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Glossary

AAU's - Assigned Amount Units

Carbon credits which can be traded, sold, or bought at the discretion of the holder. The AAU’s are redeemable for the emission of one metric ton of carbon. AAU’s can be used or stored at any time. AAU’s are not to be bought, sold, or traded from a non ratifying country.

Additionality

The reduction of carbon dioxide emissions being over and above what would have occurred without the project as a direct incentive for reductions, in addition to the baseline.

Annex 1 Parties

The industrialised countries legally bound under the Kyoto-Protocol to meet emissions targets for the period 2008-2012.

Baseline

The emission of greenhouse gases that would occur without the contemplated project.

Biodigesters

Biodigesters take advantage of the energy that is naturally present in animal and food waste.  As these wastes break down, whether in the ground, a compost heap,  or landfill, they release methane, a potent greenhouse gas.  In contrast to the other waste storage and disposal methods, a biodigester traps the methane and stores it for heating, cooking, or lighting. In this way, biodigesters can provide a sustainable substitute for the propane, kerosene, and firewood that many rural families in developing countries use to serve these needs.  

Biomass Fuels

Gas or liquid fuel made from plant material (biomass).

Cap and Trade

A Cap and Trade system is an emissions trading system, where total emissions are limited.  When excess reduction credits are generated, these may be sold at a profit.

CCPO - Climate Change Project Office

The Climate Change Projects Office (CCPO) is jointly funded by the Department for Business, Enterprise and Regulatory Reform (BERR) and the Department for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs (Defra). They are a Government advisory office set up to assist UK businesses who wish to pursue opportunities arising from the Kyoto Protocol. They provide advice and support for projects which reduce greenhouse gas emissions and which could be eligible for tradable emission reduction credits.

CCX - Chicago Climate Exchange

The Chicago Climate Exchange is the World's first and North America's only marketplace for voluntary legally binding emissions reductions with emissions trading and offsets for all six greenhouse gases.

CDM - Clean Development Mechanism

The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (so-called Annex 1 countries) to invest in emission reducing projects in emission reducing projects in developing countries as an alternative to what is generally considered more costly emission reductions in their own countries.

The CDM is supervised by the CDM Executive Board (CDM EB) and is under the guidance of the Conference of the Parties (COP/MOP) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

CDM EB - Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board

A panel of 10 elected members which supervise the CDM.

CER's - Certified Emission Reductions

Emission reductions equivalent to one metric tonne of carbon dioxide.  May be used by countries towards meeting their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.  CER's must come from projects that have been approved by the CDM. 

CRS - Center for Resource Solutions

Responsible for running the Green-e programme and tracking REC Credits.

Energy Efficiency

The idea of meeting energy needs by increasing efficiency instead of increasing energy production.

ERU's - Emission Reduction Units

Emission Reduction units are tradable units generated by projects in Annex 1 Parties under Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol (Joint Implementation). Annex 1 Parties may count them towards compliance with their emissions target. Each ERU is equal to one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent gases.

EUA's - European Union Allowances

European Union Allowances - (Can also be referred to as  EU Allowances or EAUs). These units are specific to the EU emission trading scheme which started in 2005.  They are equal to one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent. They are only valid for use within the Community scheme (unless there is an agreement to link the EUETS with another greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in accordance with Article 25 of the Emissions Trading Directive).

EU ETS - European Union Emissions Trading Scheme

Responsible for Tracking and trading the EUA's.

GHG's - Greenhouses Gases

Gases that contribute to the natural 'greenhouse effect'.  The Kyoto Protocol covers six GHG's produced by human activities - carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride.

Gold Standard

The Gold Standard is an independently audited, globally applicable best practice methodology for project development. The Gold Standard is a non-profit foundation, based in Basel, Switzerland.  The Gold Standard project method requires the use of renewable energy and energy efficiency technologies that promise sustainable development for local communities. All Gold Standard projects are rigorously tested for environmental quality by registered third parties.  The Gold Standard carbon credit label is awarded after third party validation and verification of the offset project. 

Green-e

The Green-e logo is a highly trusted symbol in America for high quality renewable energy.  The logo backed by the Green-e programme, is one of the US's leading independent certification and verification programs for REC's.

Greenhouse Effect

The greenhouse effect is the rise in temperature that the Earth experiences because of the gases in the atmosphere that trap energy from the sun.   Without these gases, heat would escape and Earth’s average temperature would be cooler.

IETA - International Emissions Trading Association

IETA is an independent, nonprofit organisation dedicated to the establishment of effective systems for trading in greenhouse gas emissions by businesses.

IIED - International Institute for Environment and Development

IIED is an international policy research institute and non governmental body working towards sustainable and equitable global development.

JI - Joint Implementation

A mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol (Article 6). JI allows Annex 1 Parties to invest in emission-saving projects in other Annex 1 countries and receive credits for the emissions saved.

Kyoto Protocol

An international agreement, reached in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan.  The agreement came into force on 16th February 2005.  The Protocol set targets for future emission reductions by each developed country up to 2012. Agreements were made to limit their greenhouse gas emissions, relative to the levels emitted in 1990.

NGAC's - New South Wales Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme

NGAC's are a particular kind of carbon credit issued by the New South Wales state Government of Australia.  NGAC's are generated, traded and regulated under NSW law.  Each NGAC abates a single tonne of carbon for 100 years.  This is a stronger requirement than for a Kyoto-compliant credit, which is required to abate the carbon dioxide for only 30 years.

REC's - Renewable Energy Credits

When a wind farm generates power it generates two things.  Electrons which it sells into the grid and REC's which can be traded on the open market.

REEEP - Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership

The Renewable Energy and Energy Efficiency Partnership (REEEP) is an active, global public-private partnership that structures policy and regulatory initiatives for clean energy, and facilitates financing for energy projects.

Reforestation

Planting trees on land that has been harvested.

Renewable Energy

Energy Obtained from sources that are essentially inexhaustible, unlike fossil fuels of which there is an infinite supply.

SGS - Société Générale de Surveillance

SGS is one of the world’s leading inspection, verification, testing and certification companies. SGS is recognized as a global benchmark for quality and integrity

UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The UNFCCC is the Convention signed at the Earth Summit in Rio De Janiero in 1992. This stipulated that industrialised countries listed in Annex 1 were required to reduce and stabilise their emissions at 1990 levels by 2000. The Kyoto Protocol was later drawn up as the initial agreement was not sufficient.

VCS - Voluntary Carbon Standard

The Voluntary Carbon Standard ( VCS ) has been developed by the International Emission Trading Association, the Climate Change and the World Economic Forum.  The VCS has been designed to be a global benchmark standard for project-based voluntary emission reductions that provides a degree of standardization to the Voluntary Carbon Market and creates a voluntary emission reduction credit, the VCU, that can be, traded and used by VCM participants.

Verification Report

A report prepared by an Operational Entity, or by another independent third party, which reports the findings of the Verification process, including the amount of reductions in emission of greenhouse gases that have been found to have been generated.

VER's - Verified Emission Reductions

Generated by small scale projects which are assessed and verified by third party rather than through the UNFCCC.  Projects can be relatively cheap and based in the UK, unlike CDM projects which must be hosted in developing countries.

VER+ Standard

The  main criteria for VER+ are in line with those for the Kyoto Protocol project based mechanisms (JI and CDM), including the requirement on project additionality proving that the project is not a business as usual scenario. The main difference to regular JI and CDM activities comprises that VER+ projects are not brought to registration with UNFCCC and therefore will not be accounted on any Annex - I country's Kyoto balance.  For projects in developing countries larger flexibility is provided on the choice of the applied methodologies, which may be composed according to the guidelines applied for JI projects.