Climate Corner April 2024: Confused by Climate Change Jargon? A Quick Guide to 4 Common Terms

Net-zero? Climate Mitigation? Climate Adaptation? GHGs? What does it all mean? The world of climate change can get quite technical, so we thought it would be helpful to clarify some of the vocabulary to help better understand climate change.

1. GHGs (Greenhouse Gasses):

Examples of GHGs or "greenhouse gases" include Carbon Dioxide (CO₂), Methane (CH₄), Nitrous Oxide (N₂) and others. Human activity is the main cause of the abundance of GHGs. These gases trap heat in the Earth's atmosphere, causing the Earth's temperature to rise in the greenhouse effect, hence greenhouse gases. GHG levels in our atmosphere continue to rise, and the International Panel on Climate Change estimates current warming rates are 10 times faster than the average warming rates that follow ice age, human activity is the principal cause.

2. Net-zero:

Net-zero refers to a state of equilibrium where the "net" or overall greenhouse gas emissions equals zero. For example, if driving your car emits 1 ton of greenhouse gases each year, you would have to remove 1 ton of greenhouse gases from the atmosphere each year for your car emissions to be net-zero. Negative emissions can be achieved through activities such as planting trees or supporting a carbon offset program. The reason we target net-zero is because it is widely accepted that our society will likely always emit some greenhouse gases, so in order to be at a state of neutral emissions, to address climate change and air quality, we will have to engage in activities that remove carbon from the atmosphere to equal net-zero emissions. The goal is to reduce emissions as much as possible, and then balance whatever is left. Check out this graphic to explain:

3. Mitigation:

When we are talking about mitigation related to climate change, we are focused on taking steps to stop climate change from getting worse through interventions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Mitigation activities often focus on fossil fuels - coal, oil, natural gas, gasoline, etc. since these fossil fuels produce harmful gases when they burn. Some ways to mitigate climate change include using solar, wind and wind power, making buildings, vehicles, and processes more energy efficient to use less electricity and fuel, and protecting natural spaces like forests and wetlands because these plants and trees absorb greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.

4. Adaptation:

Adaption, from a climate change perspective, is focused on interventions to adjust human systems to reduce harm or damage caused by climate change impacts. Adaptation activities include things like building flood resistant infrastructure (buildings and roads), emergency preparedness, flood prevention and preparedness for homeowners/businesses, green spaces in city centers to act as a natural cooling centers during heat waves, etc. These actions all focus on managing the risks of the known climate change impacts such as flooding, heatwaves, extreme storms/temperatures, wildfires, etc.

We hope this resource helps you understand a bit more about climate change and the types of action. Continue to educate yourself and those around you!

Resources:

https://science.nasa.gov/climate-change/evidence/

https://ideas.ted.com/a-quick-guide-to-common-climate-change-jargon-terms/

https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar6/wg1/downloads/report/IPCC_AR6_WGI_TS.pdf

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