Queen Elizabeth II says she is "irritated" and this is the reason 0:45
(CNN) -
The whole world seems to be talking about the climate crisis, thanks to months of rough weather and new scientific data showing that we have to act faster than we thought to avoid the worst consequences.
As leaders prepare to meet in Glasgow, Scotland next month for decisive talks, they will undoubtedly use a lot of technical jargon.
The terminology is not particularly clear and can be daunting.
Even the name of the summit, COP26, sounds more like a bad police drama than a climate event.
(First indication: COP is short for the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. Convenes world leaders, scientists and climate negotiators, and is usually held annually. The "26" means that Glasgow it will be the 26th meeting).
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These are other terms that you have to know to stay up to date with the conversations, understand what is at stake and, above all, sound smart at the table.
Zero net emissions
Net zero emissions are achieved by removing as many greenhouse gases from the atmosphere as are emitted, so that the net amount added is zero.
To do this, countries and companies will have to resort to natural methods, such as planting trees or restoring grasslands, to absorb carbon dioxide (CO2), the most abundant greenhouse gas we emit, or use technology to "capture" gas and store it where it will not escape to the atmosphere.
Dozens of countries have already committed to achieving net zero emissions by mid-century and there is enormous pressure on countries that have not yet done so to commit before COP26.
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Negative emissions
To save the world from the worst effects of climate change, scientists say that reaching net zero is probably not enough.
Net negative emissions occur when the amount of greenhouse gas that is removed from the atmosphere is actually
greater
than the amount that humans emit in a given period of time.
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Carbon sinks
A container of young fir trees in a greenhouse in Pockau-Lengefeld, Germany.
Carbon sinks are reservoirs that suck up carbon dioxide from the atmosphere and lock it in.
Natural sinks, such as trees and other vegetation, remove CO2 from the atmosphere through photosynthesis - plants use carbon dioxide from the atmosphere to grow.
The ocean is also a major carbon sink due to phytoplankton which, as a plant, also absorbs carbon dioxide.
Scientists say that the preservation and expansion of natural sinks, such as forests, are essential to reduce emissions.
There are also man-made sinks that can store carbon and keep it out of the atmosphere.
More information below.
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Carbon capture and storage
The technology to remove and contain carbon dioxide from the atmosphere is known as carbon capture and storage. Carbon is typically captured at its source, directly from coal, oil, or gas when burned, but new technology is being developed to literally suck carbon out of the air.
In both cases, carbon can be stored, usually buried in deposits underground or under the sea floor, in what are known as artificial carbon sinks.
Some scientists warn that it could be risky to inject so much carbon underground, and this process is not currently used on a large scale.
The Global CCS Institute states that only 27 commercial facilities are fully operational worldwide, while more than 100 others are under development.
But other experts say that capture and storage is necessary to really reduce our emissions.
There are many ways to capture and store carbon.
These are some of them:
The
capture and storage of carbon dioxide (CAC)
is a process in which the CO2 produced by heavy industry or power stations are collected directly from the emission point, compressed and transported for storage in deep geological formations.
The
capture and storage of carbon utilization (CCUS)
refers to the collection of CO2 from industrial sources, which is
then used to create products or services, such as the manufacture of fertilizers or food and beverage industry.
(Fun fact: this CO2 can be pumped into your beer to make it more fizzy.)
The
capture and direct storage in air (DACS DAC or DACC)
is a chemical process that removes the CO2 directly from the air for storage.
According to an International Energy Agency (IEA) report from June 2020, there are 15 direct air capture plants in operation around the world.
NDCs
Nationally Determined Contributions - or NDC for its acronym in English - is a term used by the UN for each country's individual national plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
In the 2015 Paris Agreement, which almost everyone joined, countries were given the freedom to determine for themselves how they would meet the agreement's key goals to curb global warming.
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NDCs are supposed to be updated every five years and presented to the UN, with the idea that each country's goal grows over time.
Dozens of countries have not submitted their updates before COP26.
Pre-industrial levels
Smokestacks of Skoda's main foundry in Pilsen, then part of Czechoslovakia, on August 29, 1938.
This term usually refers to the average concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere before the Industrial Revolution, which began in the late 18th century.
CO2 levels are estimated to be about 280 parts per million at the time.
By 2020, that concentration had risen to 412.5 parts per million, according to US government figures.
Scientists also speak of pre-industrial levels for average temperatures, using the period 1850-1900 to determine how hot or cold the Earth was before humans started emitting greenhouse gases in larger volumes, like we see today.
G20 countries' CO2 emissions grow 0:49
1.5 degree
A key goal of COP26 President British MP Alok Sharma is to "keep 1.5 alive", which refers to the goal of keeping the average global temperature rise 1.5 ° C above levels. pre-industrial.
It's a goal that some fossil fuel-producing countries have resisted, and scientists have warned of significantly worse impacts if this threshold is exceeded.
Countries that signed the Paris Agreement in 2015 agreed to limit the rise in global temperatures to well below 2 ° C relative to pre-industrial levels, but preferably to 1.5 ° C.
However, an analysis published last month by watchdog Climate Action Tracker (CAT) found that not a single major economy, including all G20 members, had a climate plan that met its obligations set out in the G20. Paris Agreement.
The United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) stated in its latest state of the science report that the world has already warmed 1.1 ° C above pre-industrial levels, and is now it precipitates rapidly around 1.5 ° C.
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Climate finance
More than 10 years ago, at COP16 in Cancun, Mexico, the developed world agreed to transfer money to developing countries to help them limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the climate crisis.
They created the Green Climate Fund (GCF) to facilitate part of this transfer, but countries and donors can send the money by any means they want.
The money was to accumulate and reach $ 100 billion annually by 2020, and that commitment was reaffirmed in the Paris Agreement.
This money is generally referred to as "climate finance".
However, the 2020 target was not reached, and filling that gap is one of the priorities of the Glasgow talks.
Developing countries, especially those in the Global South, which are the most vulnerable to the effects of climate change, argue that industrialized nations are historically more responsible for climate change and must do more to finance changes that help developing nations. to adapt.
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US President Joe Biden pledged to double current US contribution amounts, including money for the Green Climate Fund, in a speech at the UN General Assembly in September.
Some critics say it should pledge more to make up for the Trump years, in which no money was contributed to the fund.
Adaptation
Vehicles stranded by flooding in the New York borough of the Bronx after Hurricane Ida on September 2, 2021.
Adaptation refers to the way humans can change their lives to better cope with the impacts of climate change.
For example, building flood early warning systems or barriers to defend against rising sea levels.
In some places where rainfall is decreasing, planting drought-resistant crop varieties can help ensure that communities have enough food to eat.
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Mitigation
Simply put, it refers to how humans can reduce greenhouse gas emissions, or remove them from the atmosphere, to alleviate the consequences of climate change.
Examples include using fossil fuels like coal, oil and gas more efficiently for industrial processes, switching from coal and gas to renewable energy sources like wind or solar power for electricity, choosing the public transportation to get around instead of private gasoline-powered vehicles; and the expansion of forests and other means of carbon sequestration.
Uncompensated carbon
You may hear leaders talking about the end of "uncompensated" coal.
Uncompensated coal refers to coal that is burned in power plants in which no action, or "abatement," is taken to decrease the greenhouse gases emitted from its use.
Simply put, this creates a loophole for coal energy to continue in a net zero world, if the greenhouse gases it emits are captured.
However, very few coal plants in the world use abatement technologies, and the transition to renewables is often more economically feasible in the long term than their use.
In its 2021 report "Net Zero by 2050", the International Energy Agency states that it will take a "rapid change" to move away from fossil fuels and achieve the goal, calling for measures such as "phase out all coal-fired power plants. and oil that do not offset their emissions by 2040 ".
EV or electric vehicles
A customer prepares to charge a Tesla electric car in a North London supermarket.
EV refers to electric vehicles.
As the availability of electricity generated by renewables, such as wind and solar, increases, people are expected to start buying electric vehicles in greater numbers, especially when they are more affordable.
That will mean there will be fewer gasoline-powered cars on the roads, which is another item on the COP26 agenda.
Reference may also be made to
PHEVs
, i.e. plug-in hybrid electric vehicles, which are primarily powered by a charged battery from an electrical source, but also have a hybrid internal combustion engine to be able to travel longer distances .
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Just transition
It refers to the idea that the drastic changes needed to combat climate change must be fair to all.
In the words of the environmental organization Greenpeace: "Simply put, a just transition is about moving to an environmentally sustainable economy (that's the 'transition' part) without leaving workers in polluting industries behind. Its goal is to support good quality jobs and decent livelihoods when polluting industries decline and others expand, creating a more just and equal society - that's what makes it 'fair'. "
Biodiversity
Biodiversity refers to all living systems on Earth, on land and in the sea.
The UN's Global Biodiversity Outlook report, published just over a year ago, warned that the accelerating climate crisis was worsening prospects for biodiversity, which can refer to all the trees, plants and animals in a forest. , or all the fish and corals on a reef.
"Biodiversity is declining at an unprecedented rate, and the pressures driving this decline are intensifying," he said.
Challenges include habitat loss and degradation, mass species extinction, declining wetlands, and pollution from plastics and pesticides.
Nearly 30% of 138,000 assessed species face extinction, conservation group warns
Earlier this year, the G7 countries, the seven largest advanced economies, agreed to conserve 30% of their nations' land and sea to protect biodiversity, a commitment they hope will be adopted by more countries at COP26.
The Paris rule book
At COP24 in 2018, world leaders agreed to draw up a set of rules aimed at helping curb global warming, the so-called Paris Rulebook, or Paris Rulebook, which is supposed to put the Paris Agreement in motion.
However, they did not solve a crucial and complex question involving how countries trade and account for certain types of pollution.
COP26 President Sharma recently showed his frustration that, six years after Paris, the rule book remains unfinished.
"This must be resolved if we are to harness the full potential of the Paris Agreement," he said in early October.
The organizers of COP26 state that the regulation's priorities are: finding a solution to carbon markets by creating a robust carbon credit system;
resolve issues related to transparency, implementing a system that encourages all countries to fulfill their commitments;
and negotiate an agreement that boosts the ambition of governments to meet the goal of maintaining the 1.5 ° C threshold.
CNN's Ivana Kottasova contributed to this report.
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