Glossary & Jargon Buster:
Sustainability and Climate Risk

Atmosphere

Royal Meteorological Society – Understanding Weather

Weather

NASA – Weather Vs. Climate
Royal Meteorological Society – Understanding Weather

Climate

World Meteorological Organization – Climate
NASA – Weather Vs. Climate

Greenhouse gases (GHGs) (Greenhouse effect, Emissions, Stock)

Global Monitoring Laboratory - Basics of the Carbon Cycle and the Greenhouse Effect
US EPA – Overview of Greenhouse Gases

Global warming (Pre-industrial baseline)

NASA – Global Warming vs. Climate Change

Climate change (Natural variability)

The Royal Society – The Basics of Climate Change
NASA – Global Warming vs. Climate Change

Environment

OECD – Defining ‘Environment’ in Environmental Statistics

Ecosystem

The Open University – Introduction to Ecology and Ecosystems

Ecosystem Services

UK NEA – Ecosystem Services

Biodiversity

National Geographic – What is Biodiversity?

IPCC-IBPES – Biodiversity and Climate Change

Environmental degradation
(Ecological degradation)

OECD – Defining ‘Environmental Degradation’ in Environmental Statistics

UNFAO – Accounting for Natural Resources and Environmental Degradation

Sustainability

UNFAO – What is Sustainability?

Mitigation

UNFCCC – Introduction to Mitigation

NASA – Responding to Climate Change

Adaptation

UNFCCC – Adaptation and Resilience

NASA – Responding to Climate Change

Geoengineering
(Solar geoengineering, Carbon geoengineering)

Oxford Geoengineering Programme – What is Geoengineering?

Yale Climate Connections – Why is Geoengineering a ‘Break Glass’ Plan?

Conservation

National Geographic – What is Conservation?

Resilience

UNFCCC – Adaptation and Resilience

Development
(Sustainable development)

UNDESA – The Sustainable Development Goals

Parts per million (ppm)

US EPA – Climate Change Indicators

NASA – Carbon Dioxide

Warming potential
(CO₂ equivalent)

IPCC - Global Warming Potentials (IPCC Second Assessment Report)

Sequestration
(Carbon sinks, Negative emission technologies (NETs))

UNECE – Carbon Sinks and Sequestration

Encyclopaedia Britannica – Carbon Sequestration

Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) (greenhouse gas removal (GGR), Direct air capture)
Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS)

IPCC - Special Report: Carbon Dioxide Capture and Storage

Decarbonization 
(Transition, Electrification)

World Economic Forum – What’s the path to deep decarbonization?

World Bank – Transitions at the Heart of the Climate Challenge

Resources for the Future – Electrification 101

Net-zero emissions

International Energy Agency – Net Zero by 2050

Carbon offset

Carbon Offset Guide – What is a Carbon Offset?

Double Materiality

European Commission – Guidelines on reporting climate-related information

Physical risk (Hazard, Acute hazards, Chronic hazards)
Transition risk (Drivers, Policy risk, Legal risk, Technology risk, Market risk, Reputation risk)

TCFD - Climate-Related Risks, Opportunities, and Financial Impacts

Scenario (Scenario analysis)

TCFD – Scenario Analysis

Pathway

IPCC - Mitigation Pathways Compatible with 1.5°C in the Context of Sustainable Development

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

IPCC – About

Assessment report (AR) (Working groups, Synthesis report)
Special report

IPCC – About

IPCC - Reports

Representative concentration pathways (RCPs) (Radiative forcing)

IPCC – Fifth Assessment report

IPCC – Sixth Assessment report

MIT – Radiative Forcing Explained

MET Office – What are the RCPs?

Shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs)

IPCC – Sixth Assessment report

Climate diplomacy

Climate Diplomacy – What is Climate Diplomacy?

Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)

UNEP - Multilateral Environmental Agreements

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) (Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, Conference of Parties (COP))

United Nations – UNFCCC Document

United Nations –1992 Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit

UNFCCC - The History of the Convention

UNFCCC – Conference of Parties

Kyoto Protocol (COP3)

United Nations – Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC

UNFCCC - What is the Kyoto Protocol?

Paris Agreement
(COP21)(Nationally determined contributions (NDCs)

United Nations – Paris Agreement

UNFCCC - Key Aspects of the Paris Agreement

Glasgow Climate Pact (COP26)

United Nations - Glasgow Climate Pact

UNFCCC – Key Outcomes of the Glasgow Climate Pact