This glossary of climate change is a list of definitions of terms and concepts relevant to climate change, global warming, and related topics. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) use tens of acronyms and initialisms in documents relating to climate change policy.

0–9

A

B

C

CDM Clean Development Mechanism is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex 1 countries) to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries. CDR Carbon dioxide removal CER Certified Emission Reduction CFC Chlorofluorocarbon CF4 Carbon tetrafluoride CH4 Methane COP Conference of the Parties - the United Nations Climate Change Conference CO2 Carbon dioxide C2F6 Hexafluoroethane

D

DER Distributed Energy Resources is a small-scale unit of power generation that operates locally and is connected to a larger power grid at the distribution level. DERs include solar panels, small natural gas-fueled generators, electric vehicles and controllable loads, such as HVAC systems and electric water heaters. An important distinction of a DER is that the energy it produces is often consumed close to the source.

E

F

G

GCM General circulation model or global climate model GFDL Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory GHG Greenhouse gas GWP Global warming potential

H

HCFC Hydrochlorofluorocarbon HFC Hydrofluorocarbon H2O Water vapor

I

IOD Indian Ocean Dipole IPO Interdecadal Pacific oscillation IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

K

L

M

MSL Mean Sea Level

N

NCDS Nationally Determined Contributions (aka Paris Accord/Agreement) NAPA National Adaptation Programme of Action. NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research NF3 Nitrogen trifluoride N20 Nitrous oxide

O

OHC Ocean heat content O3 (Tropospheric) Ozone

P

R

RCP Representative Concentration Pathway REDD Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation mechanisms use market/financial incentives to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from deforestation and forest degradation.

S

SSP Shared Socioeconomic Pathways SST Sea surface temperature SF6 Sulfur hexafluoride

T

TEWI Total equivalent warming impact

U

V

W

WMO World Meteorological Organization

Y

See also

Index of climate change articles Glossary of environmental science Glossary of meteorology Scientific consensus on climate change Timeline of environmental history

References

External links The Climate Dictionary: An everyday guide to climate change by United Nations Development Programme Office for Climate Education glossary "The Words You Need To Know To Talk About Climate Change Today", dictionary.com (archive) IPCC,2021: AR6 WGI AnnexVII: Glossary

Environmental Terminology Discovery Service — EEA (multilingual environmental glossary in 28 languages: ar, bg, cs, da, de, el, en, es, et, eu, fi, fr, hu, is, it, lt, lv, mt, nl, no, pl, pt, ro, ru, sk, sl, sv, tr)