What is?
AAU - Assigned Amount Unit.
ACG - Asia Carbon Group.
ACR - American Carbon Registry.
ACX - Australian Climate Exchange.
ACX - Asia Carbon Exchange.
CAR - Climate Action Reserve (Also known as "The Reserve")
CCB - Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Standards.
CCBA - Climate, Community, and Biodiversity Alliance.
CCS - Carbon Capture and Storage.
CCFE - Chicago Climate Future Exchange
CCX - Chicago Climate Exchange
CER - Certified Emission Reduction
CO2e - Carbon Dioxide Equivalent
CDM - Clean Development Mechanism. Key CDM projects are underway in P.R.China and India has the largest number of registered projects.
Carbon Dioxide (CO2) – Roughly 3.7 units of CO2 equal one unit of carbon (C). CO2 plays a critical role in creating and regulating the earth’s climate (see Greenhouse Gas).
Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO2e ) – Is the universal unit of measurement used to indicate the global warming potential of each of the seven greenhouse gases. It is used to evaluate the impacts of
releasing (or avoiding the release of) different greenhouse gases. The Global Warming Potentials
(GWP) of the three GHGs associated with forestry are as follows. CO2 persists in the atmosphere for
about 200-450 years and its GWP is defined as 1. Methane persists for 9-15 years and has a GWP
of 22 (meaning that it has 22 times the warming ability of carbon dioxide). Nitrous oxide persists for
about 120 years and has a GWP of 310.
Carbon Pools – A reservoir of carbon. A system that has the capacity to accumulate or release carbon.
Carbon pools are measured in terms of mass (e.g., metric tons of carbon). The major carbon pools
associated with forestry projects are: live biomass (including above and below ground components,
i.e., roots), dead biomass, soil, and wood products.
Carbon Sinks – Any process, activity or mechanism that results in the net removal of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
Carbon Stocks – The quantity of carbon held within a pool at a specified time.
Carbon Source – Opposite of carbon sink. A carbon pool is a net source of carbon to the atmosphere if less carbon is flowing into it than is flowing out of it.
CERs - Certified Emission Reductions.
Climate Change Mitigation – The reduction of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions to achieve stabilization of GHG concentrations in the atmosphere and subsequently a cessation of further warming.
ETS - European Trading System for carbon markets. The prices of carbon derived from ETS is the driver for prices elsewhere.
ERPA - Emission Reductions Purchase Agreement
ERU - Emission Reductions Unit
FFI - London based conservation group Fauna and Flora International.
Greenhouse Gases (GHG) – Greenhouse gases are gaseous components of the atmosphere that trap infrared heat and contribute to the Earth’s greenhouse effect. In addition to carbon dioxide (CO2),
prominent GHGs related to forests include methane (CH4) and nitrous oxides (N2O).
Gt C - Gigatons of Carbon
ICAP - The International Carbon Action Partnership, focused on the creation of a global carbon market.
INCIS - Iternational Carbon Investors and Services. A group that promotes the development of emissions markets.
LCX - Langkawi Carbon Exchange
Meth Panel - Methodology Panel.
ppm - parts per million. Used to measure CO2 level. Average level in 2008 is 385 ppm. The target level some scientist think we need to reduce to is 350 ppm or 745 billion metric tons of carbon, to avoid serious climate impacts. If the current emissions trends continue we will pass 450 ppm well before mid-century.
REDD - U.N program for Reducing Emissions from Deforestration and Forest Degradation in Developing Countries.
Reforestation – Is the direct human-induced conversion of non-forested land to forested land through
planting, seeding and/or the human-induced promotion of natural seed sources, on land that was
forested but that has been converted to non-forested land. According to the language of the Kyoto
Protocol, for the first commitment period (2008-2012), reforestation activities are limited to
reforestation occurring on lands that did not contain forest at the start of 1990.
Sequestration – The process of increasing the carbon content of a carbon pool other than the
atmosphere. There are various opportunities to remove atmospheric CO2, either through biological
processes (e.g. the growth of plants and trees), or geological processes (e.g., storage of CO2 in
underground reservoirs).
UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
VER - Verified Emission Reduction
