Carbon and Climate Glossary: Key Terms Explained Simply
An A-Z guide to 59 carbon and climate terms people and companies meet, from additionality and BRSR to CBAM, CCTS, CO2e, net zero, Scope 1, 2 and 3 and vintage, each explained in one to three plain sentences.
Overview
A carbon glossary is a plain-language list of the words people and companies meet when dealing with climate change, emissions and carbon markets. It explains terms such as CO2e, Scope 1, 2 and 3, net zero, offset, removal, additionality, BRSR, CBAM and CCTS in a sentence or two each, so reports and news become easier to read.
Photo: "Wind Mill farm at sada waghapur" by Phadke09, CC BY-SA 4.0, via Wikimedia Commons
The terms below are grouped alphabetically. Where a term comes from a standard, a law or a scheme, the source and year are named. Policy details are given as of October 2026 and can change, so check the official source before you rely on them for compliance.
Sources: IPCC AR6 WGIII Annex I: Glossary (2022); IPCC AR6 WGIII Chapter 2 Supplementary Material, GWP100 values (2022); GHG Protocol Corporate Accounting and Reporting Standard, revised edition (2004); GHG Protocol Scope 2 Guidance (2015); GHG Protocol Corporate Value Chain (Scope 3) Standard (2011); PIB: Parliament Question, Indian Carbon Market (MoEFCC, 9 December 2024); Gazette of India: Green Credit Rules, 2023, S.O. 4458(E), MoEFCC, 12 October 2023; SEBI circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CFD-SEC-2/P/CIR/2023/122 on BRSR Core (12 July 2023), via SEBI Master Circular July 2023; European Commission, Taxation and Customs Union: Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (Regulation (EU) 2023/956); CERC (Terms and Conditions for Renewable Energy Certificates) Regulations, 2022; UNFCCC: India's Nationally Determined Contribution (2031-2035), April 2026; PIB: India submits its 4th Biennial Update Report to the UNFCCC (MoEFCC, 2 January 2025); PIB: PM and UNSG launch Mission LiFE at Statue of Unity, Gujarat (20 October 2022); ISO 14068-1:2023 Climate change management, Part 1: Carbon neutrality (ISO catalogue); ICVCM: The Core Carbon Principles; SBTi: Corporate Net-Zero Standard; Central Electricity Authority, CO2 Baseline Database for the Indian Power Sector, User Guide Version 22.0 (August 2026); ISO 14068:2026 Climate change management: Carbon neutrality (ISO committee page; replaces ISO 14068-1:2023); SBTi blog: Countdown to validation: new resources to prepare for the Corporate Net-Zero Standard V2.0 (2026); MoEFCC, India First Biennial Transparency Report (BTR-1) to the UNFCCC; SEBI Circular SEBI/HO/CFD/CFD-PoD-1/P/CIR/2025/42, Measures to facilitate ease of doing business: assurance or assessment, ESG disclosures for value chain, green credits (28 March 2025); European Commission news: Officially published: Simplifications for CBAM (20 October 2025); Regulation (EU) 2025/2083 amending Regulation (EU) 2023/956 (EUR-Lex)
This article was prepared with AI assistance and checked by the GreenEye team against the sources shown in each section.
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