Green Acronyms & Abbreviations
A
A Ampere
AAAS American Association for the Advancement of Science
AABW Antarctic Bottom Water
AAC Antarctic Convergence
AAIW Antarctic Intermediate Water
A AMS Arctic Air Mass
AAMW Australasian Mediterranean Water
ABL Atmospheric Boundary Layer
ABW Arctic Bottom Water or Antarctic Bottom Water
AC Alternating Current
ACC Antarctic Circumpolar Current
ACIA Arctic Climate Impact Assessment
ACSYS Arctic Climate System Study
ADEOS Advanced Earth Observing Satellite.
AEO Annual Energy Outlook or Output
AF Airborne Fraction
AGCMs Atmospheric General Circulation Models
AGU American Geophysical Union
AIACC Assessment of Impacts and Adaptations to Climate Change in Multiple Regions and Sectors
AIW Antarctic Intermediate Water
AMAP Arctic monitoring and assessment programme
AMCEN African Ministerial Conference on the Environment
ANSO El Niño-Southern Oscillation
ANT the Antarctic Region
AO Arctic Oscillation
AOGCM: Atmosphere Ocean General Circulation Model
AOSIS Alliance of Small Island States
APN Asia-Pacific Network for Global Change Research
APPA American Public Power Association
APSIM Agricultural Production Systems Simulator
AQI Air Quality Index
AR4 IPCC’s Fourth Assessment Report
ARC Arctic Region
ASDs Autism Spectrum Disorders
AUSAID Australian Agency for International Development
AVHRR Advanced Very High Resolution Radiometer
AWEA American Wind Energy Association
B
BAT Best Available Technology
BAU Business as Usual
BC Black Carbon
BGH Bovine Growth Hormone
BHA Butylated Hydroxyanisole
BHT Butylated Hydroxytoluene
BIPV Building-integrated photo voltaics
BP Before the Present
BPA Bisphenol A
BST Bovine Somatotropin
BTL Biomass-To-Liquid
BIPV Building-Integrated PV
C
CAA Clean Air Act
CACGP Commission on Atmospheric Chemistry and Global Pollution
CAES Compressed Air Energy Storage
CAFE Programme Clean Air for Europe Programme
CAFE Corporate Average Fuel Economy
CAFOs Confined Animal Feeding Operations
CAIR Clean Air Interstate Rule
CARB California Air Resources Board
CASAC Clean Air Scientific Advisory Committee
CASCADe Carbon Credit for Agriculture, Silviculture, Conservation and Action against Deforestation
CAT Clear Air Turbulence
C&C Contraction and Convergence
CCAP Climate Change Action Plan
CCCO Committee on Climate Change and the Ocean
CCD Colony Collapse Disorder
CCOM Center of Coastal Ocean Mapping
CCP: CO2 Capture Project
CCS: Carbon Capture and Storage/Sequestration.
CDC: Carbon Disclosure Project
CDC: Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
CDC Climate Diagnostics Center (NASA)
CDE: Carbon Dioxide Equivalent
CDM: Clean Development Mechanism
CDP: Carbon Disclosure Project
CDR Central Data Repository
CDW Circumpolar Deep Water
CEC Commission for Environmental Cooperation or California Energy Commission
CEES Central and Eastern European States
CEMO Centre for Estuarine and Coastal Ecology
CEMS Continuous Emissions Monitoring Systems
CER Certified Emission Reduction
CERES Clouds and the Earth’s Radiant Energy System
CERUs Certified Emission Reduction Units
CESA Clean Energy States Alliance
CFC Chlorofluorocarbon
CFL Compact Fluorescent Light bulb.
CFV Clean Fuel Vehicle
CH4 Methane – A hydrocarbon and GHG with 24 times the GWP of CO2.
CHC Chlorinated hydrocarbon
CHP Combined Heat and Power – heat and electricity from the same fuel source
CI Consumers International
CIDA Canadian International Development Agency
CIRA Center for Integrated Regional Assessment
CLIMAG Climate Prediction and Agriculture
CLIVAR Climate Variability and Predictability Research Programme
CLT Community Land Trust
CMAP Climate Merged Analysis of Precipitation (NASA)
CMIP Coupled Model Intercomparison Project
CNG Compressed Natural Gas.
CO Carbon Monoxide
CO2 Carbon Dioxide
CO2e Carbon Dioxide Equivalent. A unit, measured in tonnes.
Coal-IGCC Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle Coal Plants
COD Chemical Oxygen Demand
CODEX Codex Alimentarius Part of FAO and WHO, food standards, guidelines.
CoP Conference of the Parties (to the UNFCCC)
CPSC Consumer Product Safety Commission
CRT: Cathode Ray Tubes
CSA Community Supported Agricultural
CSI Core Set of Indicators
CSLF: Carbon Sequestration Leadership Forum
CSP Concentrated Solar Power
CSR: Corporate Social Responsibility
CTL: Coal-To-Liquids
CUP: Carbon Uptake Period
CVT Continuously Variable Transmission
CWA Clean Water Act
D
DAA Development Assistance Agencies
DAMOCLES Developing Arctic Modelling & Observing Capabilities for Long-term Environmental Studies
DDD Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethane: insecticide highly toxic to fish.
DDE Dichlorodiphenyldichloroethylene one of DDTs breakdown products.
DDT Dichlorodiphenyltrichloroethane: highly toxic insecticide, which accumulates in the food chain.
DEA Diethanolamine
DG Distributed Generation
DG SANCO Directorate General for Health and Consumer Protection of the European Commission
DIS Data and Information Systems
DIAL Data and Information Access Link
DNDC Denitrification-Decomposition
DPM Diesel Particulate Matter
DWA Digital Water
DWD Drinking water directive
E
E85 An ethanol-based biofuel, comprising 85% ethanol and 15% gasoline.
EAP Environmental Action Plan
EC European Commission
ECF Elementally chlorine free
ECX European Carbon Exchange
EDCs Endocrine Disrupting Chemicals
EEA European Economic Area
EECC Energy Efficient Codes Coalition
EEPS Energy Efficiency Portfolio Standards
EERE Office of Energy Efficiency and Renewable Energy
EEZ Exclusive Economic Zone
EFTA European Free Trade Association
EHS: Environment, Health and Safety
EIA Environmental Impact Assessment or Energy Information Administration
EITs Economies in Transition
ELV End of Life Vehicle
ENRICH European Network for Research in Global Change
ENSO El Nino Southern Oscillation
EOS Earth Observing System
EPA Environmental Protection Agency (USA)
EPACT Environmental Policy Act or Energy Policy Act
EPC Energy Performance Certificate
EPEAT Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool
EPR Extended Producer Responsibility
ERBS Earth Radiation Budget Satellite
E-REV Extended-Range Electric Vehicle
ERs Emission Reductions
ERU Emission Reduction Unit
ESA Endangered Species Act
ESBL E.coli, Extended-Spectrum Beta-Lactamase
ESC Energy Savings Certificates
ESG Environmental, Social Governance
E.T. Energy Technologies
ETS European Union’s Emissions Trading System
EU European Union
EU ETS European Union Emissions Trading Scheme
EV: Electric Vehicle
EW Extinct in the Wild
F
FACE Free Air CO, Enrichment
FCCC Framework Convention on Climate Change
FCVs Fuel Cell Vehicles
FDA Food and Drug Administration (US)
FDI Foreign Direct Investment
FEDS Finfish excluder devices
FERC Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
FFIEC Federal Financial Institutions Examination Council
FLO Fairtrade Labelling Organizations International
FMA Applied Meteorology Foundation
FOIA Freedom of Information Act
FSA Food Standards Agency (UK)
FSC Forest Stewardship Council
FTC Federal Trade Commission (US)
FTF Fair Trade Federation
G
G8 The Group of 8: US, Japan, Germany, France, UK, Italy, Canada and Russia.
GAIM Global Analysis, Interpretation and Modelling
GAW Global Atmosphere Watch
GCM General Circulation Model
GCM Global Climate Models
GCP Global Carbon Project
GCTE Global Change and Terrestrial Ecosysteme
GECAFS Global Environmental Change and Food Systems
GECP-Africa Global Environmental Change Program in Africa
GECHS Global Environmental Change and Human Security
GEF Global Environment Facility
GEMS Global Environmental Management Systems
GEWEX Global Energy and Water Cycle Experiment
GFP Good Farming Practice
GGE Gasoline Gallon Equivalent
GHG Green House Gases
GIS Geographic Information System
GISS Goddard Institute for Space Studies
GIWA Global International Waters Assessment
GLOBEC Global Ocean Ecosystem Dynamics
GLOWA Global Change in the Hydrological Cycle
GMOs Genetically Modified Organisms
GNH Gross National Happiness
GOFC-GOLD Global Observation for Forest & Land Cover Dynamics
GPGP Great Pacific Garbage Patch
GPM Gallons per Minute.
GPS Global Positioning System
GTC Gigatonne of Carbon, one billion tonnes of carbon
GTOS Global Terrestrial Observing Systems
GW Gigawatt of power, one billion watts.
GWh Gigawatt hour.
GWP Global Warming Potential
GWS Global Water Systems
H
H2V Hydrogen Vehicle
HAARP High Frequency Active Auroral Research Project
HAB Harmful Algal Bloom
HAZMAT Hazardous materials
HDPE High Density Polyethylene #2
HEV Hybrid Electric Vehicle
HFCs Hydrofluorocarbons
HTML Hypertext Markup Language
HVAC Heating, Ventilating, and Air Conditioning.
I
IAI Inter-American Institute for Global Change Research
IAM Integrated Assessment Modeling
IAMAS International Association of Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences
IASC International Arctic Science Committee
IBP International Biological Programme
ICC International Code Council
ICSU International Council of Scientific Unions
IDA International Development Association (World Bank)
IDEGC Institutional Dimensions of Global Environmental Change
IEA International Energy Agency
IET International Emission Trading
IFS International Foundation for Science
IGA International Geothermal Association.
IGAC International Global Atmospheric Chemistry
IGBP International Geosphere-Biosphere Programme
IGCC Integrated Gasification Combined Cycle
IGES Institute for Global Environmental Studies
IGFA International Group of Funding Agencies
IGU International Geophysical Union
IGY International Geophysical Year
IHDP International Human Dimensions Programme of Global Environmental Change
IHDW International Human Dimensions Workshop
IIASA International Institute for Applied System Analysis
IIED International Institute for Environment and Development
ILEV Inherently Low Emission Vehicle
IMF International Monetary Fund
IMO International Monetary Fund
INI International Nitrogen Initiative
INQUA International Union for Quaternary Research
IOC Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission
IPCC Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (UN)
IPM Integrated Pest Management
IPO International Project Office (IGBP)
IPO Inter-decadal Pacific Oscillation
IRI International Research Institute for Climate Prediction
IRRI International Rice Research Institute
ISO International Organization for Standardization
ISSC International Social Science Council
IT Industrial Transformation
ITC Investment Tax Credit
IUCN World Conservation Union
J
JGOFS Joint Global Ocean Flux Study
JI Joint Implementation
L
LCA Lifecyle Assessment
LCER Long-Term Certified Emission Reduction
LDPE Low Density Polyethylene #4
LED Light Emitting Diode.
LEED Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design
LEV Low Emission Vehicles
LFG Land Fill Gas
LIA Little Ice Age
LOICZ Land Ocean Interactions in the Coastal Zones
LPG Liquefied Petroleum Gas
LSM Land Surface Scheme Model
LUCC Land Use Land Cover Change
M
MAB Man and the Biosphere Programme (UNESCO)
MCCIP Marine Climate Change Impacts Partnership
MDG Millennium Development Goal
MM5 Meso-Scale Model Version 5
MMTCDE: Million Metric Tonnes of Carbon Dioxide Equivalents
MODIS The Moderate Resolution Imaging Spectroradiometer
MRI Mountain Research Initiative
MSC Marine Stewardship Council
MTBE Methyl Tertiary-Butyl Ether
MW Megawatt
MWh Megawatt hour.
MW-mile Megawatt-Mile
N
N2O Nitrous Oxide
NAAEC North American Agreement on Environmental Cooperation
NAAQS National Ambient Air Quality Standards
NADW North Atlantic Deep Water
NAS National Academy of Sciences
NCAR National Center for Atmospheric Research (USA)
NCEP National Commission on Energy Policy
NDELA N-nitrosodiethanolamine
NEPA National Environmental Policy Act
NGO Non-Governmental Organization
NGV Natural Gas Vehicle
NiCAD Nickel Cadmium Battery
NIH National Institutes of Health (USA)
NiMH Nickel Metal Hydride Battery
NIS Newly Independent States
NOAA National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (USA)
NOP National Organic Program
NOx Nitrogen Oxides
NRC National Research Council
NREL National Research and Ecology Laboratory
NSF National Science Foundation (USA)
NSIDC National Snow and Ice Data Center. (USA)
NTI National Toxics Inventory
O
O3 Ozone
OAQPS Office of Air Quality Planning and Standards (EPA)
OCIA Organic Crop Improvement Association International
ODTE Office for Developed and Transition Economies
OECD Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development
OGP Office of Global Programs (NOAA)
OPEC Organization of the Petroleum Exporting Countries
ORAC Oxygen Radical Absorbence Capacity
P
PAGES Past Global Changes
PBDE Flame Retardants
PCBs Polychlorinated Biphenyls
pCi/L Pico Curies per Liter
PCW Post-Consumer Material
PDSI Palmer Drought Severity Index
PET or PETE Polyethylene Terephthalate #1
PFAs Perfluorinated acids
PFCs Perfluorocarbons
PFOA Perfluorooctanoic Acid
PHEV Plug in Hybrid Vehicle
PIRGs Public Interest Research Groups
PM Particulate Matter
PM10 Particles of 10 micrometres or less
POP Persistent Organic Pollutant
PP Polypropylene #5
PPA Power Purchase Agreement
PPB Parts per Billion
PPCPs Pharmaceuticals and Personal Care Products
PPM Parts per Million
PS Polystyrene #6
PSI Pollutant Standards Index
PTC Production Tax Credits
PTFE Polytetrafluoroethylene
PV Photovoltaics
PVC Polyvinyl Chloride #3
PZEV Partial Zero Emission Vehicle
R
rBGH Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone
rBST Recombinant Bovine Somatotropin
RCM Regional Climate Models
RCRA Resource Conservation and Recovery Act
REACH Registration, Evaluation, and Authorization of Chemicals
REC Renewable Energy Credits
REDD Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Degradation
REPP Renewable Energy Policy Project
RME Rapeseed methyl ester
RPS Renewable Portfolio Standard
RGGI Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative
RIEMS Regional Integrated Environmental Model System
RMUs Removal Units
S
SAMW Subantarctic Mode Water
SAP Scientific Advisory Panel
SAR Second Assessment Report of the IPCC
SAR Specific Absorption Rate
SARD Sustainable Agriculture and Rural Development
SBI Subsidiary Body for Implementation
SBSTA Subsidiary Body for Scientific & Tech. Advice
SCAR Scientific Committee on Antarctic Research
SCCF Special Climate Change Fund
SCOR Scientific Committee on Ocean Research
SCOWAR Scientific Committee on Water Research
SDI Sustainable Development Indicators
SDWA Safe Drinking Water Act
SEI Sustainable Energy Initiative
SEIA Solar Energy Industries Association
SF6 Sulfur Hexafluoride
SFPAC Sustainable Food Production and Consumption
SHP Small Hydro Power
SO2 Sulfur Dioxide
SOI Southern Oscillation Index
SOLAS Surface Ocean Lower Atmosphere Study
SOx Sulfur Oxides
SPAF Science Policy Advisory Forum
SRI Socially Responsible Investing
START SysTem for Analysis, Research and Training
STARS: Sustainability, Tracking, Assessment and Rating System
T
TAF Toronto Atmospheric Fund
TAR Third Assessment Report
TCE Trichloroethylene
TCF Totally Chlorine Free
TSCA Toxic Substances Control Act
TSD Temperature-dependent Sex Determination
TEA Triethanolamine
TEDS Turtle excluder devices
TOGA Tropical Ocean and Global Atmosphere
TRC Tradable Renewable Certificate
TRMM Tropical Rainfall Measuring Mission
TSDFs Treatment, Storage and Disposal Facilities (waste)
TVOCs. Total Volatile Organic Compounds
TWh Terawatt hour.
U
UFP Ultrafine Particles
ULEV Ultra Low Emission Vehicles
UNCED United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (aka Earth Summit)
UNCSD UN Commission for Sustainable Development
UNDP United Nations Development Programme
UNEP Untied Nations Environment Programme
UNESCO United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization
UNFCCC United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
USAID United States Agency for International Development
USCAP US Climate Action Partnership
USCCP United States Climate Change Program
USCSP United States Country Studies Program
USDA US Department of Agriculture
US EIA US Energy Information Administration
US EPA United States Environment Protection Agency
USFS U.S. Department of Agriculture Forest Service
USFWS U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
USGCRP United States Global Change Research Program
USGS U.S. Geological Survey
US NSF United States National Science Foundation
V
VCS: Voluntary Carbon Standard
VER Verified Emission Reductions
VOCs: Volatile Organic Compounds
VSL: Value of a Statistical Life
W
WB World Bank
WCED World Commission on Environment and Development
WCRP World Climate Research Programme
WGCM Working Group on Coupled Modeling
WHO World Health Organization
WMO World Meteorological Organization
WMUs Waste management units
WOCE World Ocean Circulation Experiment
WSSD World Summit for Sustainable Development
WTO World Trade Organization
WRI World Resources Institute
WSBW Weddell Sea Bottom Water
WWF World Wildlife Fund
Z
ZEV Zero Emission Vehicle
