| Global Warming | an increase in the atmosphere's ground level temperature brought about by an increasing concentration of greenhouse gases (GHG) from emissions and producing an insulating effect |
| Climate Change | changes in ocean temperatures (El Nino & La Nina) due to global warming which produces drastically changed weather patterns, severe storms, Hoods, droughts, economic and agricultural chaos |
| Global Warming Potential | a scale of measurement of the six different GHG's relative to C02 which has a GWP of 1 ranging all the way up to SF6 with a GWP ot 23,UUO This is a measure of potency. Thus, 1 ton of SF6 = 23,000 tons of C02 |
| Greenhouse Gases | the six known insulating emissions: C02, CH4 (methane), N20 (nitrous oxide), SF6 (sulfur hexafluoride), PFC (perfluorocarbons) and HFC (hydrofluorocarbons) |
| Claimed Reduction | is just what the name portends, a stated contention that a certain action or activity carried out by a company produces a reduction in GHG emissions. This contention requires proof to be accepted and approved as a Credit. |
| Credit | is a claimed reduction that has been through an Approval & Accreditation Process proving that it is indeed a bonafide reduction in GHG emissions. |
| Certified Tradable Offset or Credit | is a Credit which has been through the entire CTO Process of Approval & Accreditation, Monitoring & Recording, Reporting & Accounting, Registry & Banking and finally Rating. In this condition, it is certified and fully tradable in any venue in the world, because it meets all the requirements of the UNFCCC. |
| Conference of Parties | is the annual meeting of the nations of the world to further the agreements, commitments, rules and regulations for the entire world wide conduct of business in reducing GHG emissions, regulating them, overseeing enforcement of the mandates and the international trading and transactions of Credits. 7he most prominent of these meetings was held in Kyoto in 1997 which produced the Kyoto Protocol now being ratified by most nations. These meetings are called COPS. |
| Kyoto Protocol | is the document which when signed by a country binds it to achieve the mandate auctions assigned to it by the Conference of Parties as its lair share of the total deemed necessary by the world bodies including the UNFCCC. It is this document that the Bush Administration is refusing to ratify, earning the hostility of the European Union and other prominent nations. |
| UNFCCC | this body, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, dates back to the Rio de Janeiro Summit of Nations in 1992 and is the source and well spring for all the rules, regulations, requirements and procedures applied by the COPS in defining all activites associated with GHG emission reductions. |
| USIJI | was an Approval & Accreditation Body setup by the US Department of Energy and the EPA to review and approve proposal applications of projects being pursued by energy and power companies, wherein claims for reductions in GHG emissions were made. The mechanism employed was Joint Implementation and it was applicable to projects conducted in all countries outside the United States. Due to a lack of funding in 2001, this body no longer functions. |
| IAS | Independent Accreditation Services is a subsidiary of R.W. Beck (International Engineering firm) setup to conduct Approvals, Accreditations and Certifications for claimed reductions of GHG emissions from projects conducted within the United States. It has passed review and is sanctioned as an official Approver for certain states putting the CTC Process in place. IAS is now broadening its purview to include the AIJ Mechanism for Annex B countries and as accepted by the Prototype Carbon Fund (World Bank) for projects from certain G77 or Devloping World countries. |
| CDM | the Clean Development Mechanism is an investment mechanism by which Annex B (formerly Annex I) countries can invest in GHG emission reduction projects in Developing Countries and make use of the GHG Credits earned to meet targets for reduction in its own domestic activities. It remains to be seen whether it will it will provide for trading on a project by project basis or on a portfolio basis, through an investment fund with composite shares only. The CDM also provides for Approval & Accreditation solely within the country of origin of the project and not done jointly with an AIJ mechanism. |
| AIJ | Activities Implemented Jointly provides for companies from one Annex B country doing GHG emission reduction projects within another Annex B country for Credits and their use against the domestic targets they have in their own country. |
| Approval & Accreditation | the process of review by which a proposal application is submitted to a sanctioned approver for the purpose of determining whether it meets all the rules, requirements, guidelines and procedures of the UNFCCC and to so certify it. |
| Certification | the Approver and Accreditor certifies that they have reviewed the proposal application for the claimed reduction and that it does meet all the rules and requirements of the UNFCCC, they have approved and accredited it and so certify. |
| Monitoring. Tracking & Recording | the process of examining the project annually and determining that it accomplished the GHG emission reduction for the year by means of positive measurement and recording plus producing an attestation to that fact. This activity is performed by an independent third party, hired to perform this service. |
| Reporting & Accounting | a full corporate inventory and report to a national repository for each company with GHG emissions that will cover all its activities world wide and will follow the national protocol developed by World Business Council for Sustainable Development and the World Resources Institute with help and input from their over 250 stakeholders. Use of this protocol makes the inventory totally credible and eliminates concern for leakage. |
| Registry & Registration | provides for recognition and tracking of Certified Tradable Offsets or Credits which have been Approved & Accredited by a sanctioned Approver and for registration, deposit, transfer and transaction with any bodies worldwide. The Registry will be setup under and administered for Regulatory Authorities nad will only accept Credits sanctioned by them. |
| Rating System & Ratings | will be setup and generally follow the bases of Bond ratings as established by Moody's or Standard & Poor's assigning letter ratings to detail the quality (safety) of the Credit. Bases of the Rating System will include: quality of the project, quality of the parties, type and complication of the emission reduction, certification by an Approver sanctioned by a regulatory authority, monitoring & recording by an independent third party, reporting & accounting by a sanctioned protocol and registered through a sanctioned Registry |
| Transactions | refers to the range of sales, trades or holding actions that a party may make with Approved & Accredited GHG reductions which in that state are Credits and are able to be transacted
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| LNG | stands for Liquid Natural Gas and is methane which has been cooled or pressurized or both until it is in liquid state, making it convenient to transport in LNG Tankers across oceans |
| LPG | stands for Liquid Petroleum Gases and can include Propane, also cooled and or pressurized to ship long distances in tanker ships |
| Promulgated Regulations | stands for regulations on C02 or all GHG which have been passed by legislative body or edicted by executive authority and published to make public and clear |
| Forestation | defines the act of planting vegetation, primarily trees, to cover a parcel of land and to create a carbon sink with it, which will absorb C02 from the atmosphere |
| Sequestration | is the process of removing a parcel of land from continued usage for agricultural or other purposes and instead dedicating to retain its existing cover of flora to act as a carbon sink |
| Regulatory Authority | government body empowered by the head governmental figure for a particular jurisdiction to promulgate and enforce regulations for a particular field. In the framework of BCC's world this pertains to GHG emissions and in Massachusetts the Governor has rested these powers |
| CAPS | are ceilings placed on GHG emissions that a jurisdiction (nation or state), an industry (electric utility or transportation) or a company may be permitted in a period, such as a year. These are generally employed in a Closed Market and lead to allowances being distributed to affected parties |
| Mandated Reductions | are cutbacks in GHG emissions assigned to parties in a jurisdiction and under a regulatory authority that has promulgated regulations |
| Leakage | is the loss of GHG emission reductions through a variety of means including: a party curtailing activity in one location and increasing it in another or a deterioration an action to reduce over time, etc. |
| Transparency | as defined by the UNFCCC and used by BCC refers to the degree of clarity and certainty that a claimed reduction possesses that it actually has or will happen |
| Additionalitv | as defined by the UNFCCC (excluding financial additionality) and used by BCC refers to a reduction in emissions being accomplished voluntarily and not because it has been required by law or statute |
| Sustainability | as defined by the UNFCCC and used by BCC refers to a project and its reductions being able to continue for the life of the project without dimunition |
| Enforcement | refers to the authority, the responsibility and the action to ensure that mandated reductions are carried out and if not the imposition of penalties for the failure to do so |
| Verifiability | means the wherewithal to monitor and track that a claimed reduction is actually being carried out. This will involve some form of continuous metering. |
| Apportionment | is the act of dividing into shares the ownership of Credits deriving from a reduction for a specific project. The Approval & Accreditation process requires that it be a written document attested to by the parties to a project |
| Banked Credits | are Credits which represent reductions that have already happened in the past and are 'banked', so to speak, (ie. reductions that occured in 2001, were Approved & Accredited then are considered 'banked' in 2002) |
| Forward Sale | refers to sale of a stream of Credits stretching into the future which have been accounted for in the present as a transaction. |
| Option Sale | refers to a buyer's taking and paying for, a privilege to purchase a Credit at a later date, open for some period of time defined by the terms of the option |
| G77 or Developing World | includes those countries not considered to be fully developed either financially, economically or from some other standpoint that does not rank them as an Annex B (formerly Annex 1) country. Loosely, it refers to Central & South America, Oceania, Asia (other than Japan) and Africa. |
| Annex B Countries | are literally the developed world comprised of: United States, Canada, Europe, Russia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand Umbrella Group are a subset of Annex B with similar interests that are in part at odds with the European Union on Global Warming and Climate Change. These nations believe for example that up to the full extent of forests in place should be counted as a sink and be able to be used to offset other emissions. The countries in this group include: US, Canada, Iceland, Norway, Russia, Japan, Australia and New Zealand |
| European Union | describes just what the name implies most of what was Western Europe |
| Compliance Period | refers to a span of years during which a certain mandate is in force, requiring specific levels of reductions of GHG emissions. They progress from First to subsequent with requirements for reductions becoming progressively more strict and severe |
| Risk Mitigation Strategy | is the label for a plan which all emitting companies should have, detailing how, when and with what resources that company will progressively amass more Credits than it needs to meet mandated reductions. This plan in both theory and action will be necessary to answer the questions of shareholders, capital lenders and regulators and thereby protect the stock price, bond rating and right to operate of the company. |
| Pew Center of Companies | a grouping of 35 major (Fortune 500) companies who advocate GHG emission reductions, educate the public and demonstrate by their actions that they practice what they preach. Each has significant internal voluntary programs underway to reduce their own emissions. |
| Prototype Carbon Fund | established by the World Bank this is a $ 150 mm fund aimed at purchasing Approved & Accredited GHG Credits for its 25 plus European and Japanese corporate and government investors. PCF operates on the Sydney Australia Futures Exchange and purchases Credits from the Developing World G77 countries' projects |
| Emissions Trading Scheme | has been setup by the British Government to begin a regime of trading and GHG transactions in and for the British marketplace |
| Chicago Climate Exchange | is the first US voluntary pilot program for trading GHG Credits. It covers seven midwestern states and has 34 company members. Each has pledged a GHG emissions reduction goal. Project funding comes from the Joyce Foundation and support from the Kellogg School of Business, Northwestern University. The fund is managed by Environmental Financial Products llc. |
How to Secure a Credit