An introduction to sustainability & climate terminology, initiatives and abbreviations Body
18/01/2021
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Team BACA
2020 tied with 2016 as world’s hottest year on record (source). With temperatures rising, there is a growing awareness about the need for climate action which translates into an increase in climate initiatives in recent years. As a result, the international terminology relating to climate is extensive and can be confusing. To clarify things, we have created a list of the most important sustainability and climate terminology as these initiatives and their abbreviations can be quite overwhelming.
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. The Convention has near universal membership (197 Parties) and is the parent treaty of the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement (More info). - Kyoto Protocol (11/12/1997)
The Kyoto Protocol commits industrialized countries and economies in transition to limit and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets (More info). - Paris Climate Agreement (22/04/2016)
The Paris Agreement is an agreement within the UNFCCC, dealing with greenhouse-gas-emissions mitigation, adaptation, and finance. The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep the global average temperature rise this century as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. This should be done by reducing emissions as soon as possible through Nationally Determined Contributions. In addition, the Paris Agreement also aims to increase the ability of parties to adapt to adverse impacts of climate change. (More info). - Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
NDCs are at the heart of the Paris Agreement. They embody efforts by each country to reduce national emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change (More info). - Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi)
The SBTi is a partnership between the Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP), the United Nations Global Compact (UNGC), World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Wide Fund for Nature (WWF). The SBTi drives ambitious climate action in the private sector by enabling companies to set science-based emissions reduction targets. More specifically, the SBTi focuses on science-based GHG emission reduction targets, which ensure that companies reduce their emissions at a rate that is consistent with the level of decarbonisation required to limit warming to 1.5°C or well-below 2°C. Organisations that want to go further can opt for science-based net-zero targets. Science-based net-zero targets go beyond science-based GHG emission reduction targets because they ensure that companies also take responsibility for emissions that have yet to be reduced, or that remain unfeasible to be eliminated (More info).
- Certified B Corporations
Certified B Corporations are businesses that meet the highest standards of verified social and environmental performance, public transparency, and legal accountability to balance profit and purpose. B Corps are accelerating a global culture shift to redefine success in business and build a more inclusive and sustainable economy (More info). - Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
A common and universal agenda proposed by the United Nations and adopted by the member nations that defines the ideal world for 2030 and proposes concrete targets and indicators to measure progress. It gives a picture of what the world can look like in 2030 and how to get there by following certain priorities (More info).
- ISO 26 000
ISO 26 000 is an international standard that provides guidance to businesses and organizations committed to operating in a socially responsible way (More info).
- Carbon Disclosure Project (CDP)
The CDP is an international non-profit organisation that helps companies and cities disclose their environmental impact. It aims to make environmental reporting and risk management a business norm, driving disclosure, insight, and action towards a sustainable economy (More info).
- SME Climate Hub
The SME Climate Hub is a global initiative that aims to create a tipping point for mainstreaming climate action and building business resilience for SMEs (More info).