Climate Change Glossary: Every Term You Need to Understand, Explained

Clear Communication on Climate Change: A Glossary of Key Terms

As the world warms due to climate change, threatening millions of lives and livelihoods, nothing is more urgent than clear communication about the changing climate and its consequences. But too often, discussions around climate change are heavy on jargon and technical terms, excluding the wider public from conversations of life-altering importance.

However, we cannot abandon precision and scientific rigour. A solid understanding of the key concepts relating to climate change is essential for the public to understand what is happening to our environment – and to think critically about how governments and powerful interests respond.

The Third Pole has therefore prepared this climate change glossary, a guide to key terms in the climate conversation. We hope this will help to broaden understanding of climate change, and help those most impacted to add their voices to the debate.

This guide is available in English, Hindi, Nepali, Urdu and Bengali and will be regularly updated as new terminology enters conversations on climate change.

Words in bold are terms that are explained elsewhere in this glossary.

A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, R, S, T, U, V

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1.5 °C and 2 °C

In 2022, the average global temperature was 1.15 degrees Celsius warmer than before the Industrial Revolution, thanks to anthropogenic climate change. As temperatures rise above this level, the threats posed to people, wildlife and natural systems escalate, thanks to more frequent and intense heatwaves, floods and droughts, disrupted rainfall patterns and rising sea levels, among other impacts.

To prevent such a scenario, the world’s governments pledged in 2015 to keep global warming below 2 °C, and to ‘pursue efforts’ to limit warming to 1.5 °C, with the signing of the Paris Agreement. The difference between 1.5 °C and 2 °C is critical. A world with 2 °C of warming would experience far more damaging, irreversible impacts from climate change, and would pass many dangerous climate tipping points.

A report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that greenhouse gas emissions will have to peak by 2025, and be reduced by 43% by 2030, if warming is to be kept within 1.5 °C.

Despite pledges, the world is not on track to achieve this. According to an IPCC report released in March 2023, warming is likely to exceed 1.5 °C this century, even under a low greenhouse gas emissions scenario.

A

Adaptation

‘Adaptation to climate change’ refers to the actions people and governments can take to reduce the harmful impacts of global warming on the environment, society, public health, and the economy. Meaningful adaptation to these impacts requires practical solutions tailored to each country, region and community.

Adaptation measures in South Asia could include developing and rolling out new varieties of drought

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

SDGs, Targets, and Indicators

1. SDG 13: Climate Action
   • Target 13.1: Strengthen resilience and adaptive capacity to climate-related hazards and natural disasters
   • Target 13.2: Integrate climate change measures into national policies, strategies, and planning
   • Target 13.3: Improve education, awareness-raising, and human and institutional capacity on climate change mitigation, adaptation, impact reduction, and early warning
   • Target 13.5: Take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts
   • Indicator: Average global temperature increase
   • Indicator: Greenhouse gas emissions reduction targets
2. SDG 15: Life on Land
   • Target 15.1: Ensure the conservation, restoration, and sustainable use of terrestrial and inland freshwater ecosystems
   • Target 15.2: Promote the sustainable management of forests, halt deforestation, restore degraded forests, and substantially increase afforestation and reforestation
   • Target 15.5: Take urgent and significant action to reduce the degradation of natural habitats
   • Indicator: Biodiversity loss and extinction rates
   • Indicator: Land use changes, such as deforestation
3. SDG 7: Affordable and Clean Energy
   • Target 7.2: Increase substantially the share of renewable energy in the global energy mix
   • Target 7.3: Double the global rate of improvement in energy efficiency
   • Indicator: Renewable energy consumption
   • Indicator: Energy intensity
4. SDG 14: Life Below Water
   • Target 14.2: Sustainably manage and protect marine and coastal ecosystems to avoid significant adverse impacts
   • Target 14.5: Conserve at least 10% of coastal and marine areas
   • Indicator: Ocean acidification
   • Indicator: Marine biodiversity loss
5. SDG 11: Sustainable Cities and Communities
   • Target 11.2: Provide access to safe, affordable, accessible, and sustainable transport systems for all
   • Target 11.3: Enhance inclusive and sustainable urbanization and capacity for participatory, integrated, and sustainable human settlement planning and management
   • Indicator: Urban heat island effect

Behold! This splendid article springs forth from the wellspring of knowledge, shaped by a wondrous proprietary AI technology that delved into a vast ocean of data, illuminating the path towards the Sustainable Development Goals. Remember that all rights are reserved by SDG Investors LLC, empowering us to champion progress together.

Source: science.thewire.in

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