Climate Change and Sustainability – Glossary and Definitions

Definitions and Glossary of Terms

Anthropogenic Climate Change – human-induced climate change; the activities that humans do which release greenhouse gases.

Carbon Credit – a tradeable certificate that represents 1 tonne of carbon dioxide removed from the atmosphere.

Carbon Dioxide Equivalent (CO₂e or CO₂eq) – conversion of greenhouse gases into one standard metric in order to compare their global warming potential in relation to carbon dioxide.

Carbon Footprint – the amount of greenhouse gases that are produced by an organization, building or operation.

Carbon Positive – an organization, building, or operation’s activities sequestered more greenhouse gas emissions than it produces.

Circular Economy – a model of production and consumption, which involves sharing, leasing, reusing, repairing, refurbishing and recycling existing materials and products for as long as possible.

Climate Change – long-term shifts in temperatures and weather patterns.

Climate Change Mitigation – means avoiding and reducing emissions of heat-trapping greenhouse gases into the atmosphere to prevent the planet from warming to more extreme temperatures

Climate Change Adaptation – changing behavior and how we organize our economies, societies, and infrastructure in order to withstand the impacts of climate change. Adaptation only works in conjunction with mitigation. If no mitigation occurs, adaptation is futile.

Embodied Carbon – refers to the greenhouse gas emissions arising from the manufacturing, transportation, installation, maintenance, and disposal of building materials.

Emissions Factor (EF) – addresses how much of a pollutant is released into the atmosphere, providing a value associated with a given activity.

Global Warming Potential (GWP) – a metric that examines a greenhouse gas’s ability to trap heat in the atmosphere over a specified time horizon, using Carbon Dioxide as the baseline. For example Methane’s GWP is 28 times greater than CO2 over a 100-year timeline, and 84 times greater over a 20-year timeline. On average, Methane’s GWP is 34 (which means 1 metric ton of methane is equal to 34 metric tons of Carbon Dioxide).

Greenhouse Gas (GHG) – a gas that once it reaches the atmosphere, absorbs and emits radiant energy, causing the greenhouse effect. The primary greenhouse gases in Earth’s atmosphere are water vapor (H₂O (v)), carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O), ozone (O₃), and Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs).

Greenhouse Gas/Carbon Accounting – the process of quantifying the amount of greenhouse gases produced directly and indirectly from an organization, building, or operation’s activities within a set of boundaries.

Greenhouse Gas Effect – warming of the earth that results when gases in the atmosphere trap heat from the sun that would otherwise escape into space.

Life-Cycle Assessment (LCA) – a methodology for assessing environmental impacts associated with all the stages of the life cycle of a product, process, or service.

Low Carbon Resilience (coordination of mitigation and adaptation to ensure maximum impact, avoid maladaptation, and access co-benefits). https://www.sfu.ca/act/low-carbon-resilience.html#:~:text=What%20is%20low%20carbon%20resilience,planning%20and%20decision%2Dmaking%20processes.

Net Zero Carbon (True Carbon Zero/Real Zero/Carbon Neutral) – an organization, building, or operation’s activities produce greenhouse gas emissions that are offset utilizing carbon credits or by generating on-site electricity that feeds into the grid.

Net Zero Energy – the electricity used for a building, organization, or operation is also generated on site.

Operational Carbon – The amount of carbon emitted during the operation of or in-use phase of a building. This includes the use, management, and maintenance of a product or structure.

Sustainability – meeting our own needs without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs while allowing the greatest good to have their needs met.

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) – As a Universal call to action, the 17 SDGs were adopted by the United Nations in 2015 with a 2030 deadline for a global solution to poverty, planetary protection,  peace and prosperity among all people.

Zero Carbon – an organization, building, or operation’s activities produce zero greenhouse gas emissions.

Zero Energy Building (ZEB)/ Net Zero Energy (ZEB) Building – describes a building designed to not consume any energy using a variety of techniques (passive, renewable energy generation, etc).