Climate Change Jargon

October 27, 2021
Posted by: OptimizeIAS Team
Category: DPN Topics

Climate Change Jargon

Subject – Environment

Context – U.N. climate conference gets underway on Oct. 31, 2021 in Glasgow

Concept –

Terms	Meaning
Mitigation	IPCC definition: Mitigation (of climate change): a human intervention to reduce emissions or enhance the sinks of greenhouse gases. Translation: Stopping climate change from getting worse.
Adaptation	IPCC definition: In human systems, the process of adjustment to actual or expected climate and its effects, in order to moderate harm or exploit beneficial opportunities. In natural systems, the process of adjustment to actual climate and its effects; human intervention may facilitate adjustment to expected climate and its effects. Translation: Making changes to live with the impacts of climate change.
Carbon dioxide removal	IPCC definition: Carbon dioxide removal methods refer to processes that remove CO2 from the atmosphere by either increasing biological sinks of CO2 or using chemical processes to directly bind CO2. CDR is classified as a special type of mitigation. Translation: Taking carbon dioxide out of the air.
Carbon neutral	IPCC definition: Carbon neutrality is achieved when anthropogenic CO2 emissions are balanced globally by anthropogenic carbon dioxide removals over a specified period. Carbon neutrality is also referred to as net-zero carbon dioxide emission. Translation: Adding no net carbon dioxide into the air. This does not have to mean that you can’t add any carbon dioxide. It means that if you do add carbon dioxide into the air you take out the same amount. Carbon neutral à Mitigation + Carbon dioxide removal.
Tipping point	IPCC definition: A level of change in system properties beyond which a system reorganizes, often abruptly, and does not return to the initial state even if the drivers of the change are abated. For the climate system, it refers to a critical threshold when global or regional climate changes from one stable state to another stable state. Translation: When it is too late to stop effects of climate change.
Unprecedented transition	IPCC definition for “transition”: The process of changing from one state or condition to another in a given period of time. Transition can be in individuals, firms, cities, regions and nations and can be based on incremental or transformative change. Translation: Making big changes together to stop climate change – in a way that has not been seen before.
Sustainable development	IPCC definition: Development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs and balances social, economic and environmental concerns. Translation: Living in a way that is good for people alive today and for people in the future.
Abrupt change	IPCC definition: Abrupt climate change refers to a large-scale change in the climate system that takes place over a few decades or less, persists (or is anticipated to persist) for at least a few decades and causes substantial disruptions in human and natural systems. Translation: A change in climate that happens much faster than it normally would.