Here’s a glossary table summarizing each term with its definition and chapter reference:
| Term | Definition | Chapter |
|---|---|---|
| Absolute target | A target defined by reduction in absolute emissions over time, e.g., reduces CO₂ emissions by 25% below 1994 levels by 2010. | Chapter 11 |
| Additionality | A criterion for assessing if a project has resulted in GHG emission reductions or removals beyond what would have occurred otherwise, essential for projects aimed at offsetting emissions elsewhere. | Chapter 8 |
| Allowance | A commodity granting its holder the right to emit a specified quantity of GHG. | Chapter 11 |
| Annex 1 countries | Countries under the International Climate Change Convention with emissions reduction obligations, including Australia, Canada, EU countries, Japan, Russia, USA, and others. | |
| Associated/affiliated company | A company in which the parent has significant influence over operating and financial policies but lacks financial control. | Chapter 3 |
| Audit Trail | Historical records documenting how an inventory was compiled, ensuring transparency and organization. | |
| Baseline | A hypothetical scenario of GHG emissions, removals, or storage without a GHG project or activity. | Chapter 8 |
| Base year | A historic datum (a specific year or average over multiple years) against which emissions are tracked over time. | Chapter 5 |
| Base year emissions | GHG emissions calculated for the base year. | Chapter 5 |
| Base year emissions recalculation | Adjusting base year emissions to reflect changes in company structure or accounting methodology for consistency over time. | Chapter 5, 11 |
| Biofuels | Fuels made from plant material, e.g., wood, straw, or ethanol from plant matter. | Chapter 4, 9, Appendix B |
| Boundaries | Dimensions defining GHG accounting and reporting scope (e.g., organizational, operational, geographic) determining which emissions are reported. | Chapter 3, 4, 11 |
| Cap and trade system | A system setting an emissions limit, allocating emissions allowances, and allowing trading of allowances and credits. | Chapter 2, 8, 11 |
| Capital Lease | A lease transferring risks and rewards of ownership to the lessee, treated as an asset on the lessee’s balance sheet. | Chapter 4 |
| Carbon sequestration | The process of CO₂ uptake and storage in biological sinks. | |
| Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) | A Kyoto Protocol mechanism for emission reduction projects in developing countries, generating CERs usable by Annex 1 countries. | |
| Certified Emission Reductions (CERs) | Emission reductions from CDM projects, tradable commodities for meeting Kyoto Protocol commitments. | |
| Co-generation unit/Combined heat and power (CHP) | Facility producing both electricity and steam/heat from the same fuel supply. | Chapter 3 |
| Consolidation | Combining GHG emissions data from separate operations within one company or group of companies. | Chapter 3, 4 |
| Control | The ability to direct another operation’s policies; includes operational or financial control. | Chapter 3 |
| Corporate inventory program | A program to produce annual GHG inventories aligned with the GHG Protocol standards, including data collection and quality management. | |
| CO₂ equivalent (CO₂-e) | A unit measuring global warming potential (GWP) of GHGs relative to CO₂, standardizing different gases’ impact. | |
| Cross-sector calculation tool | A GHG Protocol tool for calculating GHG emissions from common sources across sectors (e.g., stationary or mobile combustion). | |
| Direct GHG emissions | Emissions from sources owned or controlled by the reporting company. | Chapter 4 |
| Direct monitoring | Monitoring of exhaust emissions through continuous emissions monitoring (CEM) or periodic sampling. | Chapter 6 |
| Double counting | Occurs when multiple companies claim ownership of the same emissions or reductions. | Chapter 3, 4, 8, 11 |
| Emissions | The release of GHGs into the atmosphere. | |
| Emission factor | A factor estimating GHG emissions based on activity data (e.g., fuel consumed). | Chapter 6 |
| Emission Reduction Unit (ERU) | Emission reductions from Joint Implementation (JI) projects, tradable under the Kyoto Protocol. | |
| Equity share | Reflects economic interest and ownership percentage, influencing emissions reporting. | Chapter 3 |
| Estimation uncertainty | Uncertainty in GHG data due to input or calculation limitations. | Chapter 7 |
| Finance lease | Similar to capital lease, transferring ownership risks and rewards to the lessee, recorded as an asset. | Chapter 4 |
| Fixed asset investment | Investment in assets where the parent company lacks control or influence. | Chapter 3 |
| Fugitive emissions | Uncontrolled emissions from intentional or unintentional GHG release (e.g., from seals, gaskets). | Chapter 4, 6 |
| Green power | Renewable or low-emission energy sources, including solar, wind, and geothermal. | Chapter 4 |
| Greenhouse gases (GHG) | GHGs covered in the Kyoto Protocol: CO₂, CH₄, N₂O, HFCs, PFCs, SF₆. | |
| GHG capture | Collecting GHGs for storage in a sink. | |
| GHG credit | GHG offsets convertible to credits for meeting targets, usually under a GHG program. | Chapter 8, 11 |
| GHG offset | GHG reductions used to compensate for emissions elsewhere, relative to a baseline. | |
| GHG program | Any authority regulating, certifying, or registering GHG emissions or removals (e.g., CDM, EU ETS). | |
| GHG project | Activities designed to reduce GHG emissions, store carbon, or enhance GHG removals. | Chapter 8, 11 |
| GHG Protocol calculation tools | Tools calculating GHG emissions based on activity data and emission factors. | |
| GHG Protocol Initiative | Collaboration to create GHG accounting and reporting standards, including Corporate and Project Standards. | |
| GHG Protocol Project Quantification Standard | Module for quantifying GHG reduction projects for offsets or credits. | Chapter 8, 11 |
| GHG Protocol sector-specific calculation tools | Calculation tools tailored to unique sector emissions, like aluminum production. | |
| GHG public report | Report detailing physical emissions for the reporting company’s boundary. | Chapter 9 |
| GHG registry | Public database for GHG emissions or reductions (e.g., US DOE 1605b). | Introduction, Chapter 2, 5, 8, 10 |
| GHG removal | Absorption or sequestration of GHGs from the atmosphere. | |
| GHG sink | Any physical unit storing GHGs, typically forests or deep-sea reservoirs. | |
| GHG source | Physical unit or process emitting GHGs into the atmosphere. | |
| GHG trades | Transactions involving GHG allowances, offsets, and credits. | |
| Global Warming Potential (GWP) | Factor indicating the atmospheric impact of one unit of GHG relative to CO₂. | |
| Group company /subsidiary | Company controlled financially and operationally by the parent company. | Chapter 3 |
| Heating value | Energy released when fuel is completely burned, varying by country standards (HHV, LHV). | |
| Indirect GHG emissions | Emissions resulting from the company’s activities but occurring at sources owned by others. | Chapter 4 |