GLOSSARY of CLIMATE CHANGE

Term		Definition
AAU		See 'Assigned Amount Unit'.
Abatement		Actions resulting in reductions to the degree or intensity of GHG emissions. Also referred to as mitigation
Activities Implemented Jointly, or AIJ		The pilot phase for joint implementation (JI), as defined in Article 4.2(a) of the Convention, that allowed for project activity among developed countries (and their companies) and between developed and developing countries (and their companies). AIJ was intended to allow Parties to gain experience in jointly implemented project activities. There is no crediting for AIJ activity during the pilot phase, which has been extended indefinetely.
Ad Hoc Group on Article 13, or AG13		A committe created by COP-1 to establish a multilateral consultative process to resolve questions regarding the implementation of the UNFCCC. This effort was unseccessful and the consultative process has not been established.
Ad Hoc Working Group, or AWG		Process established at COP/MOP-1 (Montreal, 2006) to negotiate future commitments (beyond 2012) for Annex B Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. Parties have agreed that AWG negotiations should be completed in time to ensure that there is no gap between the first and second commitment periods.
Adaption		Adjustment in natural or human systems to a new or changing environment. Adaption refers to adjustments in natural or human systems, intended to reduce vulnerability to actual or anticipated climate change and variability or exploit beneficial opportunities.
Adaption Costs		Costs of planning, preparing for, facilitating, and implementing adaption measures, including transition costs.
Adaption Fund		Finances adaption projects and programmes in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Fund is financed with a 2% share of credits (CERs) from CDM project activities and can receive funds from other sources.
Adaptive Capacity		The ability of a system to adjust to climate change, variability and extremes to moderate potential damages, to take advantage of opportunities, or to cope with the consequences.
Adverse Effects/Impacts		Adverse effects or impacts, refers to the potential negative effects of human-induced climate change as well as the impacts resulting from implementation of response measures. Such effects or impacts include, e.g. sea level rise, changes in precipitation, storms or other weather patterns, and reduced demand for fossil fuels or other energy intensive products. Impacts of climate change can be positive as well as negative. (See also ‘Articles 4.8 and 4.9’.)
Agroforestry		A land-use system in which woody perennials (trees, shrubs, palms, bamboos) are deliberately used on the same land management unit as agricultural crops (woody or not), animals or both, either in some form of spatial arrangement or temporal sequence. In agroforestry systems there are both ecological and economic interactions between the different components. (World Agroforestry Centre, 1997) The practice of planting trees on agricultural farms, especially on peripheral bunds of fields, for simultaneous production of food crops and trees. As a production system, agroforestry is superior to pure cropping. Trees, apart from bringing up nutrients from the deeper layers of soil, provide shelter, maintain temperature modernization and humidity in the atmosphere, improve the organic content of the topsoil, and promote fertility enhancing soil-fungi such as the root associative mycorrhizae and the nitrogen fixing rhizobia. (Siyag, P.R., 1998) An agro-forest is a complex of tree areas within an area that is broadly characterised as agricultural or as an agro-ecosystem. (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA, 2001) A complex of tree areas within an area that is broadly characterized as agricultural or as an agro-ecosystem (ITTO, 2002) Land management which combines agricultural crops with tree crops and forest plants and/or animals simultaneously or sequentially and applies management practices which are compatible with the cultural pattern of the local population. (PEENRA website)
Alliance of Small Island States, or AOSI		The Alliance of Small Island States is a coalition of small island and low-lying coastal countries that share similar development challenges and concerns about the environment, especially their vulnerability to the adverse effects of global climate change. It functions primarily as an ad hoc lobby and negotiating voice for Small Island Developing States (SIDS) within the United Nations system. AOSIS has a membership of 43 States and observers, drawn from all oceans adnd regions of the world: Africa, Caribbean, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean, Pacific and South China Sea. AOSIS functions on the basis of consultation and consensus. The Alliance does not have a formal charter, and there is no regular budget, nor a secretariat. (AOSIS' own definition). AOSIS and other UN regional groupings are informally defined and their structure and definition can change. Under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol AOSIS members are entitled to representation and Bureaus established under the agreement.
Allowances		Legally defined units that entitle the holder to emit one tonne of CO2 or CO2-equivalent of other green house gases. Under the Kyoto Protocol the units are AAUs, ERUs (from Joint Implementation), CERs (from the Clean Development Mechanism), and RMUs (from LULUCF).For compliance, units must be surrendered in amount sequal to actual emissions over the commitment period. Under the Kyoto Protocol emissions units may be traded between countries, or banked for use in future periods.
Alternative Energy		Energy derived from non-fossil fuel sources.
Ancillary Benefits (IPCC definition)		The ancillary or side effects of policies aimed exclusively at climate change mitigation. Policies that address GHG emissions may have a variety of social and economic impacts, for example on resource use efficiency transportation, agriculture, land-use practices, employment and energy security. Sometimes these benefits are referred to as ‘ancillary impacts’, to reflect the fact that in some cases the side effects may be negative. Since few policies are implemented for climate change mitigation alone, the term co-benefits is more commonly used.(See also ‘Co-benefits’.)
Annex B Countries		Annex B in the Kyoto Protocol lists those developed countries that have agreed to a commitment to control their greenhouse gas emissions in the period 2008–12,including those in the OECD, Central and Eastern Europe and the Russian Federation. The list of Annex B countries currently (2007) matches that of Annex I, with the exclusion of Turkey.
Annex I Countries		Annex I to the UNFCCC lists all the countries in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1990, plus countries with‘economies in transition’ (see entry), Central and Eastern Europe (excluding Albania and most of the former Yugoslavia). By default the other countries are referred to as Non-Annex I countries. Under Article 4.2 (a and b) of the Convention, Annex I countries commit them selves specifically to the aim of returning individually or jointly to their 1990 levels of GHG emissions by the year 2000.
Annex II Countries		Annex II to the UNFCCC lists all countries in the OECD in 1990. Under Article 4.2 (g) of the Convention, these countries are obligated to provide financial resources to assist developing countries comply with their obligations such as preparing national reports. Annex II countries are also expected to promote the transfer of environmentally sound technologies to developing countries.
Anthropogenic Emissions		Emissions of greenhouse gases associated with human activities. These include burning of fossil fuels for energy, deforestation, land-use changes and emissions of other GHGs.
ARD Activities		Afforestation, Reforestation, Deforestation (see separate definitions). These are the three land-use change and forestry activities which are included in Article 3.3 of the Kyoto Protocol. Net changes resulting from these activities are allowed to be used by the Parties in meeting their GHG obligations under the Protocol in the first commitment period (they are required in the second commitment period). They are often referred to together as ARD. ARD Activities are the focus of Ch.4 of the IPCC Special Report on Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF).
Article 3.9 (Kyoto Protocol)		Future commitments for Annex B Parties to the Kyoto Protocol are addressed in Article 3.9, which requires that negotiation of subsequent commitments (after 2012)by Annex 1 Parties should begin at least seven years before the end of the first commitment period (2006). Implementation of this article led to the formation of the Ad Hoc Working Group (AWG) at COP/MOP-1.
Article 9 (Kyoto Protocol)		Under the Kyoto Protocol the COP/MOP must periodically review the Protocol taking into account the best available information on climate change. Based on there view’s findings the COP/MOP is expected to take appropriate actions. In the negotiations some Parties have attempted to use the review to argue that the ultimate objectives of the Convention are not being met necessitating deeper cuts or wider participation from Parties. Other Parties believe that the review should focus on the progress of Annex 1 Parties in meeting their obligations on emissions, financing and technology transfer. The first review was undertaken at COP/MOP-2 with others following at regular intervals.
Articles 4.8 and 4.9 (UNFCCC)		Adverse impacts of climate change, the impact of measures taken to respond to climate change, and compensation for these impacts is referred to in Articles 4.8 and 4.9 of the Convention. This issue is also addressed under Article 3.14 of the Kyoto Protocol. In the negotiations, discussion of article 4.8 is of particular concern to small island countries and those non-Annex I countries whose economies are highly dependent on exporting fossil fuels. Article 4.9 refers specifically to the special situations of least developed countries (LDCs).
Articles 5, 7 and 8 (Kyoto Protocol)		Issues surrounding the preparation (methodologies),communication and review of national inventories under the Kyoto Protocol are addressed in Articles 5, 7 and 8 respectively. The main aspects of the discussions of these articles include establishing appropriate methods (or consequences for not having methods), how to account for sinks (LULUCF), how adjustments would be made to national inventories and monitoring of a country’s progress against its Kyoto commitment.
Assigned Amount		Under the Kyoto Protocol establishes limits on the total amount of greenhouse gas emissions that each developed country may emit in the first commitment period(2008–12). The assigned amount is calculated by multi-plying total greenhouse gas emissions in 1990 by 5 (for the five-year commitment period) and then by the percentage agreed to as listed in Annex B of the Protocol(e.g. 92 per cent for EU Member State, 93 per cent for the USA). Units of the assigned amounts are referred to as AAUs (Assigned Amount Units).
Assigned Amount Unit, or AAU		Under the Kyoto Protocol participating Annex B Parties are allocated AAUs, each equivalent to one tonne of CO2 equivalent emission, in an amount equal to the assigned emissions obligation. For compliance, at the end of the commitment period, Annex 1 Nations must surrender AAUs (and other recognized emissions allowances: see CER and ERU) in an amount equal to their actual covered emissions over the period. Annex B Parties that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol can exchange AAUs through emissions trading.
Baseline		A projected level of future emissions against which reductions by project activities might be setermined, or the emissions that would occur without policy intervention.
BINGO		See 'Business and Industry Non-Governmental Organization'.
Biofuel		A fuel produced from organic matter produced by plants. Examples of biofuels include alcohols (from fermented sugar), black liquor from the paper manufacturing process, wood and soybean oil.
Biomass		The total dry organic matter or stored energy content of living oorganisms. Biomass can be used for fuel directly by burning it (e.g. wood), indirectly by fermentation to an alcohol (e.g. sugar) or extraction of combustible oils (e.g. soybeans)
Buenos Aires Plan of Action, or BAPA		The Plan of Action agreed by governments at COP-4 hel in Buenos Aires (November, 1998). The Plan of Action states the aim to resolve, by COP-6, alist of outstanding issues concerning the COnvention and the Kyoto Protocol, principally on the Kyoto Mechanisms and compliance. The development and transfer of technology, compensation for adverse effects (of climate change itself and mitigation policies), and the status of projects under the Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ) pilot programme are also included in the Plan of Action. Agreement on the elements of the BAPA was reached at COP-7 (Marrakech, 2001) and is often referred to as the Marrakech Accords.
Capacity Building		A process of constructive interaction between developed and developing countries to help developing countries build the capability and skills needed to achieve environmentally sound forms of economic development. Under current negotiations, capacity building should assist developing countries to build, develop, strengthen, enhance and improve their capabilities to achieve the objective of the Convention and their participation in the Kyoto Protocol process.
Carbon Capture and Storage, or CSS		Capture of CO2 emitted from large point sources, compression, transportation and injection into underground geological formations for long-term storage.
Carbon Cycle		The natural processes that govern the exchange of carbon (in the form of CO2, carbonates and organic compounds etc.) among the atmospehre, ocean and terrestrial systems. Major components include photosynthesis, respiration and decay between atmospheric and terrestrial systems (approximately 120 billion tonnes/year (gigatonnes)); thermodynamic invasion and evasion between the ocean and atmosphere, operation of the carbon pump and mixing in the deep ocean (approx. 90 billion tonnes/year). Deforestation and fossil fuel burning releases approximately 8 Gt into the atmosphere annually. The total carbon in the reservoirs is approximately 2300 Gt in land biota, soil and detritus, 600 Gt in the atmosphere and 38,000 Gt in the oceans. (Fugures from IPCC Third Assessment Report 2001.) Over still longer periods, the geological processes of outgassing, volcanism, sedimentation and weathering are also important.
Carbon dioxide equivalent, or CO2eq		A metric that allows the contribution to radiative forcing of climate by different GHGs to be compared with forcing from CO2. The Kyoto Protocol utilizes the 100-year Global Warming Potential (as reported in the Second Assessment Report of the IPCC 1995) to assess relative contributions GHGs on a mass weighted basis.
Carbon Dioxide Fertilization		Enhancement of plant growth or yield as a result of an increase in the atmospheric concentration of CO2.
Carbon Dioxide, or CO2		A naturally occuring gas, it is also produced by natural process such as respiration, decay of vegetation or forest firest, and as a by-product of human activities including use of fossil fuels and biomass, as well as land-use changes and other industrial processes. It is the principal anthropogenic greenhouse gas thatt affects the earth's temperature. it is the reference gas againts which ither GHGs are indexed and therefore has a 'Global Warming Potential' (see entry) of 1. Carbon dioxide constitutes approximately 0.038 per cent of the atmosphere. The mass ratio of carbon to carbon dioxide is 12/44.
Carbon Market		A popular term for a trading system through which countries may buy or sell units of greenhouse gas emissions(not just carbon dioxide) in an effort to meet their national limits on emissions, either under the Kyoto Protocol or under other agreements, such as that among member states of the European Union. The term comes from the fact that carbon dioxide is the predominant greenhouse gas and other gases are measured in unit scalled ‘carbon-dioxide equivalents’.
Carbon Sequestration		The storage of carbon or carbon dioxide in the forests, soils, ocean, or underground in depleted oil and gas reservoirs, coal seams and saline aquifers. Examples include: the separation and storage of CO2 from flue gases or the processing of fossil fuels to produce H2; and the direct removal of CO2 from the atmosphere through land-use change, afforestation, reforestation, ocean fertilization, and agricultural practices to enhance soil carbon.
Carbon Sinks		Natural or man-made systems that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and store them. Trees, plants and the oceans all absorb CO2 and, therefore, are carbon sinks.
Carbon Tax		A tax placed on carbon emissions. It is similar to a BTU tax, except that the tax rate is based on the fuel’s carbon content.
Certified Emission Reductions, or CERs		A CER represents one tonne of CO2-equivalent green-house gas emissions reductions achieved through a Clean Development Mechanism project. It can be used to meet an Annex B Party’s emission commitment or as the unit of trade in greenhouse gas emissions trading systems. lCERs are long-term CERs issued for an afforestation or reforestation CDM project, that expire at the end of the crediting period for that project. tCERs are temporary CERs issued for an afforestation or reforestation CDM project, that expire at the end of the commitment period following the one in which they were issued.
Clean Development Mechanism, or CDM		Defined in Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, CDM projects undertaken in developing countries are intended to meet two objectives: (1) to address the sustainable development needs of the host country; and(2) to generate emissions credits that can be used to satisfy commitments of Annex 1 Parties and thus increase flexibility in where government Parties meet their reduction commitments. Projects that limit or reduce greenhouse gas emissions can earn the investor (governmentor industry) credits if approved by the CDM Executive Board. A share of the proceeds from the project activities (US $0.10 per CER for first 15,000 tonnes CO2eq; US$0.20 per CER there after) is used to cover administration costs, and 2 percent of the credits are assessed to create an adaptation fund to assist developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects from climate change to take action to adapt.
Climate Change (UNFCCC definition)		A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability over comparable time periods.
Climate Convention		See ‘UN Framework Convention on Climate Change’, or UNFCCC.
Commitment Period		To allow Parties some flexibility in when they meet their GHG emissions reduction obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, the first emissions target applies to a 5-year period (2008–12), known as the first commitment period. Terms governing the the second and subsequent commitment periods are subject to future negotiation. Negotiations concerning the second period are now in progress.
Commitment Period Reserve		To prevent Annex B Parties from overselling allocations from their Assigned Amount. Annex B Parties are required to maintain a ‘commitment period reserve’ that is equal to the lower of 90 percent of their respective assigned amounts, or ‘100 percent of five times their most recently reviewed inventories’.
Conference of the Parties		The Conference of Parties to the UNFCCC also serves as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol(COP/MOP), the Protocol’s supreme body, but only Parties that have ratified or acceded to the Protocol may participate in deliberations and make decisions.
Conference of the Parties, or COP		The Conference of the Parties (to the UNFCCC) is the supreme body of the Convention, comprised of countries that have ratified or acceded to the UNFCCC. The first session of the COP (COP-1) was held in Berlin in 1995,and sessions have been held annually since then.
Decision		A formal agreement that (unlike a resolution) leads to binding actions. Ir becomes part of the agreed body of decisions that direct the work of the COP and UNFCCC Secretariat. Decisions enter into force immediately, are binding on all Parties and do not require further ratification, accession or acceptance by Parties.
	Deforastation		The removal of forest stands by cutting and burning to provide land for agricultural purposes, residential or industrial building sites, roads, etc., or by harvesting the trees for building materials or fuel.
	Deforestation		The removal of forest and undergrowth (NSW-EPA, 1995) Refers to change of land cover with depletion of tree crown cover to less than 10%. Changes within the forest class (e.g. from closed to open forest) which negatively affect the stand or site and, in particular, lower the production capacity, are termed forest degradation (FAO, 1998) The conversion of forest to another land use or the long-term reduction of tree canopy cover below the 10% threshold (FAO, 2000) The direct human-induced conversion of forested land to non-forested land. (UNFCCC, 2001) Clearing of tree formations and their replacement by non forest land use (PEENRA website) A secondary forest that has lost, through human activities, the structure, function, species composition or productivity normally associated with a natural forest type expected on that site. Hence, a degraded forest delivers a reduced supply of goods and services from the given site and maintains only limited biological diversity. Biological diversity of degraded forests includes many non-tree components, which may dominate in the under canopy vegetation. (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA, 2001) Forest that delivers a reduced supply of goods and services from a given site and maintains only limited biological diversity. It has lost the structure, function, species composition and /or productivity normally associated with the natural forest type expected at that site. (ITTO, 2002)
	Degraded Forest		Forest that delivers a reduced supply of goods and services from a given site and maintains only limited biological diversity. It has lost the structure, function, species composition and /or productivity normally associated with the natural forest type expected at that site (ITTO, 2002) A secondary forest that has lost, through human activities, the structure, function, species composition or productivity normally associated with a natural forest type expected on that site. Hence, a degraded forest delivers a reduced supply of goods and services from the given site and maintains only limited biological diversity. Biological diversity of degraded forests includes many non-tree components, which may dominate in the under canopy vegetation. (UNEP/CBD/SBSTTA, 2001)
	Degraded Forest Land		Formerly forested lands severely impacted by intensive and/or repeated disturbance (such as mining, repeated fires or overgrazing) with consequently inhibited or delayed forest regrowth. These include barrens areas, Imperata grasslands, brushlands, and scrublands. (Chokkalingam, U. and Wil de Jong, 2001) Former forest land severely damaged by the excessive harvesting of wood and/or non-wood forest products, poor management, repeated fire, grazing or other disturbances or land-uses that damage soil and vegetation to a degree that inhibits or severely delays the re-establishment of forest after abandonment.(ITTO, 2002)
	Desertification		The progressive destruction or degradation of vegetative cover, especially in arid or semi-arid regions bordering existing deserts. Overgrazing of rangelands, large-scale cutting of forests and woodlands, drought, burning of extensive areas and climate changes all serve to destroy or degrade the vegetation cover.
	Designated National Authority, or DNA		An office, ministry, or other official entity appointed by a Party to the Kyoto Protocol to review and give national approval to projects proposed under the Clean Development Mechanism.
	Documents		Official UNFCCC documents are available to all either in hard copy at UNFCCC meetings or on the UNFCCC website. They carry a unique document number and many are translated into all six UN languages. They carry a variety of codes indicating which Convention or Kyoto Protocol body is responsible for them and what type of document they are. (See CRP's, L Docs, and Misc. Docs). They are also a wide variety of unofficial documents including statements from Parties, preliminary negotiating texts, and publications from observer groups. These are often difficult to obtain in hard copy and are not available on the UNFCCC website.
	Early Crediting		Article 12 on the Clean Development Mechanism indicates that early crediting will be given from CDM projects undertaken between 2000 and 2008. These credits can be used to assist in achieving compliance in the first commitment period.
	Eligibility		Discussion of eligibility relates firstly to the requirements for Annex B Parties to be eligible to participate in the three Kyoto Mechanisms and secondly to whether a project would be eligible to qualify for credit under the CDM. In the first case, Parties are eligible to participate in the Kyoto Mechanisms if they meet certain requirements. These include: being in compliance with commitments under Articles 5 and 7 and submitting the last available national inventory report; having a national system for the estimation of GHG emissions; and having ratified the Protocol. In the second case, eligibility in the CDM refers to the type of technology or project that would qualify for credit. This may depend on the sustainable development criteria of the host country, the size of the project and the type of technology used, e.g.nuclear, fossil fuel or renewable (see ‘Positive and Negative Lists’).
	Emissions (UNFCCC definition)		The release of greenhouse gases and/or their precursors into the atmosphere over a specified area and period of time.
	Emissions Cap		A mandated restraint, in a scheduled time frame, that puts a ‘ceiling’ on the total amount of anthropogenic greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that can be released into the atmosphere. The Kyoto Protocol mandates caps on the GHG emissions released by developed countries listed in Annex B.
	Emissions Permit		The phrase emissions permit is sometimes used to refer to the non-transferable or tradable entitlement bestowed by an administrative authority (intergovernmental organization, central or local government agency) to a regional (country, sub-national) or a sectoral (an individual firm) entity to emit a pollutant within specified constraints. In some settings, an emissions permit is required for activities that create emissions, and the operator responsible for emissions must acquire and surrender emissions allowances in amount equal to actual emissions.
	Emissions Reduction Unit, or ERU		An ERU represents one tonne of CO2-equivalent greenhouse gas emissions reductions 2achieved through a Joint Implementation project. It can be used to meet an Annex B Party’s emission commitment or as the unit of trade in greenhouse gas emissions trading systems.
	Emissions Scenarios		A plausible representation of the future development of emissions of substances that are radiatively active (e.g.greenhouse gases, aerosols), based on a coherent and internally consistent set of assumptions about driving forces (such as demographic and socio-economic development, technological change) and their key relationships. Concentration scenarios, derived from emissions scenarios, are used as input into a climate models to compute climate projections.
	Forest		Key to the identification of Kyoto lands is a definition of forest that is consistent for all Parties. This definition is critical to the accounting of sources and sinks under the Kyoto Protocol (Articles 3.3 and 3.4). There are many definitions of forest, based on land-use status (administrative/cultural records) or a minimum threshold of canopy cover and/or tree height. None, however, were specifically designed for carbon accounting as required under the Protocol. This definition and the implications of using different definitions are addressed in detail in Chapter 3 of the IPCC Special Report on LULUCF. The IPCC 2006 Guidelines for National GHG Inventories provide a broad, non-prescriptive definition of forest lands, but leave it to individual countries to decide which of their lands they will designate as forest.
	Forest Management		Forest management is the application of biological, physical, quantitative, managerial, social and policy principles to the regeneration, tending, utilization and conversion of forests to meet specified goals and objectives while maintaining forest productivity. Management intensity spans the range from wilderness set-asides toshort-rotation woody cropping systems. Forest management encompasses the full cycle of regeneration, tending, protection, harvest, utilization and access. (From IPCC Special Report on LULUCF.)