GLOSSARY OF CLIMATE CHANGE TERMS
The Glossary of terms below contains explanations of common climate change language used in this document.
The definitions below for Article 3.3 are the current state of play of multi-country international negotiations.
They are likely to be subject to further changes.
Definitions yet to be Agreed for Article 3.3 Forestry Sinks
| Term | Indicative Consensus Definition |
| Forest The definition of a forest must give each country flexibility to take into account differing national circumstances. In this sense the definition here gives scope for countries to choose three variables, tree height, tree crown cover and forest area. | "Forest" is land with a minimum area of (range to be determined) hectares with tree crown cover (or equivalent stocking level) of more than (range to be determined) per cent with trees with the potential to reach a minimum height of 2-5 meters 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 formations over an area of (range to be determined) hectares with a continuous vegetation cover in which tree crown cover exceeds (range to be determined) per cent. Young natural stands and all plantations which have yet to reach a crown density of (range to be determined) per cent or tree height of (range to be determined) meters are included under forest." |
| Afforestation and Reforestation There is general consensus that the terms afforestation and reforestation represent the conversion of land from non-forest to forest. In both definitions here New Zealand has argued that promotion of natural regeneration is also a legitimate direct human-induced action. This would enable reverting scrub on marginal pasture to be claimed, provided it met the definition of forest. |
"Afforestation" is the direct human-induced conversion of land that has not been forested to forest land through planting or seeding. "Reforestation" is the direct human-induced conversion of non-forest land to forest land through planting or seeding, on land that was forested, but has been converted to non-forest land. For the first commitment period reforestation activities will be limited to reforestation occurring on those lands that did not contain forest on 1 January 1990. |
| Deforestation | "Deforestation" is the direct human-induced conversion of forest land to non-forest land. |
| Annex 1 Parties | Refers to industrialised countries that, under the Kyoto Protocol, would take on GHG emission reduction targets, over the period 2008-2012 |
Other Terms |
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| Assigned Amount | Binding emission reductions targets agreed upon by Annex 1 countries in the Kyoto Protocol that are based on 1990 baseline emissions can be calculated as a quantity of allowed emissions, or initial assigned amount. More broadly, "Assigned Amount" includes this initial assigned amount plus additional assigned amount from sinks (sink credits) plus emission credit units from projects in developed or developing countries. All forms of Assigned Amount will be tradable. |
| Carbon sequestration/ absorption | Generally refers to capturing carbon - in a sink, so as to keep carbon out of the atmosphere. |
| Commitment period | A range of years within which parties to the Kyoto Protocol are required to meet their GHG emissions reduction target, which is averaged over the years of the commitment period. The first commitment period will be 2008-2012. |
| Emissions | GHGs released into the atmosphere. |
| Emissions trading | Domestic Emissions Trading -"Emissions trading" refers to a regulatory regime in which specified businesses and other organisations would have obligations to report their emissions and to hold or purchase a corresponding number of emission units. The units would be tradable, and those with obligations could decide how much to reduce emissions and how many units to purchase. Responsible parties who deforest land, or who harvest "Kyoto" forests, would also have obligations to acquire the necessary number of emission units (or sink credits) for the carbon released. |
| International Emissions Trading -Transfer of assigned amount between Annex 1 Parties, either between governments or between persons within these countries that have been authorised to trade. | |
| Emission unit | A legal allowance that authorises a point of obligation to emit a unit of greenhouse gas emissions. The unit is likely to be denominated as 1 tonne of CO2 equivalent, and could be "banked" for use in future commitment periods. |
| Greenhouse gases (GHGs) | Includes a basket of six gases including, carbon dioxide, methane and chlorofluorocarbons whose properties relate to the transmission or reflection of different types of radiation. The increase in such gases in the atmosphere, which contributes to global warming, is a result of the use of fossil fuels, the emission of pollutants into the atmosphere and deforestation. |
| Kyoto forest | A forest planted since 1 January 1990 on land that was previously non-forest. |
| Point of obligation (in a domestic emissions trading system) | A point of obligation is a person or organisation (such as a business) that has a legal responsibility to monitor and report emissions and, at the end of each reporting period, to hold and surrender a quantity of 'emission units' or sink credits, equal to their emissions. |
| Sink | Sinks are any natural or man-made systems that absorb and store GHGs, including CO2 from the atmosphere. To be considered a sink, a system must be absorbing more CO2 than it is releasing so that the store of carbon must be expanding. |
| Sink credit | A unit "certificate" representing a specified amount of GHG absorbed in a "Kyoto forest" over a specified time period. Sink credits would be equivalent to emission units and could be used to meet emission obligations under the emissions trading system. A sink credit would likely represent 1 tonne of CO2 absorbed after 1 Jan 2008. |
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