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.
T to Z
Validation and verification
Validation checks a project's plan and claimed baseline before it starts; verification checks the actual results afterwards. Both are done by accredited independent bodies, under standards such as ISO 14064-3.
Value chain
All the activities that go into making and using a product: suppliers, transport, the company itself, customers and end-of-life. Value-chain emissions are mostly counted as Scope 3.
VCM (voluntary carbon market)
The market where companies and individuals buy carbon credits by choice rather than because a law requires it. Credits are issued by private programmes such as Verra's Verified Carbon Standard and Gold Standard.
Vintage
The year in which the reduction or removal behind a carbon credit took place. Buyers look at vintage because very old credits may reflect outdated rules or baselines.
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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