Carbon Negative
The reduction of an entity’s carbon emissions below net zero, so it has achieved a net reduction in emissions. The entity’s total reductions or removals are greater than its total output of carbon.
Carbon Sink
A natural or artificial system that absorbs and stores carbon dioxide, thereby reducing CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.
Carbon Brokers
Carbon brokers are intermediaries who facilitate the buying and selling of carbon credits or emission allowances between parties.
Carbon Avoidance
Examples include avoided deforestation programs, where deforestation is the norm in a given location, and an investor undertakes a project to protect an area of forest for clearance.
CDR
Carbon Dioxide Removal. Anthropogenic activities removing CO2 from the atmosphere and durably storing it in geological, terrestrial or ocean reservoirs, or in products.
BECCS
Bioenergy with Carbon Capture and Storage. Involves the use of biomass converted into fuel and burned to produce energy, while the resulting CO2 is captured and stored.
VCM
The Voluntary Carbon Market. Describes a market where project-based carbon credits are traded voluntarily and outside the scope of any national law (and regulation).
Carbon Leakage
Carbon leakage refers to the unintended migration of carbon-emitting activities away from a jurisdiction that restricts CO2 emissions, and towards a jurisdiction where no such restrictions exist. For example, Europe’s Emissions Trading System imposes a cost of CO2…
Additionality
Environmental additionality refers to whether a carbon project is reducing or removing emissions compared to what would be expected to happen under a Business As Usual (BAU) scenario.