NationMaster - Encyclopedia: Carbon credit

Carbon credits are a key component of national and international emissions trading schemes. They provide a way to reduce greenhouse effect emissions on an industrial scale by capping total annual emissions and letting the market assign a monetary value to any shortfall through trading. Credits can be exchanged between businesses or bought and sold in international markets at the prevailing market price. Credits can be used to finance carbon reduction schemes between trading partners and around the world. Image File history File links Crystal_128_energy. ... Emissions trading schemes (also known as â€˜cap and tradeâ€™ schemes) are one of the policy instruments available for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. ... Emissions trading (or cap and trade) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. ... Wikinews has related news: Scientists warn thawing Siberia may trigger global meltdown A schematic representation of the exchanges of energy between outer space, the Earths atmosphere, and the Earth surface. ... A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ...

There are also many companies that sell carbon credits to commercial and individual customers who are interested in lowering their carbon footprint on a voluntary basis. These carbon offsetters purchase the credits from an investment fund or a carbon development company that has aggregated the credits from individual projects. The quality of the credits is based in part on the validation process and sophistication of the fund or development company that acted as the sponsor to the carbon project. Per capita greenhouse gas emissions A carbon footprint is the total amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases emitted over the full life cycle of a product or service. ... Until recently, most carbon offsets were commonly done by planting trees. ... A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ...

Background

Burning of fossil fuels is a major source of industrial greenhouse gas emissions, especially for power, cement, steel, textile, and fertilizer industries. The major greenhouse gases emitted by these industries are carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), etc, which all increase the atmosphere's ability to trap infrared energy and thus affect the climate. Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ... Methane is a chemical compound with the molecular formula CH4. ... For other uses, see Nitrous oxide (disambiguation). ... Some important fluorocarbons. ...

The concept of carbon credits came into existence as a result of increasing awareness of the need for controlling emissions. It was formalized in the Kyoto Protocol, an international agreement between 169 countries, and the market mechanisms were agreed through the subsequent Marrakesh Accords^[1]. The mechanism adopted was similar to the successful US Acid Rain Program to reduce some industrial pollutants. Kyoto Protocol Opened for signature December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan Entered into force February 16, 2005. ... The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. ... The Acid Rain Program is a market-based initiative taken by the United States Environmental Protection Agency in an effort to reduce overall atmospheric levels of sulfur dioxide and nitrogen oxides, which cause acid rain [1]. The program is an implementation of emissions trading that primarily targets coal-burning power...

Emission allowances

The Protocol agreed 'caps' or quotas on the maximum amount of Greenhouse gases that each participating country can produce^[2]. In turn these countries set quotas on the emissions of installations run by local business and other organisations, generically termed 'operators'. Countries manage this through their own national 'registries', which are required to be validated and monitored for compliance by the UNFCCC^[3]. Each operator has an allowance of credits, where each unit gives the owner the right to emit one metric tonne of carbon dioxide or other equivalent greenhouse gas. Operators that have not used up their quotas can sell their unused allowances as carbon credits, while businesses that are about to exceed their quotas can buy the extra allowances as credits, privately or on the open market. As demand for energy grows over time, the total emissions must still stay within the cap, but it allows industry some flexibility and predictability in its planning to accommodate this. Greenhouse gases are gaseous components of the atmosphere that contribute to the greenhouse effect. ... The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ...

By allowing allowances to be bought and sold, an operator can seek out the most cost-effective way of reducing its emissions, either by investing in 'cleaner' machinery and practices or by purchasing emissions from another operator who already has excess 'capacity'.

Since 2005, the Kyoto mechanism has been adopted for CO2 trading by all the countries within the European Union under its European Trading Scheme (EU ETS) with the European Commission as its validating authority^[4]. From 2008, EU participants must link with the other developed countries who ratified Annex I of the protocol, and trade the six most significant anthropogenic greenhouse gases. In the United States and Australia, which have not ratified Kyoto, similar schemes are being considered by some of their states. The European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is the largest multi-national, greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in the world and is a main pillar of EU climate policy. ... Berlaymont, the Commissions seat The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. ... // Participation in the Kyoto Protocol, where dark green indicates countries that have signed and ratified the treaty. ... Ratification is the act of giving official sanction to a formal document such as a treaty or constitution. ... UNFCCC logo. ... Look up anthropogenic in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Kyoto's 'Flexible mechanisms'

A credit can be an emissions allowance which is allocated or auctioned by the administrators of a cap-and-trade program or an offset of emissions. Such offsetting and mitigating activities can occur in any developing country which has ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and agrees to validate its carbon project through one of the UNFCCC's approved mechanisms. Once approved, these units are termed Certified Emission Reductions, or CERs. The Protocol allows these projects to be constructed and credited in advance of the Kyoto trading period. Until recently, most carbon offsets were commonly done by planting trees. ... A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ... The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. ... Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) are climate credits (or carbon credits) issued by the CDM EB for emission reductions achieved by CDM projects and verified by a DOE under the rules of the Kyoto Protocol. ...

The Kyoto Protocol provides for three mechanisms that enable countries or operators in developed countries to acquire greenhouse gas reduction credits^[5]

These carbon projects can be created by a national government or by an operator within the country. In reality, most of the transactions are not performed by national governments directly, but by operators who have been set quotas by their country. Joint implementation (JI) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (so-called Annex 1 countries) to invest in emission reducing projects in another industrialised country as an alternative to emission reductions in their own countries. ... CDM directs here. ... Emissions trading (or cap and trade) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. ... A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ...

Emission markets

For trading purposes, one allowance is considered equivalent to one metric tonne of CO2 emissions. These allowances can be sold privately or in the international market at the prevailing market price. These trade and settle internationally and hence allow allowances to be transferred between countries. Each transfer of ownership within the European Union is validated by the EU ETS. Each international transfer is validated by the UNFCCC. A tonne or metric ton (symbol t), sometimes referred to as a metric tonne, is a measurement of mass equal to 1,000 kilograms. ... Look up Settlement in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

Climate exchanges have been established to provide a spot market in allowances, as well as futures and options market to help discover a market price and maintain liquidity. Carbon prices are normally quoted in Euros per tonne of carbon dioxide or its equivalent (CO2e). Other greenhouse gasses can also be traded, but are quoted as standard multiples of carbon dioxide with respect to their global warming potential. These features reduce the quota's financial impact on business, while ensuring that the quotas are met at a national and international level. Template:The Spot Market The Spot Market or Cash Marketis a commodities or securities market in which goods are sold for cash and delivered immediately. ... A futures contract is a form of forward contract, a contract to buy or sell an asset of any kind at a pre-agreed future point in time, that has been standardised for a wide range of uses. ... In finance options are types of derivative contracts, including call options and put options, where the future payoffs to the buyer and seller of the contract are determined by the price of another security, such as a common stock. ... The introduction to this article provides insufficient context for those unfamiliar with the subject matter. ... Market liquidity is a business, economics or investment term that refers to an assets ability to be easily converted through an act of buying or selling without causing a significant movement in the price and with minimum loss of value. ... For other uses, see Euro (disambiguation). ... Global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of how much a given mass of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global warming. ...

Currently there are at least four exchanges trading in carbon allowances: the Chicago Climate Exchange, European Climate Exchange, Nord Pool, and PowerNext. Recently, NordPool listed a contract to trade offsets generated by a CDM carbon project called Certified Emission Reductions (CERs). Many companies now engage in emissions abatement, offsetting, and sequestration programs to generate credits that can be sold on. Chicago Climate Exchange (CCX) is the worldâ€™s first and North Americaâ€™s only voluntary, legally binding greenhouse gas (GHG) reduction and trading system for emission sources and offset projects in North America and Brazil. ... The European Climate Exchange is a sister company of the Chicago Climate Exchange that manages sales and marketing of environmental instruments in Europe. ... Nord Pool ASA, the Nordic Power Exchange, is the worlds only multinational exchange for trading electric power. ... Powernext manages the European energy exchange based in Paris. ... A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ...

Managing emissions is one of the fastest-growing segments in financial services in the City of London with a market now worth about €30 billion, but which could grow to €1 trillion within a decade. Louis Redshaw, head of environmental markets at Barclays Capital predicts that "Carbon will be the world's biggest commodity market, and it could become the world's biggest market overall." ^[6] Motto: Domine dirige nos Latin: Lord, guide us Shown within Greater London Sovereign state Constituent country Region Greater London Status City and Ceremonial County Admin HQ Guildhall Government - Leadership see text - Mayor David Lewis - MP Mark Field - London Assembly John Biggs Area - Total 1. ... Barclays Capital is the investment banking division of Barclays Bank plc. ...

Setting a market price for carbon

Unchecked, energy use and hence emission levels are predicted to keep rising over time. Thus the number of companies needing to buy credits will increase, and the rules of supply and demand will push up the market price, encouraging more groups to undertake environmentally friendly activities that create carbon credits to sell. The supply and demand model describes how prices vary as a result of a balance between product availability at each price (supply) and the desires of those with purchasing power at each price (demand). ... In economics, elasticity is the ratio of the proportional change in one variable with respect to proportional change in another variable. ...

An individual allowance, such as a Kyoto Allocation Allowance Unit (AAU) or its near-equivalent European Union Allowance (EUA), may have a different market value to an offset such as a CER. This is due to the lack of a developed secondary market for CERs, a lack of homegeneity between projects which causes difficulty in pricing, as well as questions due to the principle of supplementarity and its lifetime. Additionally, offsets generated by a carbon project under the Clean Development Mechanism are potentially limited in value because operators in the EU ETS are restricted as to what percentage of their allowance can be met through these flexible mechanisms. The supplementarity principle, also referred to as the supplementary principle, is one of the main principles of the Kyoto Protocol. ... A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ...

How buying carbon credits can reduce emissions

Carbon credits create a market for reducing greenhouse emissions by giving a monetary value to the cost of polluting the air. Emissions become an internal cost of doing business and are visible on the balance sheet alongside raw materials and other liabilities or assets. As recent estimates of the rate of global warming have increased, so have the financial estimates of the damage costs. ... This article needs additional references or sources for verification. ... material is the substance or matter from which something is or can be made, or also items needed for doing or creating something. ... In the most general sense, a liability is anything that is a hinderance, or puts one at a disadvantage. ... In business and accounting an asset is anything owned, whether in possession or by right to take possession, by a person or a group acting together, e. ...

By way of example, consider a business that owns a factory putting out 100,000 tonnes of greenhouse gas emissions in a year. Its government then enacts a law that limits the emissions that the business can produce. So the factory is given a quota of say 80,000 tonnes per year. The factory either reduces its emissions to 80,000 tonnes or is required to purchase carbon credits to offset the excess.

After costing up alternatives the business may decide that it is uneconomical or infeasible to invest in new machinery. Instead may choose to buy carbon credits on the open market from organizations that have been approved as being able to sell legitimate carbon credits.

Credits versus taxes

Credits were chosen by the signatories to the Kyoto Protocol as an alternative to Carbon taxes. A criticism of tax-raising schemes is that they are frequently not hypothecated, and so some or all of the taxation raised by a government may be applied inefficiently or not used to benefit the environment. A carbon tax is a tax on energy sources which emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. ... Hypothecation is a pledge of property as security for a debt without transfer of possession. ...

By treating emissions as a market commodity it becomes easier for business to understand and manage their activities, while economists and traders can attempt to predict future pricing using well understood market theories. Thus the main advantages of a tradable carbon credit over a carbon tax are: This article does not cite any references or sources. ...

Creating Real Carbon Credits

The principle of Supplementarity within the Kyoto Protocol means that internal abatement of emissions should take precedence before a country buys in carbon credits. However it also established the Clean Development Mechanism as a Flexible Mechanism by which capped entities could develop real, measurable, permanent emissions reductions voluntarily in sectors outside the cap. Many criticisms of carbon credits stem from the fact that establishing that an emission of CO2 equivalent GHG has truly been reduced involves a complex process. This process has evolved as the concept of a carbon project has been refined over the past 10 years. The supplementarity principle, also referred to as the supplementary principle, is one of the main principles of the Kyoto Protocol. ... CDM directs here. ... A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ...

The first step in determining whether or not a carbon project has legitimately lead to the reduction of real, measurable, permanent emissions is understanding the CDM methodology process. This is the process by which project sponsors submit, through a Designated Operational Entity (DOE), their concepts for emissions reduction creation. The CDM Executive Board, with the CDM Methodology Panel and their expert advisors, review each project and decide how and if they do indeed result in reductions that are additional^[7]
A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ...

Additionality and Its Importance

It is also important for any carbon credit (offset) to prove a concept called additionality. Additionality is a term used by Kyoto's Clean Development Mechanism to describe the fact that a carbon dioxide reduction project (carbon project) would not have occurred had it not been for concern for the mitigation of climate change. More succinctly, a project that has proven additionality is a beyond-business-as-usual project. A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ...

It is generally agreed that voluntary carbon offset projects must also prove additionality in order to ensure the legitimacy of the environmental stewardship claims resulting from the retirement of the carbon credit (offset). According the World Resources Institute/World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WRI/WBCSD) : "GHG emission trading programs operate by capping the emissions of a fixed number of individual facilities or sources. Under these programs, tradable 'offset credits' are issued for project-based GHG reductions that occur at sources not covered by the program. Each offset credit allows facilities whose emissions are capped to emit more, in direct proportion to the GHG reductions represented by the credit. The idea is to achieve a zero net increase in GHG emissions, because each tonne of increased emissions is 'offset' by project-based GHG reductions. The difficulty is that many projects that reduce GHG emissions (relative to historical levels) would happen regardless of the existence of a GHG program and without any concern for climate change mitigation. If a project 'would have happened anyway,' then issuing offset credits for its GHG reductions will actually allow a positive net increase in GHG emissions, undermining the emissions target of the GHG program. Additionality is thus critical to the success and integrity of GHG programs that recognize project-based GHG reductions."

Criticisms

Environmental restrictions and activities have traditionally been imposed on businesses through regulation. Many people were, and still are, uneasy at the use of a novel market-based approach to managing emissions, although the concept of Cap and Trade eventually won the day in international negotiations.

The Kyoto mechanism is the only internationally-agreed mechanism for regulating carbon credit activities, and, crucially, includes checks for additionality and overall effectiveness. Its supporting organisation, the UNFCCC, is the only organisation with a global mandate on the overall effectiveness of emission control systems, although enforcement of decisions relies on national co-operation. The Kyoto trading period only applies for five years between 2008 and 2012. The first phase of the EU ETS system started before then, and is expected to continue in a third phase afterwards, and may co-ordinate with whatever is internationally-agreed at but there is general uncertainty as to what will be agreed in post-Kyoto negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions. As business investment often operates over decades, this adds risk and uncertainty to their plans. As several countries responsible for a large proportion of global emissions (notably USA, Australia, China and India) have avoided mandatory caps, this also means that businesses in capped countries may perceive themselves to be working at a competitive disadvantage against those in uncapped countries as they are now paying for their carbon costs directly. The Kyoto Protocol, the worlds first treaty to attempt to address global warming by limiting greenhouse gas emissions, is due to expire at the end of 2012. ...

A key concept behind the cap and trade system is that national quotas should be chosen to represent genuine and meaningful reductions in national output of emissions. Not only does this ensure that overall emissions are reduced but also that the costs of emissions trading are carried fairly across all parties to the trading system. However, governments of capped countries may seek to unilaterally weaken their commitments, as evidenced by the 2006 and 2007 National Allocation Plans for several countries in the EU ETS, which were submitted late and then were initially rejected by the European Commission for being too lax ^[8]. The European Union Emission Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is the largest multi-national, greenhouse gas emissions trading scheme in the world and is a main pillar of EU climate policy. ... Berlaymont, the Commissions seat The European Commission (formally the Commission of the European Communities) is the executive branch of the European Union. ...

A question has been raised over the grandfathering of allowances. Countries within the EU ETS have granted their incumbent businesses most or all of their allowances for free. This can sometimes be perceived as a protectionist obstacle to new entrants into their markets. There have also been accusations of power generators getting a 'windfall' profit by passing on these emissions 'charges' to their customers^[9]. As the EU ETS moves into its second phase and joins up with Kyoto, it seems likely that these problems will be reduced as more allowances will be auctioned. In the United States, a grandfather clause is an exception which allows something pre-existing to remain as it is, despite a change to the contrary in the rules applied to newer situations. ...

Establishing a meaningful offset project is complex: voluntary offsetting activities outside the CDM mechanism are effectively unregulated and there have been criticisms of offsetting in these unregulated activities. This particularly applies to some voluntary corporate schemes in uncapped countries and for some personal carbon offsetting schemes. Until recently, most carbon offsets were commonly done by planting trees. ...

There have also been concerns raised over the validation of CDM credits. One concern has related to the accurate assessment of additionality. Others relate to the effort and time taken to get a project approved. Questions may also be raised about the validation of the effectiveness of some projects; it appears that many projects do not achieve the expected benefit after they have been audited, and the CDM board can only approve a lower amount of CER credits. For example, it may take longer to roll out a project than originally planned, or an afforestation project may be reduced by disease or fire. For these reasons some countries place additional restrictions on their local implementations and will not allow credits for some types of forestry or land use projects. CDM directs here. ...

See also

A carbon project refers to a business initiative that receives funding in the form of environmental financing in exchange for the environmental attribute assets associated with the projects reduction of carbon dioxide and/or carbon dioxide equivalent Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). ... Carbon emissions trading involves the trading of permits to emit carbon dioxide (and other greenhouse gases, calculated in tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent, tCO2e). ... Emissions trading (or cap and trade) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. ... Greenwash (a portmanteau of green and whitewash) is a term that environmentalists and other critics give to the activity of giving a positive public image to putatively environmentally unsound practices. ... Kyoto Protocol Opened for signature December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan Entered into force February 16, 2005. ... Carbon leakage occurs when there is an increase in carbon dioxide emissions by some countries in reaction to an emission reduction by countries with climate policy. ...

References

Categories: Climate change policies | Greenwashing Global warming refers to the increase in the average temperature of the Earths near-surface air and oceans in recent decades and its projected continuation. ... Variations in CO2, temperature and dust from the Vostok ice core over the last 450,000 years For current global climate change, see Global warming. ... The temperature record shows the fluctuations of the temperature of the atmosphere and the oceans through various spans of time. ... Instrumental global surface temperature measurements; see also [http://www. ... Comparison of ground based (blue) and satellite based (red: UAH; green: RSS) records of temperature variations since 1979. ... The temperature record of the past 1000 years describes the reconstruction of temperature for the last 1000 years on the Northern Hemisphere. ... The website of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration contains detailed data of the annual land and ocean temperature since 1880. ... This article is devoted to temperature changes in Earths environment as determined from geologic evidence on multi-million to billion (109) year time scales. ... Carbon dioxide is a chemical compound composed of two oxygen atoms covalently bonded to a single carbon atom. ... In IPCC reports, equilibrium climate sensitivity refers to the equilibrium change in global mean surface temperature following a doubling of the atmospheric (equivalent) CO2 concentration. ... Global dimming is the gradual reduction in the amount of global direct irradiance at the Earths surface that was observed for several decades after the start of systematic measurements in 1950s. ... Global warming potential (GWP) is a measure of how much a given mass of greenhouse gas is estimated to contribute to global warming. ... Wikinews has related news: Scientists warn thawing Siberia may trigger global meltdown A schematic representation of the exchanges of energy between outer space, the Earths atmosphere, and the Earth surface. ... Top: Increasing atmospheric CO2 levels as measured in the atmosphere and ice cores. ... The Keeling Curve is a graph measuring the increase in the levels of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere since 1958. ... Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry (LULUCF) is a term often used in climate change topics. ... An urban heat island (UHI) is a metropolitan area which is significantly warmer than its surroundings. ... Cloud forcing (sometimes described as cloud radiative forcing) is the difference between the radiation budget components for average cloud conditions and cloud-free conditions. ... A glaciation (a created composite term meaning Glacial Period, referring to the Period or Era of, as well as the process of High Glacial Activity), often called an ice age, is a geological phenomenon in which massive ice sheets form in the Arctic and Antarctic and advance toward the equator. ... Global cooling in general can refer to a cooling of the Earth. ... Chart of ocean surface temperature anomaly [Â°C] during the last strong El NiÃ±o in December 1997 El NiÃ±o and La NiÃ±a (also written in English as El Nino and La Nina) are major temperature fluctuations in surface waters of the tropical Eastern Pacific Ocean. ... Milankovitch cycles are the collective effect of changes in the Earths movements upon its climate, named after Serbian civil engineer and mathematician Milutin MilankoviÄ‡. The eccentricity, axial tilt, and precession of the Earths orbit vary in several patterns, resulting in 100,000 year ice age cycles of the... The tectonic plates of the world were mapped in the second half of the 20th century. ... The generalised concept of radiative forcing in climate science is any change in the radiation (heat) entering the climate system or changes in radiatively active gases. ... 400 year history of sunspot numbers. ... Cleveland Volcano in the Aleutian Islands of Alaska photographed from the International Space Station For other uses, see Volcano (disambiguation). ... National and international science academies and professional societies have assessed the current scientific opinion on climate change, in particular recent global warming. ... Climate models use quantitative methods to simulate the interactions of the atmosphere, oceans, land surface, and ice. ... General Circulation Models (GCMs) are a class of computer-driven models for weather forecasting and predicting climate change, where they are commonly called Global Climate Models. ... The politics of global warming looks at the current political issues relating to global warming, as well as the historical rise of global warming as a political issue. ... The global warming controversy is a dispute regarding the nature and consequences of global warming. ... IPCC is the science authority for the UNFCCC The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by two United Nations organizations, the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), to evaluate the risk of climate change brought on by humans, based mainly on... This article lists scientists and former scientists who have stated disagreement with one or more of the principal conclusions of the mainstream scientific assessment of global warming. ... The net impact of global warming so far has been modest, but near-future effects are likely to become significantly negative, with large-scale extreme impacts possible by the end of the century. ... Sea level measurements from 23 long tide gauge records in geologically stable environments show a rise of around 20 centimeters per century (2 mm/year). ... A view down the Whitechuck Glacier in North Cascades National Park in 1973 The same view as seen in 2006, where this branch of glacier retreated 1. ... This article or section does not cite any references or sources. ... The National Assessment on Climate Change (NACC) was a massive multidisciplinary effort to study and portray in regional detail the potential effects of human-induced global warming on the United States. ... As recent estimates of the rate of global warming have increased, so have the financial estimates of the damage costs. ... Shutdown or slowdown of the thermohaline circulation is a possible effect of global warming. ... An extinction event (also extinction-level event, ELE) is a period in time when a large number of species die out. ... Global carbon dioxide emissions 1800â€“2000 Global average surface temperature 1850 to 2006 Mitigation of global warming involves taking actions aimed at reducing the extent of global warming. ... Kyoto Protocol Opened for signature December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan Entered into force February 16, 2005. ... CDM directs here. ... Joint implementation (JI) is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (so-called Annex 1 countries) to invest in emission reducing projects in another industrialised country as an alternative to emission reductions in their own countries. ... The United Kingdoms Climate Change Programme was launched in November 2000 by the British government in response to its commitment agreed at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED). ... The European Climate Change Programme (ECCP) was launched in June 2000 by the European Unions European Commission. ... Emissions trading (or cap and trade) is an administrative approach used to control pollution by providing economic incentives for achieving reductions in the emissions of pollutants. ... Emissions trading schemes (also known as â€˜cap and tradeâ€™ schemes) are one of the policy instruments available for reducing carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases. ... A carbon tax is a tax on energy sources which emit carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. ... Until recently, most carbon offsets were commonly done by planting trees. ... A carbon dioxide (CO2) sink is a carbon reservoir that is increasing in size, and is the opposite of a carbon dioxide source. The main natural sinks are (1) the oceans and (2) plants and other organisms that use photosynthesis to remove carbon from the atmosphere by incorporating it into... The G8 Climate Change Roundtable was formed in January 2005 at the World Economic Forum in Davos. ... The issue of human-caused, or anthropogenic, climate change (global warming) is becoming a central focus of the Green movement. ... Adaptation to global warming covers all actions aimed at reducing the negative effects of global warming. ... Global monthly average total ozone amount Ozone depletion describes 14 distinct, but related observations: a slow, steady decline of about 4 percent per decade in the total amount of ozone in Earths stratosphere since around 1980; and a much larger, but seasonal, decrease in stratospheric ozone over Earths... Change in sea surface pH caused by anthropogenic CO2 between the 1700s and the 1990s Ocean acidification is the name given to the ongoing decrease in the pH of the Earths oceans, caused by their uptake of anthropogenic carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. ...

Contents

Background GA_googleFillSlot("encyclopedia_square");