers that make up the atmosphere. With traces of argon, carbon dioxide, and water vapors, the atmosphere is primarily composed of nitrogen (78.1%) and oxygen (20.9%).
A type of electric vehicle that runs on electricity. It lacks a conventional internal combustion
engine.
A charcoal-like substance produced by burning biomass in a low-oxygen
atmosphere. Biochar is added to soil to increase its productivity.
Biodiversity refers to the variety of living organisms found among species, within
species, and at the ecosystem level.
Renewable energy that comes from biomass.
BECCS is a process of capturing and storing carbon dioxide.
Fuel derived from biomass, usually in liquid form. Bioethanol and biodiesel are examples of
biofuel.
Organic material that comes from dead animals and plants. It is used as fuel.
The term "blue carbon" describes the carbon that is captured and stored by living creatures in
marine and coastal ecosystems.
The predicted total global carbon dioxide emissions, taking into account the greenhouse gas
contributors to global surface temperature that are necessary to keep the temperature from
rising over a certain threshold.
The phrase refers to the reversible transfer of carbon from the environment into living things
via photosynthesis and back to the climate via respiration.
A naturally occurring gas called CO2 is created when organic stuff burns. It is the main
greenhouse gas that is linked to the global warming. Its global warming potential (GWP),
which is 1, makes it the standard by which other GHGs are assessed.
Carbon Capture and Storage (CCS) is a process that removes carbon dioxide (CO2) from the
atmosphere, then cleans, compresses, and delivers to a storage unit for prolonged isolation
from the environment.
A process for capturing CO2 before it enters the environment and recycling it to produce
new, high-value goods.
CCUS involves capturing CO2 directly from the atmosphere or from industrial units that use
fossil fuel or biomass. The captured CO2 is then transported for usage or storage.
The carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions that are produced for every unit of output energy
used.
Carbon pricing, also known as an emission trading scheme (ETS), is a tool to measure the cost of carbon dioxide emissions. It is a useful strategy for lowering CO2 emissions.
It is the process of storing atmospheric carbon dioxide for long-term purposes. It is a very effective way to address climate catastrophe by lowering atmospheric CO2.
A natural reservoir or anything that absorbs and stores some carbon-containing compounds.
Examples of carbon sinks are forests and the ocean.
A system that makes it possible for investors from affluent countries to support initiatives
in poor nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Both developing and developed
nations succeed in achieving their objectives set forth in the Kyoto Protocol.
The word “climate” is frequently used to describe how the weather varies over time in a
particular region.
How a region’s natural climate changes over time as a consequence of calamities caused by nature or by human activities.
The future climate change that is inevitable due to the past human activities. The commitment to combating climate change is measured in terms of rise in temperature, sea level, harsh weather, extreme climate, and the hydrological cycle.
Climate justice is a movement that believes the whole world should have an equitable division of climate change effects in the sense of pros and cons.
Under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) highest voting-ranking representatives of UN treaties meet to discuss achievements in combating climate change.
An artificial scenario in which there is no observable effect of human activities on the earth’s climate. Equilibrating emissions (such as carbon dioxide) and absorbing them would be necessary.
The iterative methods for addressing climate change in systems and achieving the goal of sustainable development.
Climate targets are limits on temperature, concentration levels, or emission reduction targets that are meant to combat climate change.
In cumulative emission, fossil fuel reserves are used to calculate
the overall amount of emissions released.
The process by which countries try to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.
It is cutting down the forests to meet agricultural, residential and energy needs.
It is a technology that allows for the storage of CO2 after it has been captured from the
atmosphere.
A time frame during which there is a significant water deficit.
Early warning systems provide prompt and accurate warning information so that precautions can be taken to prevent any harmful consequences.
An ecosystem is a functional entity that contains interactions between environmental elements that are both biological and non-biological.
Electric vehicles are eco-friendly vehicles that run on electricity.
A market-based tool which aims to lower greenhouse gases emissions.
The ratio of output or useful energy obtained from system to the input of energy.
Extratropical cyclones are developed between 30° or 60° latitudes from the equator due to temperature transitions, unlike typical tropical storms.
An extreme weather event is an unusual weather event in a particular region at a particular time. Heavy rainfall is an example of an extreme weather event.
Flood is a water-overflowing natural calamity that affects land.
A forest is an area that is covered in trees, meadows, vegetation, etc.
The fuel that is obtained from naturally occurring, decomposing organisms on the surface of the Earth is known as fossil fuel.
Glaciers are large masses of ice that move gradually due to their weight.
Global warming is the rise in the Earth's temperature due to the combustion of fossil fuels and
the burning of wood.
A multi-functional network that enhances the quality of life by
providing ecosystem services to mitigate the effects of climate change.
Gases like methane and carbon dioxide that release and absorb radiation and cause greenhouse effects.
An approach that seeks to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
An approach that seeks to achieve zero greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
compounds in which carbon is covalently bonded to a halogen.
Chlorofluorocarbons contribute to the destruction of the ozone layer.
A two-day period of extremely hot weather.
a gigantic mass of ice that extends over a large piece of land. They can only be found in Greenland and Antarctica.
The cumulative and dynamic knowledge indigenous people and communities have amassed over centuries about how to use their natural resources.
The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an alliance between countries to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions. This coalition requires nations to meet set obligatory limits.
A methodology that appraises the impact of a product on the environment throughout the course of its existence.
Found in hydrocarbon fuels. Methane is one of the major greenhouse gases (GHGs) that must be reduced to mitigate climate change.
The Millennium Development Goals are a set of objectives agreed upon by the UN Millennium Summit in 2000 to improve the standard of life of the underprivileged by abating poverty, disease, and hunger.
National Determined Contributors (NDCs) are countries that agreed to follow long-term plans to reduce global warming through alignment with the Paris Agreement or Paris Climate Accords.
Negative emissions refer to a process by which the amount of atmospheric carbon dioxide is reduced by using carbon dioxide removal (CDR) technologies.
The removal of greenhouse gases from the environment together with the equivalent discharge of atmospheric CO2.
The technique of ocean fertilization is used to lessen the consequences of climate change by enriching the nutrition of the ocean’s surface. Ocean fertilization enhances the absorption of atmospheric carbon dioxide by promoting photosynthetic activity.
Ozone is an allotrope of oxygen that exists as trioxygen (O3). In the stratosphere, ozone functions as a UV ray blocker while in the troposphere it is a harmful air contaminant.
The Paris Agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was ratified in December 2015 in Paris. The goal of the Agreement is to assist countries in coping with the effects of climate change. One of the objectives of the Agreement is to keep the increase in average world temperature to 1.5 °.
A layer below the earth that has been frozen for almost two years.
A framework established by the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties (COP) to reduce the impact of human activities on forests in order to cut greenhouse gas emissions. REDD+ is a mechanism that ensures the maintenance and viable management of forests.
The planting of trees in forests where the number of existing trees is dwindling.
A sink is a reservoir that retains greenhouse gases.
Involves removing excess carbon from the environment and
managing the carbon content of soil.
Assets at risk of being obsolete due to short-term or long-term climate-related regulations or policies. Due to unanticipated fluctuations in their initially anticipated income brought on by changes in the business scenario, these assets are susceptible to depreciation.
Meeting our needs without interfering with the next generation’s ability to meet their own. It is the coexistence of natural and human resources for a long time.
Global objectives established by the United Nations that include the eradication of universal issues such as poverty, illiteracy, diseases, famine, and global warming.
It is a periodic hurricane or typhoon emerging above the ocean that is considered a natural disaster.
The UNFCCC is a global agreement that now has 197 parties and was adopted in May 1992 at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit. The Convention's objective is to limit greenhouse gas emissions by preventing human activities. The Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement put the Convention’s provisions into effect.
