Cement, Energy and Environment

A FEW GLOSSARY OF TERMS USED IN THE FIELD OF GLOBAL WARMING & CLIMATE CHANGE Adaptation: Action that helps to cope with the effects of climate change for example construction of barriers to protect against rising sea levels, or conversion to crops capable of surviving high temperatures and drought, increasing water conservation to deal with changing rainfall levels, and developing medicine and preventive behaviours to deal with spreading diseases. Aerosols: A collection of airborne solid or liquid particles, with a typical size between O.Q1 and 1 0 micrometres and residing in the atmosphere for at least several hours. Aerosols may be of either natural or anthropogenic (man-made) origin. Aerosols may influence climate in two ways: directly through scattering and absorbing radiation, and indirectly through acting as condensation nuclei for cloud formation or modifying the optical properties and lifetime of clouds. Anthropogenic emissions: Greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions that are caused by human activities. Black carbon: The soot that results from the incomplete combustion of fossil fuels, biofuels, and biomass (wood, animal dung etc.). It is the most potent climate-warming aerosol. Unlike GHGs, which trap infrared radiation present in the Earth's atmosphere, these particles absorb all wavelengths of sunlight and then re-emit this energy as infrared radiation. Business-as-usual (BAU): A scenario used for projections of future emissions assuming no action or no new action is taken to mitigate the problem. Cap and trade: An approach to limiting GHG emissions that sets a maximum emissions level (a cap) for a region or nation and that requires participating emitters to obtain permits to pollute. Companies or governmental jurisdictions with extra pollution permits can sell or trade them to parties whose permits are insufficient to cover their full emissions. Carbon dioxide equivalent (C02eq): A unit of measurement used to compare the climate effects of all GHGs to each other. C02eq is calcu-lated by multiplying the quantity of a GHG by its global warming potential. Carbon dioxide intensity and carbon dioxide per capita: Carbon intensity measures emissions per unit of gross domestic product (GOP) . C0 2 per capita measures emissions per person. Both measures can be used to look at emission differences between nations. Carbon footprint: The amount of carbon emitted by an individual or organization in a given period of time, or the amount of carbon emitted during the manufacture of a product. Carbon neutral: A process is said to be carbon neutral if there is no net release of C0 2 , i.e. the amount of C0 2 absorbed during the process is equal to the amount released to the atmosphere. A company or country can also achieve carbon neutrality by means of carbon offsetting. Carbon offsetting: A way of compensating for emissions of C02 by participating in, or funding efforts to take C0 2 out of the atmosphere. Offsetting often involves paying another party, somewhere else, to save emissions equivalent to those produced by your activity. Carbon tax: A tax levied on C02emissions by setting a price on pollution. A carbon tax can be used independently or in conjunction with other emission controls such as a carbon cap. The tax generates revenue that can be used to underwrite further emission reductions, technology development, cost relief for consumers, or other initiatives. CDM Carbon sequestration, carbon capture and storage (CCS): Carbon sequestration is the broad term used for processes which remove C0 2 from the atmosphere by biological, chemical or physical means. CCS refers to the capture and separation of C0 2 during energy production or industrial processes and subsequent storage - often by pumping underground. Carbon sink: Any process, activity or mechanism that removes carbon from the atmosphere. The biggest carbon sinks are the world's ocean and forests, which absorb large amounts of carbon dioxide from the earth's atmosphere. Certified emission reduction (CER): A GHG trading credit under the COM programme. A CER may be earned by participating in emission reduction programmes installing green technology, or planting forests in developing countries. Each CER is equivalent to one tonne of C0 2 • CFCs: The abbreviation for chlorofluorocarbons - a family of gasses that have contributed to stratospheric ozone depletion, but which are also potent GHGs. 38