Glossary

Selected Climate Change Terms and Acronyms

Climate may be defined as a composite of the long-term prevailing weather in a particular place. It includes all the elements of that weather — temperature, precipitation, and wind patterns, for example. Climate change refers to changes in the climate as a whole, not just one single element of the weather. Global climate change, therefore, refers to changes in all the interconnected weather elements of the Earth.

Acid rain: Rain containing acidic substances that causes damage to plant life, lakes and aquatic life, crops, buildings and human health. Rain becomes acidified when it absorbs sulphur dioxide and nitrogen oxide particles emitted by fossil-fuelled sources such as power plants. To respond to increasingly tough limits on emissions since 1990, U.S. companies in northeastern states operate a successful system of trading sulphur and nitrogen oxides between emitters. The system has delivered large emissions reductions for a fraction of the originally predicted cost and has reduced the intensity of acid rainfall in the region.
[français = Pluies acides]

Adaptation: The process by which an organism or species becomes adjusted to its environment. In the context of climate change, adaptation refers to the adjustments inhabitants of the earth would need to make in the face of inevitable, irreversible changes. These adjustments would be made primarily at the local climate level. If mitigation measures were able to reduce the scale of change or extend the length of time over which it occurs, adaptation would be much easier. (See mitigation.)
[français = Adaptation]

Adaptation Fund: See Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
[français = Fonds d'adaptation]

Adverse effects/impacts: Adverse effects or impacts, refers to the potential negative effects of climate change as well as the impact of the implementation of response measures. Such effects or impacts include sea level rise, change in precipitation 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.
[français = Effets/incidences néfastes]

Annex I Parties: Refers to OECD countries and those making the transition to a market economy, such as Russia and the former East Bloc countries, who are signatories to the Framework Convention on Climate Change (see also Framework Convention on Climate Change).
[français = Pays de l'annexe I]

Annex I Countries: Annex I to the Climate Convention (UNFCCC) lists all the countries in the Organization of Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1990, plus countries with economies in transition, Central and Eastern Europe (excluding the former Yugoslavia and Albania). By default the other countries are referred to as Non-Annex I countries. Under Article 4.2 (a&b) of the Convention, Annex I countries commit themselves specifically to the aim of returning individually or jointly to their 1990 levels of GHG by the year 2000. [français = Pays visés à l'annexe I]

Annex II Countries: Annex II to the Climate Convention lists all countries in the OECD in 1990. Under Article 4.2 (g) of the Convention, these countries are expected 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.[français = Pays visés à l'annexe II]

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 208-12, including those in the OECD, Central and Eastern Europe and the Russian Federation. Not quite the same as Annex I, which also includes Turkey and Belarus, while Annex B includes Croatia, Monaco, Liechtenstein and Slovenia. [français = Pays visés à l’annexe B]

Allowances: See permits.
[français = Allocations]

Anthropogenic emissions: Emissions caused by human activity as opposed to natural processes. For example, tailpipe emissions from automobiles are an anthropogenic source of air pollution. Volcanoes are a natural source.
[français = Émissions anthropiques]

Anthropogenic: Greenhouse gas emissions that arise from human activities. [français = Anthropogène]

Atmosphere: The envelope of gases surrounding the earth and bound to it by the earth’s gravitational attraction. The atmosphere is divided into layers: the troposphere (from ground level to between 8-17 km); the stratosphere (up to 50 km); the mesosphere (50-90 km); and the thermosphere
[français = Atmosphère]

Biodiversity: The totality of genes, species, and ecosystems in a region or the world.
[français = Biodiversité]

Biomass: The total amount or mass of living organisms within a given surface area.
[français = Biomasse]

Biosphere: The total of all areas on Earth — even the deep ocean and part of the atmosphere — where organisms are found.
[français = Biosphère]

Bubble: An imaginary dome or zone enclosing one or more emitters or a region of emitters. A cap is placed on the total amount of emissions permitted from all sources in the bubble, but individual emitters within the bubble can have different caps on their emissions. In the United States, a bubble zone comprising 21 northeastern and mid-western U.S. states was set up in the 1990s to focus on acid rain-causing emissions. Companies inside the bubble conducted emissions trading to reduce their emissions affordably. In the European Union, an "EU bubble" was established under the Kyoto Protocol with the goal of reducing greenhouse gas emissions by 8 per cent below 1990 levels by 2012. EU member states agreed to divide up this target among themselves, with some countries having to reduce emissions by more than 8 per cent and some by less.
[français = Bulle]

Carbon cycle: The cycle in which carbon moves through the biosphere, involving the exchange of carbon between the oceanic and terrestrial ecosystems, on the one hand, and the atmosphere, on the other. Scientists are seeking to understand the fluxes to and from these major carbon cycle reservoirs and how they respond to climate change. To do so, it is also necessary to understand why about half the carbon dioxide released to the atmosphere as a result of fossil fuel combustion and deforestation is accumulating in the atmosphere while the other half is held in other reservoirs such as the oceans or plants. (See also carbon dioxide (CO₂), fossil fuels and sinks.)
[français = Cycle du carbone ]

Carbon dioxide (CO₂): Recognized as the principal contributor to increasing atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases and therefore to global warming (see greenhouse gases). Society’s use of energy is the largest factor in this carbon dioxide generation. Anthropogenic carbon dioxide is mostly produced by the burning of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and natural gas. Deforestation and certain agricultural activities also liberate carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, since trees and other plants naturally absorb and store carbon. Carbon dioxide is the largest anthropogenic contributor-about 60 per cent-to the global greenhouse effect and thus to climate change. Carbon dioxide has a lifetime in the atmosphere of 5 to 200 years. Canada has emitted almost 15 billion tonnes of carbon dioxide since 1950; the U.S. by comparison has emitted 186 billion tonnes, Russia 68 and Japan 31. Almost 80 per cent of Canada’s carbon dioxide emissions come from the production and use of energy.
[français = Dioxyde de carbone (CO₂) ]

Climate: The average trend of weather, including its variability in a geographical region. The averaging period is typically several decades.
[français = Climat]

Climate change: There is general consensus within the scientific community that global increases in greenhouse gas emissions are trapping additional heat within our planet’s atmosphere, leading to rising temperatures and changing the climate irreversibly. Studies indicate that Canada has warmed by an estimated 0.5 to 1.0 degree Celsius in the last century. Some Canadians, especially those in the Arctic, are noticing climate changes already; scientists expect these changes will intensify if no worldwide action is taken quickly to control the emissions that cause the problem.

It is predicted that the changing climate will mean more frequent and more severe storms, droughts, floods and heat waves in many areas. Around the world, within a century, once-dry regions may become rain-soaked and vice versa, with devastating impacts on agriculture, forestry and natural ecosystems that could cause food shortages in some areas. Rising ocean levels due to icecap melting and ocean expansions are likely to displace millions of coastal-dwelling people and inundate entire island nations. Increases in average temperatures will likely exacerbate air pollution, particularly in urban areas. As well, the incidence of insect-borne and heat-related diseases is likely to increase.
[français = Changement climatique]

CO₂ equivalent: A handy way of stating the impact of different greenhouse gases compared with that of carbon dioxide. CO₂ equivalent is a unit used to standardize measurements and facilitate emissions trading. For example, tonne for tonne, methane is a greenhouse gas that is 21 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in causing the global greenhouse effect. Therefore one tonne of methane represents 21 tonnes of CO₂ equivalent.
[français = Équivalent CO₂]

Carbon Sequestration: The long-term 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 of CO₂ from flue gases or processing fossil fuels to produce H₂ and carbon rich fractions; and the direct removal of CO₂ from the atmosphere through land-use change, afforestation, reforestation, ocean fertilization, and agricultural practices to enhance soil carbon. [français = Piégeage du carbone ]

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.
[français = Puits de carbone]

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs): CFCs are organic compounds that contain carbon, chlorine, and fluorine atoms. They were widely used as coolants in refrigeration and air conditioners, as solvents in cleaners, and as propellants in aerosols. CFCs are a potent greenhouse gas and are the main cause of stratospheric ozone depletion. One kilogram of the most commonly used CFCs may have a direct effect on climate thousands of times greater than that of one kilogram of CO2. However, because CFCs also destroy ozone - itself a greenhouse gas - the actual effect on the climate is unclear. The realization that they were responsible for ozone depletion in the stratosphere has led to their phasing out under the 1987 Montreal Protocol.
[français = Chlorofluorocarbone]

Clean Development Mechanism (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 on Annex I Parties and thus increase flexibility in where government Parties meet their reduction commitments. Projects that limit or reduce greenhouse has emissions can earn the investor (government or industry) credits if approved by the CDM Executive Board. A share of the proceeds from the project activities is to be used to cover administration costs, and to create an adaptation fund which will assist developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects from climate change to take action to adapt.
[français = Mécanisme pour un développement propre (MDP)]

Credits: Emitters that successfully reduce their annual emissions below their voluntary or imposed limit can receive credit for the amount of pollution not emitted. That credit can be saved or banked and then used to compensate for additional emissions, or can be sold to some other emitter for cash or other considerations.
[français = Crédits]

Commitment Period: To allow Parties some flexibility in when they meet their GHG emissions reduction obligations under the Kyoto Protocol, the reduction target is applied to a 5-year period, known as the commitment period. The first commitment period will be 2008-2012. Terms governing the nature of the second and subsequent periods are subject to future negotiation. The Kyoto Protocol calls for negotiations concerning the second period to commence by 2005.
[français = Période d’engagement ]

Conference of the Parties (COP): Refers to the meetings of the countries that have signed the Framework Convention on Climate Change. COP is the supreme body of the convention. It currently meets once a year to review the Convention’s progress. The first COP was held in Berlin in 1995, the second in Geneva in 1996. The Kyoto, Japan meeting held in December 1997 was the third Conference of Parties (COP3).
[français = Conférence des parties]

Coverage: The extent to which legally binding targets encompass various greenhouse gases, anthropogenic sources, and sinks (see anthropogenic, greenhouse gases and sinks)
[français = Couverture]

Differentiation: A term used in the Framework Convention on Climate Change, differentiation refers to the setting of different emissions reduction targets and timetables for individual countries rather than the setting of one flat rate for all countries in order to factor in countries’ circumstances—climate, size, population growth and economy, for example. The targets set under the Kyoto Protocol are differentiated.
[français = Différenciation]

Earth Summit, or UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED): The Earth Summit was held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro at which the climate treaty, or UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), was signed by more than 150 countries. (See ‘Rio+10).
[français = Sommet de la Terre ou Conférence des Nations Unies sur l’environnement et le développement (CNUCED) ]

Emissions: Fumes or gases that come out of smokestacks and tailpipes, seep from inside factories or enter the atmosphere directly from oil well flares, garbage dumps, rotting vegetation and decaying trees and other sources. They include carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which cause most of the global greenhouse effect. [français = Émissions]

Emissions banking and borrowing: When emissions reductions by a country in a given period can be applied against its emissions in the future, or when a country can borrow from future periods to offset excess emissions in a current period. These terms are defined under the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
[français = Mise en réserve et emprunt de droits d’émissions ]

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 Annex B, or developed, countries. [français = Plafond d’émission]

Emissions trading: A tool to help governments and industry meet defined environmental goals for reducing pollution in the most cost-effective ways possible. The term "emissions trading" refers to a market where, for specified pollutants, parties can buy or sell allowances or permits for emissions, or credits for reductions in emissions. Emissions trading can work within a region or country or on a global basis. In one version of trading, a source that has successfully reduced emissions below its limit, and has thus accumulated surplus credits, can profit by selling surplus credits to companies seeking the least costly way of meeting their limits. As emission limits are tightened, the supply of credits declines, their price goes up and emitters eventually find it less costly to invest in cleaner technology than to buy credits.

There are other versions of emission trading. For example, the system may allow sources to sell their original allocations or pollution permits if they do not need them, or it may require polluters to first buy their allocations. Other systems may be linked to measures such as taxes on energy consumption. The different trading systems can have widely varying implications in terms of cost, convenience and climate change. [français = Échange de droits d’émission]

Entry into force: protocols and amendments are not legally binding until they have been ratified by an agreed number of countries. The Framework Convention on Climate Change, for example, required 50 and entered into force for each party 90 days after that party ratified. The Kyoto Protocol includes what is called a “double trigger”: the Protocol will enter into force once 55 countries accounting for at least 55% of developed countries’ current greenhouse gas emissions have ratified the Protocol. [français = Entrée en vigueur]

Flexibility Mechanisms: See ‘Kyoto Mechanisms’.
[français = Mécanismes de flexibilité]

Flexibility provisions: provisions that provide countries with maximum flexibility in how their emission reduction targets can be achieved in the most cost-effective way. These might include, for example, joint implementation, emissions banking, and emissions trading.
[français = Dispositions en matière de souplesse]

Fossil fuels: a collective term for coal, petroleum and natural gas, which are used for energy production through combustion. They are called fossil fuels because they are made of fossilized, carbon-rich plant and animal remains. These remains were buried in sediments millions of years ago and, over geological time, have been converted to their current state. Fossil fuels can be extracted from the sediments by humans millions of years after their deposition and their stored energy can be used as fuel when it is burned.
[français = Combustibles fossiles]

Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC): the agreement signed by 154 countries, including Canada, at the Earth Summit in Rio in June 1992, under which climate change is discussed globally. Developed countries agreed to aim to reduce emissions to 1990 levels by 2000. The FCCC established a framework of general principles and institutions and set up a process through which governments can meet regularly.
[français = Convention cadre sur le changement climatique ]

Fungibility: Fungibility refers to the possibility that one unit/product, or a unit of a currency, can be exchanged for, or replaced by another. The negotiations on fungibility relate to whether emissions units are freely exchangeable.
[français = Fongibilité]

Global warming: strictly speaking, the natural warming and cooling trends that the Earth has experienced all through its history. However, the term global warming has become popularized as the term that encompasses all aspects of the global warming problem, including the potential climate changes that will be brought about by an increase in global temperatures.
[français = Réchauffement du globe]

Global Warming Potential (GWP): A time dependent index used to compare the radiative forcing, on a mass basis, of an impulse of a specific greenhouse gas relative to that of CO₂. Gases included in the Kyoto Protocol are weighted in the first commitment period according to their GWP over a 100-year time horizon as published in the 1995 Second Assessment Report of the IPCC. In that report, a kilogram of methane, for example has a radiative force of about 21 times greater than that of a kilogram of CO₂. The GWP or CO₂ is defined as 1, thus methane has a GWP of 21 over the 100-year horizon.
[français = Potentiel de réchauffement global (PRG)]

Grandfathering: An allowance that permits emitters that existed before new limits took effect to continue their previous levels of emissions while start-up sources must meet new standards.
[français = Droit acquis]

Greenhouse effect: the process by which heat accumulates in the Earth’s atmosphere instead of being released out into space. This process occurs naturally and keeps the Earth warm enough to sustain life. Scientific evidence shows human activity is intensifying this natural process. The greenhouse effect produced by different gases depends not just on the amount of the gas in the atmosphere at present, expected future emissions, and the lifetime of individual molecules in the gas. It is also dependent to a very large extent on how effective the gas is in absorbing radiation.
[français = Effet de serre]

Greenhouse gases (GHGs): carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulfur hexafluoride (SF₆) and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). These gases together absorb the earth’s radiation and warm the atmosphere. Some greenhouse gases occur naturally but are also produced by human activities, such as CO₂ which occurs naturally but is also produced during the burning of fossil fuels. When greenhouse gases build up in the atmosphere, they have an impact on climate and weather patterns. They are usually measured in carbon dioxide equivalents. The United Nations says the GHGs mostly responsible for causing climate change are carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O).
[français = Gaz à effet de serre (GES)]

Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC): Among the six greenhouse gases to be controlled in the Kyoto Protocol ‘basket of gases.’ They are produced commercially as a substitute for Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs) and Hydrochlorofluorocarbons (HCFCs). HFCs are largely used in refrigeration and insulating foam. Their Global Warming Potentials range from 140 to 11,700 times that of CO₂, depending on the HFC. [français = Hydrofluorocarbones (HFC)]

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC): established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), the IPCC is the authoritative international body charged with studying climate change. The IPCC surveys the worldwide technical and scientific literature on climate change and publishes assessment reports. Its widely quoted 1995 report found that “the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate.”
[français = Groupe intergouvernemental d’experts sur l’évolution du climat (GIEC)]

Inventories: Countries are required to submit regularly an inventory of their GHG emissions. The IPCC has provided guidance on how to estimate and report on anthropogenic GHG emissions and removals, using a standardized tabular reporting format for six major sectors: energy; industrial processes; solvents and other product use; agriculture; land-use change and forestry; and waste. In addition to a sector-by-sector approach of summing carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuel combustion, the IPCC requires that, as a check, a top-down approach be used to calculate emissions based on national fuel consumption data. A range of companies and associations are also preparing GHG inventories and the methodologies to calculate them. A number of factors need to be considered when designing a corporate GHG inventory including: emissions factors versus direct measurements; boundary definition around operations; the inclusion of emissions from contractors; and materiality. Certain sources of emissions, such as bunker fuels, are intentionally excluded from inventories for now.
[français = Inventaires]

Joint Implementation (JI): the concept that, through the Framework Convention on Climate Change, a developed country is involved in emissions projects—projects that result in a real, measurable and long-term reduction in net greenhouse gas emissions—in a developing country. In its pilot phase, launched at the first COP in 1995, JI is called Activities Implemented Jointly (AIJ). The developed country cannot earn emissions credits during this pilot phase, which ends in 1999.
[français = Application conjointe]

Kyoto Basket: Under the Kyoto Protocol, Parties have committed to control emissions of a ‘basket’ of six GHGs. This ‘basket’ includes carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, HFCs, PFCs and SF₆. The arrangement gives the flexibility which would enable a Party to increase emissions of any gas in the ‘basket’ provided commensurate reductions were made in another gas in the ‘basket’.
[français = « Panier » de Kyoto]

Kyoto Mechanisms (formerly known as Flexibility Mechanisms): Procedures that allow Annex 1 Parties to meet their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol based on actions outside their own borders. As potentially market-based mechanisms they have the potential to reduce the economic impacts of greenhouse gas emissions-reduction requirements. The include Joint Implementation (Article 6), the Clean Development Mechanisms (Article 12) and Emissions Trading (Article 17). [français = Mécanismes de Kyoto]

Kyoto Protocol: In an accord reached at a United Nations meeting in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997, 84 countries agreed on the need for an average 5.2 per cent reduction in industrialized countries’ 1990 emissions by the year 2012, to slow global warming due to the greenhouse effect. The reductions are not the same for all countries but depend on the degree of economic development, population, climate and size. Canada committed to cut its 1990 emissions by 6 per cent, Britain by 12.5 per cent, Germany by 21 per cent and the United States by 7 per cent. Developing countries face no immediate reduction target. The Protocol will become international law when governments representing 55 countries emitting 55 per cent of the industrialized world’s emissions ratify it. The Kyoto Protocol’s guiding principles are economic efficiency, environmental integrity and support for sustainable development.

To give industrialized countries flexibility in meeting their targets and promote investment in clean technologies in developing countries, the Protocol provides for the use of three market-based emissions trading mechanisms: international emissions trading (IET), joint implementation (JI) and the clean development mechanism (CDM). IET allows industrialized countries to trade emissions permits. JI allows the transfer of project-based emissions reduction credits between industrialized countries. CDM involves the generation of certified emissions reduction credits from projects in developing countries, which can be used by industrialized countries to meet their reduction targets.
[français = Protocole de Kyoto]

Mandatory: Legally binding actions with penalties for failing that are enforced by domestic or international courts.
[français = Obligatoire]

Methane (CH₄): one of the three major greenhouse gases responsible for climate change (see greenhouse gases). Although there is less methane than carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, methane is a more effective heat-trapping greenhouse gas. The IPCC estimates that the global warming potential of methane is 21 times that of carbon dioxide. Methane comes from the decay of matter without the presence of oxygen. Human activities such as rice cultivation, the rearing of some farm animals (see ruminants), biomass burning, coal mining and natural gas venting are increasing the input of methane into the atmosphere.
[français = Méthane (CH₄)]

Mitigation: the term used to cover measures that seek to avoid, reduce or delay global warming by reducing those emissions of atmospheric gases that are of human origin or within human control. Examples of mitigation efforts include increasing the use of renewable energy resources while decreasing reliance on carbon-intensive fuels, such as coal, and converting agricultural land to forests.
[français = Atténuation]

National Action Plans: Plans submitted to the Conference of the Parties (COP) by all Parties outlining the steps that they have adopted to limit their anthropogenic GHG emissions. Countries must submit these plans as a condition of participating in the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and, subsequently, must communicate their progress to the COP regularly. The National Action Plans form part of the National Communications.
[français = Plans d’action nationaux]

Nitrous oxide (N₂O): one of the three major greenhouse gases responsible for climate change (see greenhouse gases). Soils and oceans are the primary natural sources of nitrous oxide. Humans contribute to nitrous oxide emissions through soil cultivation and the use of nitrogen fertilizers, nylon production and the burning of organic material and fossil fuels. Combustion and biomass burning are sources of nitrous oxide emissions. Agricultural practices may stimulate emissions of nitrous oxide from soils and play a major role in the build-up of nitrous oxide in the atmosphere.
[français = Oxyde nitreux (N₂O)]

Offsets: Reductions in emissions that are caused by an activity not directly related to the source creating the emissions. For example, a company that buys and uses wind-powered electricity has acquired an offset equal to the amount of fossil-fuelled energy and carbon dioxide emissions it would have taken to produce the same amount of electricity. Similarly, planting millions of trees to absorb carbon dioxide creates an offset for whoever plants the trees. The carbon dioxide offsets can be used like emissions credits and traded on the emissions market.
[français = Compensations]

Perfluorocarbons (PFCs): One of the basket of the six greenhouse gases to be controlled under the Kyoto Protocol. They are a by-product of aluminum smelting. They also are the replacement for CFCs in manufacturing semiconductors. The Global Warming Potential of PFCs ranges from 6,500-9,200 over a 100-year time horizon.
[français = Hydrocarbures perfluorés (PFC)]

Permits: A permit is used in emissions trading to enable an emitter to produce a set amount of emissions. The total number of permits held by a polluter governs the maximum annual emissions it can emit. When an emissions trading system is initiated, the regulator may allocate the permits for free or auction them; it can also hold some back for later allocation to newcomers.
[français = Permis]

ppmv: A unit of measure, parts per million by volume, often used in climate change terminology to express the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. Variations include parts per billion by volume (ppbv) and parts per trillion by volume (pptv).
[français = ppmv]

Precautionary Principle: From the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (Article 3): Parties should take precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing such measures taking into account that policies and measures to deal with climate change should be cost-effective so as to ensure global benefits at the lowest possible cost. [français = Principe de précaution]

Renewables: Energy sources that are constantly renewed by natural process. These include non-carbon technologies such as solar energy, hydropower and wind as well as technologies based on biomass. Life cycle analyses are required to assess the extent to which such biomass-based technologies may limit net carbon emissions. [français = Ressources renouvelables]

Ruminants: the group of animals that have a stomach with three or four chambers that regurgitate and rechew their food. Cattle and sheep are ruminants, as are camels, deer and goats. Ruminants are a major source of GHG in the methane entry.
[français = Ruminants]

Second Assessment Report (SAR): this second report of the IPCC, also known as Climate Change 1995, summarizes the current state of scientific knowledge on global warming, and was written and reviewed by over 2,000 climate scientists, economists and risk assessment experts worldwide. It concludes that “the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate” and confirmed the availability of “no-regrets” options and other cost-effective strategies for combating climate change.
[français = Deuxième rapport d’évaluation]

Sinks: Natural systems such as forests, wetlands, soils and oceans that absorb and store greenhouse gases. Also see sequestration. [français = Puits]

Sequestration: The carbon in carbon dioxide can be naturally absorbed back into trees and other vegetation. Huge amounts of carbon are also absorbed into soils and the oceans. Carbon can also be pumped back underground and stored in porous rocks. This process of storing carbon in nature is called sequestration. One hectare of forest can soak up 12 tonnes of carbon dioxide per year. Planting huge numbers of trees could be a major act of sequestration, although eventually the trees die and emit the carbon as carbon dioxide again (see emissions).
[français = Séquestration]

Sulphur Hexafluoride (SF₆): One of the six greenhouse gases to be curbed under the Kyoto Protocol. It is largely used in heavy industry to insulate high-voltage equipment and to assist in the manufacturing of cable-cooling systems. Its Global Warming Potential is 23,900 times that of CO₂.
[français = Hexafluorure de soufre (SF₆) ]

Retire: Permanently remove a portion of emissions permits from the market. This accelerates the increase in the price of remaining permits, which makes it increasingly attractive to emitters to clean up their emissions instead of buying other permits or credits.
[français = Retrait]

Technology Cooperation/Technology Transfer: A process of constructive interaction with local, national and international partners to select and apply appropriate technology systems to achieve economic development. It includes both ‘hard’ (equipment and technology) and ‘soft’ technology (software, management assistance, training). The current negotiations focus on Article 4.5 of the Convention in which developed country Parties (in particular those in the OECD) commit to take steps to promote, facilitate and finance as appropriate, access to environmentally sound technologies in developing countries to enable them to implement the provisions of the Convention. While recognizing the important role of the private sector in technology transfer and the need to enhance the enabling environment for investment in developing countries, much of the emphasis in the discussion is on the role that developed country governments should play in providing financial resources and technology to developing countries.
[français = Coopération technologique ou transfert technologique]