Glossary
Many of the definitions in this glossary have been sourced from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change at www.ipcc.ch/pub/syrgloss.pdf.
Afforestation
The act or process of establishing a forest on land that has not been forested in recent history.
Afforestation Grant Scheme (AGS)
A scheme proposed by the Government whereby landowners would be invited to tender for grants for the establishment of new post-2007 Kyoto-compliant forests.
Carbon credits
A tradeable unit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.
Carbon dioxide (CO2)
A naturally occurring gas, which is also a by-product of burning and breakdown of fossil fuels and biomass, land-use changes and other industrial processes. It is the principal human induced greenhouse gas that affects the Earth’s temperature.
Carbon dioxide equivalent (CO2e)
The quantity of a given greenhouse gas multiplied by its global warming potential (GWP), which equates its global warming impact relative to carbon dioxide (CO2). This the standard unit for comparing the degree of warming which can be caused by emissions of different greenhouse gases.
Climate change
A change in climate, attributed directly or indirectly to human activity, that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and that is additional to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods.
Commitment Period (CP)
A range of years within which Parties to the Kyoto Protocol are required to meet their greenhouse gas emissions target, which is averaged over the years of the commitment period.
The first commitment period is 2008-12. The targets are set relative to greenhouse gas emissions in the base year (in New Zealand’s case, 1990), multiplied by five. It is not certain whether there will be a second commitment period, or if so how long it will be.
Deforestation
The direct human-induced conversion of forested land to non-forested land (such as agriculture).
Emissions
The intentional and unintentional release of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere.
Emission permit or unit
A tradeable unit representing the right to emit one tonne of carbon dioxide-equivalent emissions.
Forest
A minimum area of one hectare of land with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than 30 percent, with trees with the potential to reach a minimum height of 5 metres at maturity in situ. A forest may consist either of closed forest formations where trees of various storeys and undergrowth cover a high proportion of the ground or open forest. Young natural stands and all plantations which have yet to reach a crown density of 30 percent or tree height of five metres are included under this definition. So, too, are areas normally forming part of forest that are temporarily unstocked as a result of human interventions, such as harvesting or natural causes, but which are expected to revert to forest.
Grandparenting, or allocating, permits
The process used by the government to transfer an initial level of emission permits to parties who emit or may emit greenhouse gases.
Greenhouse gas (GHG)
Greenhouse gases are constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and human-induced, that absorb and re-emit infrared radiation. Greenhouse gas emissions covered by the emissions limitation commitment for the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).
Harvesting
The cutting down and removal of mature trees for commercial use prior to subsequent re-planting of the land.
International price of greenhouse gas emissions
The price at which Kyoto units are traded. There are many prices at any given time. For the purposes of this document and the Crown Accounts, this was estimated at $15.92 per tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent as at June 2006.
Kyoto Protocol
A protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that requires ratifying countries listed in its Annex B (industrialised nations) to meet greenhouse gas reduction targets during the period from 2008 to 2012 (see http://unfccc.int or further information).
Kyoto forest
Forest that has been established by direct human activity on land that was not forest land as at 31 December 1989.
Kyoto compliant land
Land that was non-forest land as at 31 December 1989.
Land managers
Farmers (including arable, horticultural, and pastoral) and foresters.
Permanent Forest Sink Initiative
An initiative that allows landowners to get the economic value of removing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and sequestering (storing) it in the form of new forests.
Post-2012 negotiations
Negotiations already commenced that aim to agree on an international framework for addressing climate change following on from the first Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol.
Sequestration
The uptake and storage of carbon. Carbon can be sequestered (stored) by plants as organicmaterial or by industrial processes such as pumping deep underground.
Sink
Any process, activity or mechanism that removes a greenhouse gas or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere.
Sink credits
A sink credit is a unit derived from a forest sink activity that results in a net removal of greenhouse gases.
Threshold
Criteria that define which firms, sites, or other business units are required to participate in a policy measure.
Contact for Enquiries
Sustainable Land Management and Climate Change
MAF
Pastoral House
25 The Terrace
PO Box 2526, Wellington
Tel: 0800 CLIMATE (254 628)
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