Carbon Termanology

Carbon offset is the act of reducing or avoiding GHG emissions in one place in order to "offset" GHG emissions occurring elsewhere. Because GHGs mix well in the atmosphere, it doesn’t matter where that mitigation occurs.

Carbon Capture & Storage is where carbon dioxide is captured from the air (near say a power station) and stored, usually in natural storage facilities like old gas fields.

Carbon Credits are part of a tradable mechanism. They provide a way to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by giving them a monetary value. A credit gives the owner the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide.

Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of one carbon and two oxygen atoms. It is often referred to by its formula CO2. It is present in the Earth's atmosphere at a low concentration and acts as a greenhouse gas. In its solid state, it is called dry ice. It is a major component of the carbon cycle.

CERs: certified emissions reductions, issued by the UN under the Kyoto protocol.

Carbon footprint is the measure of the amount of carbon dioxide or CO2 emitted through the combustion of fossil fuels in carrying out a process or making a product. The scope of a carbon footprint analysis can vary and may/may not include all GHGs &ndsh; relfect a life cycle approach (see below) to quantify upstream and downstream emissions. When it includes all GHGs (eg with nitrous oxides & methane) the footprint is expressed as a "CO2 equivalent unit" The carbon footprint for a typical person is around 20 tonnes of CO2 which reflects activities under somebody's control — home energy use and personal transport.

Why is it called a "footprint" when it is about a volume of gas?
Ans: This is because originally we talked about an "ecological" footprint, which is a measure of the amount of land needed to provide the resources to absorb the pollution. "Carbon footprint" has also lost the part of the equation called "resources" and concentrates just on the pollutant — CO2.

Carbon Neutral is "the potential for net carbon emissions to be zero, all else being equal. For operational activity, this would involve some form of offset, with the question of ‘additionality’ (?? Check) being central. For plans and policies: carbon neutrality might mean no net increase in carbon emissions from the proposed activity/development, with offsetting done through investments in other sectors or locations".

Carbon sequestration refers to the provision of long-term storage of carbon in the terrestrial biosphere (soil and organisms) — or the oceans, so that the buildup of carbon dioxide concentration in the atmosphere will reduce or slow.

Carbon Sink is a carbon reservoir that is increasing in size. The main natural sinks are the oceans, soil, plants and other organisms that use photosynthesis to remove carbon from the atmosphere by incorporating it into biomass. CO2 sinks are a form of carbon offset.

Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is the an emissions trading mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol. It is intended to help industrialized countries reduce the costs of meeting their targets by achieving reductions.

Climate Change originally meant changes in climate over a period of time, although now it has come to mean the changes in climate, in particular temperature and rain, over the last few decades, and widely considered to be due to changes in industrial processes. Also called "Global Warming" (see below).

Direct emissions refer to those released from activities occurring in specified area - ex USA. Indirect emissions refer to those created elsewhere in order for the USA activities to occur — such as fires in Malaysia to make way for palm oil that is then imported as bio-fuel.

Environmental Condition Indicators is measure the condition of land, air or water in the outside environment.

Emissions are the release of gases to the atmosphere, caused by human behavior. In the context of global climate change, they consist of radiatively important greenhouse gases, ex, the release of carbon dioxide during fuel combustion.

EUETS: the European Union emissions trading scheme, which began on January 1 2005. Its first phase ends on December 31 2007; the second runs from 2008-2012. The EUs "Emissions Trading Scheme" is the largest scheme in the world to reduce emissions and is the EU commitment to the Kyoto Protocol.

Global warming is the observed increase in the average temperature of the Earth's atmosphere and oceans in recent decades, and its projected continuation. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), consisting of scientists from 40 countries and representations form 113 countries, concludes in its fourth report that global warming is happening, and is very likely(probability is more than 90%) caused by human emissions of greenhouse gases.

GHGs or Greenhouse gases are components of the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect. Some greenhouse gases occur naturally in the atmosphere, while others result from human activities. Naturally occurring greenhouse gases include water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, and ozone. Certain human activities, however, add to the levels of most of these naturally occurring gases.

Radioactive Forcing is the difference between the incoming radiation energy and the outgoing radiation energy in a given climate system.

Sequestrate means to capture gaseous carbon and keep in solid form in biomass, soils or oceans.

VERs: Voluntary emissions reductions, sold on the voluntary market.

Voluntary market: unregulated market for carbon offsets, outside the Kyoto protocol.

Vintage: the year in which carbon credits were generated. It is possible to buy credits years in advance of when the emissions reductions will occur. Some companies will only buy credits generated in the same year as the emissions being offset.

Zero Carbon is any activity (an operation, plan or policy) where absolute carbon emissions are zero.