Glossary
Glossary & Jargon Buster:
Sustainability and Climate Risk
Simple definitions for the most frequently referenced terms, phrases, and acronyms.
Terms written in italics within an entry are defined elsewhere in the glossary. These definitions can be located using the search bar below.
Greenhouse gases (GHGs) (Greenhouse effect, Emissions, Stock)
Global warming (Pre-industrial baseline)
Climate change (Natural variability)
The Basics of Environment
Ecosystem Services
Biodiversity
Environmental degradation
(Ecological degradation)
Climate and Sustainability Solutions
Sustainability
Geoengineering
(Solar geoengineering, Carbon geoengineering)
Conservation
Resilience
Development
(Sustainable development)
Transitioning to Net-Zero
Parts per million (ppm)
Warming potential
(CO2 equivalent)
Sequestration
(Carbon sinks, Negative emission technologies (NETs))
Carbon dioxide removal (CDR) (greenhouse gas removal (GGR), Direct air capture)
Carbon dioxide capture and storage (CCS)
Decarbonization
(Transition, Electrification)
Net-zero emissions
Carbon offset
Double Materiality
The Basics of Climate Risk
Physical risk (Hazard, Acute hazards, Chronic hazards)
Transition risk (Drivers, Policy risk, Legal risk, Technology risk, Market risk, Reputation risk)
Scenario (Scenario analysis)
IPCC Reports and Concepts
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Assessment report (AR) (Working groups, Synthesis report)
Special report
Representative concentration pathways (RCPs) (Radiative forcing)
Shared socio-economic pathways (SSPs)
Climate Diplomacy
Climate diplomacy
Multilateral environmental agreements (MEAs)
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC) (Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, Conference of Parties (COP))
Kyoto Protocol (COP3)
Paris Agreement
(COP21)(Nationally determined contributions (NDCs)
Glasgow Climate Pact (COP26)
Greenhouse Gas Accounting
Greenhouse gas inventory
Scope 2
Scope 3
