CLIMATE ACTION, WHAT'S THAT?
These terms are used to emphasize that the impacts of change to the climate can cause harm and threaten life on Earth.
What is climate emergency or climate crisis
Mathematical representations that simulate the physical, chemical, and biological interactions between Earth's terrestrial, atmospheric and ocean systems.
What are climate models
This occurs when gases create insulation around the Earth, trapping heat and
re-emitting the long-wave radiation
(heat emitted from the Earth),
warming up the Earth's surface.
What is the greenhouse effect
The ability of people, institutions, and systems to successfully accommodate, and manage adverse conditions in the short - to medium-term, using available skills, values, beliefs, and resources.
What is coping capacity
These are a group of gases (carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapour, and halocarbons) that trap the sun's heat in the atmosphere, warming up the planet's climate.
What are greenhouse gases (GHGs)
These are the ways in which individuals and groups interact, adjust, readjust and establish relationships and patterns of behaviour.
What are social processes
These are actions we can take to slow down climate change by reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
What is Climate change mitigation
Data about the past climate conditions that has been generated from climate models.
What is simulated historical data
Unpredictable natural fluctuations in the climate due to semi-cyclical phenomena like the North Atlantic Oscillation or volcanic activity and changes to solar output.
What is climate variability
This term recognizes that everyone should have access to the resources they need to protect themselves from the effects of climate change.
What is climate equity
The main human sources of this is the burning of fossil fuels (coal, oil, and natural gas) as well as deforestation/land clearing. While it is not the most powerful gas, we focus on it because it is the most abundant.
What is carbon dioxide (CO2)
These are a system's response to an initial change, they can either amplify the change (positive) or decrease the effects of the change. (negative)
What is a feedback loop
This is an intentional response to climate change where people, communities, and regions prepare, respond, and adjust to safeguard what they value most
What is climate adaptation
These are simulations of Earth's future climate that help us to understand long-term patterns and averages of the climate system under different scenarios.
What are climate projections
These are part of the landscape and include features such as wetlands, forests and coastal dunes, and they may also include enhanced areaslike bioswales, rain gardens or stormwater ponds.
What are natural assets
The predisposition of exposed elements such as human beings, their livelihoods, and assets, as well as natural systems, to suffer adverse effects when impacted by hazards.
What is vulnerability
This is the most important naturally occurring GHG. The amount in the atmosphere changes with temperature and contributes to a positive feedback loop. Higher temperatures result in increased evaporation and more of it in the atmosphere, leading to accelerated warming.
What is water vapour
A set of coordinated activities that identify and control risks. It can be defined as the principles and guidelines that determine how you establish, implement and continually improve the approach.
What is risk management
The ability of systems, institutions, humans, and other organisms, to adjust to potential damage, to take advantage of opportunities, or to respond to consequences
What is adaptive capacity
A downscaling technique that relies on the statistical relationships between global projections and local observations. The resulting downscaled data is more locally relevant for end users.
Statistical downscaling
This climate pattern describes the unusual warming of surface water in the eastern tropical Pacific Ocean south of the equator, and it’s impacts on global weather patterns.
What is El Niño-Southern Oscillation
This term means inclusive, accessible, authentic engagement and representation in processes to develop or implement accessible programs and policies.
What is procedural equity
This is release from the decomposition of organic matter by microorganisms under low-oxygen conditions. Wetlands are the largest natural source. Human activity sources include rice paddies, landfills, sewage, livestock, and during the extraction, processing, and transportation of fossil fuels.
What is methane
This is a framework for planning ahead for climate change while considering many different causes, impacts, and scenarios. It has many options for action the reflect changing circumstances.
What is adaptation pathways
A term used to refer to the potential for adverse consequences of a climate-related hazard on lives, livelihoods, wellbeing, ecosystems and species, economic, social and cultural assets, and infrastructure.
What is climate risk
These are projected scenarios that help us understand potential future outcomes under different GHG emission levels.
The Representative Concentration Pathways (RCPs) and the Socioeconomic Shared Pathways (SSPs) are examples.
What are emission scenarios
This is the ability of surfaces to reflect sunlight. For example, light-coloured surfaces return a large part of sunlight back to the atmosphere. Darker surfaces absorb more sunlight or heat and warm up more than lighter surfaces.
What is albedo
This refers to actions that consider generational impacts and don’t result in unfair burdens on future generations. This includes acknowledging and addressing burdens placed on current generations from past decisions or inaction.
What is transgenerational equity
This gas is part of Earth’s nitrogen cycle. Human activity sources are mainly related to the use of nitrogen-based synthetic fertilizers and manure to improve crop productivity and the cultivation of certain crops that enhance biological nitrogen fixation.
What is Nitrous oxide (N2O)
This term refers to confronting root causes of issues (rather than symptoms) by transforming structures, customs, mindsets, power dynamics and policies, by strengthening collective power through the active collaboration of diverse people and organizations.
What is systems change