D to G

Double counting

When the same tonne of reduction or removal is claimed by two parties, such as a project buyer and the host country, or is issued twice on two registries. Good registries and corresponding adjustments are meant to stop it.

Emission factor

A number that converts an activity into emissions, for example kg of CO2 per kWh of grid electricity or per litre of diesel. In India, grid electricity factors are published in the Central Electricity Authority (CEA) CO2 Baseline Database, which is updated regularly. The latest, Version 22.0 (August 2026), gives a national weighted average of 0.675 kg CO2 per kWh for FY 2025-26.

Emissions intensity of GDP

A country's greenhouse gas emissions divided by its economic output. India's NDC for 2031-2035 (UNFCCC, April 2026) commits to reducing this intensity by 47% by 2035 from the 2005 level.

Greenhouse gas (GHG)

A gas that traps heat in the atmosphere. The seven gases that the GHG Protocol covers (the six Kyoto Protocol gases plus NF3) are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and nitrogen trifluoride (NF3).

GHG inventory

A structured list of all the greenhouse gas emissions and removals of an organisation or country for a given year, by source. Countries report national inventories to the UNFCCC; companies usually follow the GHG Protocol or ISO 14064-1.

GHG Protocol

The most widely used set of standards for measuring company emissions, published by the World Resources Institute (WRI) and the World Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD). Its Corporate Standard (revised edition, 2004) created the Scope 1, 2 and 3 categories.

Green credit

A unit of incentive under India's Green Credit Rules, 2023, notified by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEFCC) on 12 October 2023. The Rules say the programme is separate from carbon credits under the CCTS, although one activity may earn both.

Greenwashing

Making environmental claims that are misleading, vague or not backed by evidence, for example calling a product "carbon neutral" without saying what was measured or how the rest was covered.

GWP (global warming potential)

A measure of how much heat a gas traps compared with CO2 over a set time, usually 100 years (GWP100). In the IPCC AR6 report (2021), fossil methane has a GWP100 of 29.8 and nitrous oxide 273, while CO2 is 1 by definition. These are the latest IPCC values; India's reports under the Paris Agreement, such as BTR-1, use the AR5 values (methane 28, nitrous oxide 265), as UNFCCC decision 18/CMA.1 requires.