Eco Positive Glossary

Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.

A sequence of interactions in which the final interaction influences the original one. Also see positive feedback and negative feedback.

Developed country Parties (Annex II Parties) are required to provide financial resources to assist developing country Parties implement the Convention. To facilitate this, the Convention established a financial mechanism to provide funds to developing country Parties.  The Parties to the Convention assigned operation of the financial mechanism to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on an on-going basis, subject to review every four years.  The financial mechanism is accountable to the COP.

The burning of waste gases through a flare stack or other device before releasing them to the air.

Contact person within the government of country that has signed UNFCCC for communication according to UNFCCC.

A sequence of organisms, each of which uses the next lower member of the sequence as a food source.

Refers to the distance foodstuffs travel through their various stages of production and processing to the point at which they reach the consumer. A measure of both distance traveled and mode of transportation allows comparisons of the energy use and the contribution to greenhouse emissions associated with various food types and sources.

Fossil fuels are non-renewable sources of energy formed from fossilised organic matter. Coal, oil and natural gas are the most widely used fossil fuels in energy production. Most of Australia's primary energy is derived from fossil fuels.

Fugitive greenhouse gas emissions are waste or loss in the process of fuel production, storage, or transport, such as methanegiven off during oil and gas drilling and refining, or leakage of natural gas from pipelines.

Possibility to exchange different types of reduction credits achieved under different mechanism (e.g. ERUs on AAUs etc.).

General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade.

Global Climate Observing System.

Hydrodynamic models of the atmosphere on a grid or spectral resolution that determine the surface pressure and the vertical distributions of velocity, temperature, density, and water vapor as functions of time from the mass conservation and hydrostatic laws, the first law of thermodynamics, Newton's second law of motion, the equation of state, and the conservation law for water vapor. Abbreviated as GCM. Atmospheric general circulation models are abbreviated AGCM, while oceanic general circulation models are abbreviated OGCM.

Also known as carbon capture and storage (CCS), geosequestration is the process of capture, transport, injection and long-term storage of CO2 in underground geological formations for the primary purpose of mitigating greenhouse gas emissions.

The NSW Greenhouse Gas Reduction Scheme (NSW GGAS)

See Greenhouse gas.

The position or time of the greatest advance of a glacier (e.g., the greatest equatorward advance of Pleistocene glaciation).

The isostatic adjustment of previously glaciated areas after glacial retreat (e.g., the uplift of Scandinavia after the most recent glaciation).

A mass of land ice that is formed by the cumulative recrystallization of firn. A glacier flows slowly (at present or in the past) from an accumulation area to an ablation area. Some well-known glaciers are: the Zermatt, Stechelberg, Grindelwald, Trient, Les Diablerets, and Rhone in Switzerland; the Nigards, Gaupne, Fanarak, Lom, and Bover in Norway; the Wright, Taylor, and Wilson Piedmont glaciers in Antarctica; the Bossons Glacier in France; the Emmons and Nisqually glaciers on Mt. Ranier, Washington; Grinnell glacier in Glacier National Park, Montana; the Dinwoody glacier in the Wind River Mountains and the Teton glacier in Teton National Park, both in Wyoming; and many glaciers in the Canadian Rockies.

The slow downward or outward movement of ice in a glacier caused by gravity.

The GEF is an independent financial organization that provides grants to developing countries for projects that benefit the global environment and promote sustainable livelihoods in local communities.  The Parties to the Convention assigned operation of the financial mechanism to the Global Environment Facility (GEF) on an on-going basis, subject to review every four years.  The financial mechanism is accountable to the COP.

The global warming potential is the impact a greenhouse gas (GHG) has to global warming. By definition, CO2 is used as reference case, hence it always has the GWP of 1. GWP changes with time, and the IPCC has suggested using 100-year GWP for comparison purposes. Below is a list of 100-year GWPs:Carbon dioxide (CO2) GWP: 1, Methane (CH4) GWP: 23; Nitrous oxide (N2O) GWP: 310; Hydrofluorcarbons (HFCs) GWP: 150 – 11,700; Perfluorcarbons (PFCs) GWP: 6,500 – 9,200; Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) GWP: 23,900. 

Initiated by WWF, SSN and Helio International the Gold Standard for CDM projects was launched in 2003 after a wide-ranging stakeholder consultation among key actors of the carbon market as well as governments. It offers project developers a tool with which they can ensure that the CDM and JI deliver credible projects with real environmental benefits and, in so doing, give confidence to host countries and the public that projects represent new and additional investments in sustainable energy services.

Initiated by WWF, SSN and Helio International the Gold Standard for CDM projects was launched in 2003 after a wide-ranging stakeholder consultation among key actors of the carbon market as well as governments. It offers project developers a tool with which they can ensure that the CDM and JI deliver credible projects with real environmental benefits and, in so doing, give confidence to host countries and the public that projects represent new and additional investments in sustainable energy services.

Is a certification standard for carbon offset projects, specifically aimed at small scale projects. (See Gold Standard above).

Global Ocean Observing System.

Method for allocation of emissions, where permits are allocated, usually free of charge, to emitters and firms on the basis of historical emissions.

The system of practices on land used for livestock production aimed at manipulating the amount and type of vegetation and livestock produced.

The purpose of Green Investment Schemes is to promote the environmental effectiveness of AAUs transfers, by earmarking revenues from these transfers for environmentally-related purposes in the seller countries.

The greenhouse effect is a term that describes how natural gases in the earth's atmosphere allow the infrared radiation in to warm the earth's surface, but also prevent much of the heat escaping from the earth into the atmosphere. The problem we now face is that human actions are increasing the concentrations of these gases, creating the prospect of global climate change.

The atmospheric gases responsible for causing global warming and climate change. The major GHGs are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N20). Less prevalent --but very powerful -- greenhouse gases are hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs) and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

Refers to the ratio of a nation’s greenhouse gas emissions to its GDP, or the volume of emissions per unit of economic output. A country’s greenhouse intensity may often be falling yet overall emissions are rising due to an expanding economy. Greenhouse intensity measures are also used at a company, plant or industry sector level.

The total amount or weight of organic matter created by photosynthesis over a defined time period (total product of photosynthesis). Abbreviated GPP.

G77/China is the developing country-group in the climate negotiations, consisting of more than 130 developing countries.

Group of Latin American and Caribbean States.

Global Terrestrial Observing System.

A transient winding bend in the Gulf Stream. These bends intensify as the Gulf Stream merges into the North Atlantic and can break up into detached eddies at about 40 degrees S.

See Global Warming Potential.

A direct thermally-driven and zonally symmetric large- scale atmospheric circulation first proposed by George Hadley in 1735 as an explanation for the trade winds. It carries momentum, sensible heat, and potential heat from the tropics to the mid-latitudes (30 degrees). The poleward transport aloft is complemented by subsidence in the subtropical high pressure ridge and a surface return flow. The variability of this cell and the Walker cell is hypothesized to be a major factor in short-term climatic change.

The amount of heat that is transferred across a surface of unit area in a unit of time.

A dome of elevated temperatures over an urban area caused by the heat absorbed by structures and pavement.

Hydrofluorocarbons.

About 98% of HFC-23 emissions are created as a byproduct in the production of HCFC-22 and generally are vented to the atmosphere. HCFC-22 is used mostly as the refrigerant for stationary refrigeration and air conditioning.

A climate category defined by three weighted climatic indexes, namely, mean annual heat, precipitation, and atmospheric moisture.

The most recent epoch of the Quaternary period , covering approximately the last 10,000 years.

A host country is the country where a JI or CDM project is physically located. A project has to be approved by host country to receive CERs or ERUs.

Also called paper credits, the term refers to carbon credits for emission reductions that occurred without any deliberate action. The prime example being the carbon credits arising under Kyoto in Russia and the Ukraine where the collapse of Soviet-era industry in the 1990s has seen emissions fall well below 1990 levels, the base year for reduction calculations, without the implementation of any climate-related measures.

A quantitative accounting of all water volumes and their changes with time for a basin or area.

The period about 4000 to 8000 years ago when the Earth was apparently several degrees warmer than it is now. More rainfall occurred in most of the subtropical desert regions and less in the central midwest United States and Scandinavia. It is also called the altithermal period and can serve as a past climate analog for predicting the regional pattern of climate change should the mean Earth surface temperature increase from an increase in atmospheric carbon dioxide concentration.

International Civil Aviation Organization.

International Climate Change Partnership.

A glacial epoch or time of extensive glacial activity. Also, as Ice Age, which refers to the latest glacial epoch, the Pleistocene Epoch.

During the present time, the extent, especially the thickness, of glacier ice on a land surface. Also the same as ice concentration, which is the ratio of an area of sea ice to the total area of sea surface within some large geographic area.

The floating vertical cliff that forms the seaward face or edge of a glacier or an ice shelf that enters water. It can vary from 2 to 50 m in height.

A glacier of considerable thickness and more than 50,000 sq km in area. It forms a continuous cover of ice and snow over a land surface. An ice sheet is not confined by the underlying topography but spreads outward in all directions. During the Pleistocene Epoch, ice sheets covered large parts of North America and northern Europe but they are now confined to polar regions (e.g., Greenland and Antarctica).

A sheet of very thick ice with a level or gently undulating surface. It is attached to the land on one side, but most of it is floating. On the seaward side, it is bounded by a steep cliff (ice front) 2 to 50 m or more above sea level. Ice shelves have formed along polar coasts (e.g., Antarctica and Greenland); they are very wide with some extending several hundreds of kilometers toward the sea from the coastline. They increase in size from annual snow accumulation and seaward extension of land glaciers. They decrease in size from warming, melting, and calving.

International Council of Local Environmental Initiatives.

International Energy Agency.

Intergovernmental organization.

International Maritime Organization.

Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for the UNFCCC (1990-1995).

A process by which an Annex I Party’s implementation of the Convention and/or the Kyoto Protocol is technically assessed by international teams of experts.

A group of delegates instructed by the President or a Chair to meet in private to discuss a specific matter in an effort to consolidate different views, reach a compromise, and produce an agreed proposal, often in the form of a written text.

Electromagnetic radiation lying in the wavelength interval from 0.7 micrometers to 1000 micrometersm. Its lower limit is bounded by visible radiation, and its upper limit by microwave radiation. Most of the energy emitted by the Earth and its atmosphere is at infrared wavelength. Infrared radiation is generated almost entirely by large-scale intra- molecular processes. The tri-atomic gases, such as water vapor, carbon dioxide, and ozone, absorb infrared radiation and play important roles in the propagation of infra- red radiation in the atmosphere. Abbreviated IR; also called "longwave radiation".

The solar radiation incident on a unit horizontal surface at the top of the atmosphere. It is sometimes referred to as solar irradiance. The latitudinal variation of insolation supplies the energy for the general circulation of the atmosphere. Insolation depends on the angle of incidence of the solar beam and on the solar constant.

IPCC Directive based on minimising pollution from various industrial sources throughout the European Union. Operators of industrial installations covered by Annex I of the IPPC Directive are required to obtain an authorisation (environmental permit) from the authorities in the EU countries. About 50.000 installations are covered by the IPPC Directive in the EU.

A committee created to draft the Convention. The INC met in five sessions between February 1991 and May 1992. After the text of the Convention was adopted in 1992, the INC met six further times to prepare for COP-1. It completed its work in February 1995.

Established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme, the IPCC surveys world-wide scientific and technical literature and publishes assessment reports that are widely recognized as the most credible existing sources of information on climate change. The IPCC also works on methodologies and responds to specific requests from the Convention's subsidiary bodies.

Global coalition of companies and trade associations committed to constructive participation in international policy making on climate change.

See Emissions Trading.

A planned centralized database of all tradable credits under the Kyoto Protocol and the application that verifies all international transactions and their compliance with Kyoto rules and policies.

An anomaly in the normal positive lapse rate; usually refers to a thermal inversion, in which temperature increases rather than decreases with height.

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission.

See Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

The total radiant flux received on a unit area of a given real or imaginary surface. Also called the radiant flux density.

International Standards Organization.

ISO 14000 is a set of international standards, which provide a framework for the development of an environmental management system (EMS) and supporting audit programs. The ISO 14000 series are intended to help organisations comply with applicable laws, regulations and requirements and to continually improve on their environmental performance.

Standards for greenhouse gas accounting and verification introduced by the International Organization for Standardization in March 2006. ISO 14064 aims to help governments and businesses engage in effective emissions reduction projects as well as participate in carbon trading.

ISO 14065 defines requirements for companies performing greenhouse gas validation and verification. The standard provides assessing organisations with a basis for assessing the competence of validation and verification companies.

One of two or more atoms that have the same atomic number (i.e., the same number of protons in their nuclei) but have different mass numbers.

Issuance refers to the instruction by the CDM Executive Board to the CDM registry administrator to issue a specified quantity of CERs for a project activity into the pending account of the Executive Board in the CDM registry.

See International Transaction Log.

World Conservation Union.

The Kyoto Protocol Joint Implementation mechanism allows developed countries to earn credits in the form of Emission Reduction Units (ERUs) when they finance projects that reduce net greenhouse gas emissions in another developed country.

See Joint Implementation.

A mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol through which a developed country can receive "emissions reduction units" when it helps to finance projects that reduce net greenhouse-gas emissions in another developed country (in practice, the recipient state is likely to be a country with an "economy in transition"). An Annex I Party must meet specific eligibility requirements to participate in joint implementation.

Joint Implementation Supervisory Committee (JISC) supervises the verification of ERUs generated by JI projects following the verification procedure under the JISC.

Group of representatives of UNFCCC, CBD, and UNCCD Secretariats set up to explore common activities to confront problems related to climate change, biodiversity and desertification.

An acronym representing non-EU industrialized countries which occasionally meet to discuss various issues related to climate change. The members are Japan, the United States, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Norway, and New Zealand. Iceland, Mexico, and the Republic of Korea may also attend JUSSCANZ meetings.

Joint working group.