Carbon emissions: Greenhouse gas emissions released
by the process of burning fossil fuels
Carbon neutrality: When the net greenhouse gas emissions associated with an organisation’s activities are equal to zero
Carbon offset: The removal of greenhouse gas from the atmosphere by vegetation to balance(or offset ) the emissions released by burning fossil fuels.
Carbon sequestration: The long-term storage of carbon in plants, soils or the ocean.
Circular economy: When resources are highly valued and are Re-used, Re-purposed and Re-cycled.
Climate emergency: Catastrophic changes to the climate brought about by human activity that poses a dangerous threat to all life.
Drawdown Carbon: When excess emissions are removed or drawn down from the atmosphere by trees or grasses and stored in soils or drawn down by plankton, sea grasses and kelp forests and stored in the ocean.
Fossil Fuels: Materials of biological origin containing hydrocarbons that occur within the earth’s crust and can be used as sources of energy (ie.oil, coal and gas).
Greenhouse gases (GHG): There are six key contributors to global warming. These are Carbon Dioxide (CO2) Methane (CH4), Nitrous Oxide (N2O), Hydrofluorocarbons (HFC’s) Perfluorocarbons (PFC’s and Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Carbon Dioxide is considered the most significant GHG due its increasing prevalence in the atmosphere.
Green Power: A scheme in which electricity retailers provide customers with electricity from renewable sources for an additional price per unit of electricity.
Zero Net Emissions: Also referred to as ‘Zero Carbon’ is when the greenhouse gas emissions going up into the atmosphere are equalled by the greenhouse gases drawn down from the atmosphere. Getting to net zero means we can still produce some emissions, as long as they are offset by processes that reduce greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. For example, these could be things like planting new forests, or drawdown technologies like direct air capture. The more emissions that are produced, the more carbon dioxide we need to remove from the atmosphere. (this is called sequestration) to reach net zer