Climate change acronyms

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) use tens of acronyms and initialisms in documents relating to climate change policy.

A

• AAU - Assigned amount unit
• AGGI - Annual Greenhouse Gas Index
• AMO - Atlantic multidecadal oscillation
• AO - Arctic oscillation

C

• CDM – Clean Development Mechanism is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex 1 countries) to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries.
• CDR - Carbon dioxide removal
• CER – Certified Emission Reduction
• CFC - Chlorofluorocarbon
• CF₄ - Carbon tetrafluoride
• CH₄ - Methane
• COP - Conference of the Parties
• CO₂ - Carbon dioxide
• C₂F₆ - Hexafluoroethane

D

• DER – Distributed Energy Resources is a small-scale unit of power generation that operates locally and is connected to a larger power grid at the distribution level. DERs include solar panels, small natural gas-fueled generators, electric vehicles and controllable loads, such as HVAC systems and electric water heaters. An important distinction of a DER is that the energy it produces is often consumed close to the source.

E

• EEI - Earth's Energy Imbalance
• ENSO - El Niño–Southern Oscillation

G

• GCM - General circulation model or global climate model
• GFDL - Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
• GHG - Greenhouse gas
• GWP - Global warming potential

H

• HCFC - Hydrochlorofluorocarbon
• HFC - Hydrofluorocarbon
• H₂O - Water vapor

I

• IOD - Indian Ocean Dipole
• IPO - Interdecadal Pacific oscillation

M

• MSL - Mean Sea Level

N

• NCDS - Nationally Determined Contributions (aka Paris Accord/Agreement)
• NAPA – National Adaptation Programme of Action.
• NCAR - National Center for Atmospheric Research
• NF₃ - Nitrogen trifluoride
• N₂0 - Nitrous oxide

O

• OHC - Ocean heat content
• O₃ - (Tropospheric) Ozone

P

• PDO - Pacific decadal oscillation

R

• REDD – Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation mechanisms use market/financial incentives to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from deforestation and forest degradation.

S

• SSP - Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
• SST - Sea surface temperature
• SF₆ - Sulfur hexafluoride

T

• TEWI - Total equivalent warming impact

U

• UHI - Urban heat island

W

• WMO - World Meteorological Organization

See also

• Glossary of climate change