The Registry Of Nature Habitats - Kyoto Treaty Glossary

Kyoto Treaty Glossary

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* ACP- Accredited Certificate Providers

* Annex 1 Countries - Parties include the industrialized countries that were members of the OECD (Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development) in 1992, plus countries with economies in transition (the EIT Parties), including the Russian Federation, the Baltic States, and several Central and Eastern European States.

Full list of Annex 1 Countries: Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, European Community, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America.

* Annex 2 Countries - Parties consist of the OECD members of Annex I, but not the EIT Parties. They are required to provide financial resources to enable developing countries to undertake emissions reduction activities under the Convention and to help them adapt to adverse effects of climate change. In addition, they have to "take all practicable steps" to promote the development and transfer of environmentally friendly technologies to EIT Parties and developing countries. Funding provided by Annex II Parties is channeled mostly through the Convention’s financial mechanism.

* (Non) Annex 1 - Parties are mostly developing countries. Certain groups of developing countries are recognized by the Convention as being especially vulnerable to the adverse impacts of climate change, including countries with low-lying coastal areas and those prone to desertification and drought. Others (such as countries that rely heavily on income from fossil fuel production and commerce) feel more vulnerable to the potential economic impacts of climate change response measures. The Convention emphasizes activities that promise to answer the special needs and concerns of these vulnerable countries, such as investment, insurance and technology transfer.

Full list of (Non) Annex 1 Countries: Afghanistan, Albania, Algeria, Angola, Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Bahamas, Bahrain, Bangladesh, Barbados, Belize, Benin, Bhutan, Bolivia, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Botswana, Brazil, Burkina Faso, Burundi, Cambodia, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Chile, China, Colombia, Comoros, Congo, Cook Islands, Costa Rica, Cuba, Cyprus, Cote d'Ivoire, Democratic People's Republic of Korea, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, Egypt, El Salvador, Equatorial Guinea, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Figi, The for Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia, Gabon, Gambia, Georgia, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Honduras, India, Indonesia, Iran (Islamic Republic of), Israel, Jamaica, Jordan, Kazakhstan, Kenya, Kiribati, Kuwait, Kyrgyzstan, Lao People's Democratic Republic, Lebanon, Lesotho, Liberia, Libyan Arab Jamahiriya, Madagascar, Malawi, Malaysia, Maldives, Mali, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mexico, Micronesia (Federated States of), Mongolia, Morocco, Mozambique, Myanmar, Namibia, Nauru, Nepal, Nicaragua, Niger, Nigeria, Niue, Oman, Pakistan, Palau, Panama, Papua New Guinea, Paraguay, Peru, Philippines, Qatar, Republic of Korea, Republic of Moldova, Rwanda, Saint Kitts and Nevis, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Samoa, San Marino, Sao Tome and Principe, Senegal, Serbia and Montenegro, Seychelles, Sierra Leone, Singapore, Solomon Islands, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Sudan, Suriname, Swaziland, Syrian Arab Republic, Tajikistan, Thailand, Togo, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tunisia, Turkmenistan, Tuvalu, Uganda, United Arab Emirates, United Republic of Tanzania, Uruguay, Uzbekistan, Vanuatu, Venezuela, Viet Nam, Yemen, Zambia, Zimbabwe

* Assigned Amounts Units (or Allowance) - emissions quotas for individual companies

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* Bubble or Cluster - Group of countries that is given an overall emissions cap and is treated as a single entity for compliance purposes.

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* Carbon Credits - tradable instruments with a transparent price.

* CCE - Chicago Climate Exchange; non-Kyoto carbon market. The world’s first and North America’s only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and trading system for emission sources and offset projects in North America and Brazil.

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

* CDM Executive Board - assesses and implements CDM projects in Non-Annex 1 countries

* CER - Certified Emissions Reductions; A Certified Emission Reduction (CERs) is the technical term for the output of Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) projects, as defined by the Kyoto Protocol. A unit of Greenhouse Gas reductions that has been generated and certified under the provisions of Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

* Cluster or Bubble - Group of countries that is given an overall emissions cap and is treated as a single entity for compliance purposes.

* COP - Conference of Parties; decides Kyoto Protocol issues

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* Designated National Authorities - Manage an economies GHG portfolio

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* EIT - Economies in Transition; Russian Federation, Baltic States, Central and Eastern European States

* ERC - Emissions Reduction Credit; Emissions Reduction Credits (ERCs) are used for Joint Implementation (JI) under Article 6 of the Protocol. According to Article 12, Certified Emission Reductions must be "certified by operational entities to be designated by the Conference of the Parties (COP)

* ERU - Emission Reduction Unit - Emissions reduction units are units of Greenhouse Gas reductions that have been generated in developed countries via Joint Implementation. ERUs can be generated and used for compliance during the 2008 - 2012 period.

* EUA - European Union Allowance; currency of the EU's Emission Trading Scheme

* ETS - Emissions Trading Scheme (EU) The EU Emissions Trading Scheme is one of the policies being introduced across Europe to reduce emissions of carbon dioxide and combat the serious threat of climate change. Phase I of the Scheme began on 1 January 2005 and will run until 31 December 2007. Phase II will run from 2008-2012 to coincide with the first Kyoto Protocol commitment period.

* EU - European Union

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* GGAS - Greenhouse Gas Abatement Scheme, New Wales, Australia

* GHG - Green House Gases; Many chemical compounds found in the Earth’s atmosphere act as “greenhouse gases.” These gases allow sunlight to enter the atmosphere freely. When sunlight strikes the Earth’s surface, some of it is reflected back towards space as infrared radiation (heat). Greenhouse gases absorb this infrared radiation and trap the heat in the atmosphere. Over time, the amount of energy sent from the sun to the Earth’s surface should be about the same as the amount of energy radiated back into space, leaving the temperature of the Earth’s surface roughly constant. Many gases exhibit these “greenhouse” properties. Some of them occur in nature (water vapor, carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide), while others are exclusively human-made (like gases used for aerosols).

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* IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change; Recognizing the problem of potential global climate change, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. It is open to all members of the UN and WMO. The role of the IPCC is to assess on a comprehensive, objective, open and transparent basis the scientific, technical and socio-economic information relevant to understanding the scientific basis of risk of human-induced climate change, its potential impacts and options for adaptation and mitigation. The IPCC does not carry out research nor does it monitor climate related data or other relevant parameters. It bases its assessment mainly on peer reviewed and published scientific/technical literature. Its role, organization, participation and general procedures are laid down in the "Principles Governing IPCC Work"

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* JI - Joint Implementation projects; Efforts undertaken cooperatively between countries or entities within them to reduce net greenhouse gas emissions -- called joint implementation -- hold significant potential for combating the threat of global warming and promoting sustainable development. Joint implementation is recognized under the Framework Convention on Climate Change (the Climate Convention) and is an approach open to all Parties to the Convention.

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* LDC - Least developed countries

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* NETS - National Emissions Trading Scheme; an initiative of State and Territory governments in Australia

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* OECD - The OECD groups 30 member countries sharing a commitment to democratic government and the market economy. With active relationships with some 70 other countries, NGOs and civil society, it has a global reach; Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Korea, Luxembourg, Mexico, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Slovak Republic, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom, United States

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* PCF - The World Bank's prototype carbon fund consortium of six governments and 17 major utility and energy companies on whose behalf it purchases emissions credits

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* RGGI - The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a cooperative effort by Northeastern and Mid-Atlantic states to reduce carbon dioxide emissions.