Glossary
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- *
- Pseudonym; note this is not their real name
A
- AIGCC
Asia Investor Group on Climate Change
- Anthropocene
The concept of the Anthropocene first coined by Crutzen and Stoermer in 2000, describes the present as new planetary age, i.e. an epoche defined by human activity as main driver of environmental dynamics. This human activity is found to have increasingly destabilising impact on ecological and planetary systems.
- Avoided emissions
Avoided emissions can be understood as emissions that are not emitted because a specific product or service has been used. Importantly, these emissions have to have ‘not occurred’ outside the product’s or service’s own value chain, otherwise one would understand these simply as their own emissions reductions.
C
- CA100+
Climate Action 100+ is an investor-led initiative to ensure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary action on climate change.
- CDP
Carbon Disclosure Project
- CDR
Carbon Dioxide Removal
- CFRF
Climate Financial Risk Forum (BoE and PRA)
- CI
Carbon Intensity
- CRREM
Carbon Risk Real Estate Monitor
- CSR
Corporate Social Responsibility
E
- Emissions factor
An emissions factor gives the relationship between the amount of emissions produced and the amount of raw material processed or burnt. For example, the emissions factor for natural gas is the amount of CO2e produced per kWh of gas used.
- ESAs
European Supervisory Authorities
- EU GBS
EU Green Bond Standard
- EV
Enterprise Value
G
- GEVA
Greenhouse Gas Emission Per Unit of Value Added
- GFANZ
The Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) is a global coalition of financial institutions committed to accelerating the decarbonization of the economy.
- GHG protocol
The GHG Protocol supplies the world's most widely used standardized framework to measure and manage greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from private and public sector operations, value chains and mitigation actions. The first edition of the Standard was launched in 2001 and has since then been updated and expanded.
- gilets jaunes
The Yellow Vests Protests or Yellow Jackets Protests or Yellow Vests Revolution (French: Mouvement des gilets jaunes)
I
- IEA
International Energy Agency
- IGCC
Investor Group on Climate Change
- IIGCC
Institutional Investors Group on Climate Change
- IIGCC PAII
IIGCC’s Paris Aligned Investment Initiative
- IORP
Institutions for Occupational Retirement Provision
- IPCC
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
- IPR
Inevitable Policy Response (PRI)
- ITR
Implied Temperature Rise. ITR is a metric expressed in degrees Celsius (°C ) which can be attached to an individual company or an entire investment portfolio. It describes by how much degrees the earth's surface temperature would rise in the year 2100 if all companies behaved like the investee company/companies in question.
K
- Knowledge infrastructure
Knowledge infrastructures are the networks of data, tools and frameworks that generate, share, and maintain specific knowledge about the human and natural world. In climate finance, they provide the basis, i.e., infrastructures, for producing knowledge about the relationship between the climate crisis and financial markets.
N
- NACE
NACE (Nomenclature des Activités Économiques dans la Communauté Européenne) is a European industry standard classification system similar in function to Standard Industry Classification (SIC) and North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) for classifying business activities
- Net Zero
The term ‘net zero’ is commonly used to describe a state at which the amount of greenhouse gases emitted over a given time equals the amount of greenhouse gases sequestered or otherwise removed from the atmosphere. The term thus embraces the idea of balancing out continuing greenhouse gas emissions. While often used in the context of delivering specific temperature goals such as e.g. 1.5°C does of warming by 2100, net zero does not imply any restrictions on the global average temperature rise as a net zero state would only stabilise the global climatic system regardless of its temperature level. Thus, the timing for reaching a net zero state becomes crucial as it chiefly defines at what global temperature the world’s climate was to stabilise. Furthermore, while the term net zero originally referred to the global carbon cycle, it is now being used in the context of individual organisations or countries setting targets for when to reach a net zero state. Such fragmentation of greenhouse gas accounting further weakens the link between the concept of net zero and global temperature outcomes making it difficult to evaluate implications of net zero targets.
- Net Zero target-setting frameworks
Various initiatives are currently developing frameworks that guide financial institutions in their efforts to set net zero targets for their investment, loan and underwriting portfolios. These initiatives include the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance (NZAOA), PAII Net Zero Asset Owner Commitment (PAAO), Net Zero Asset Managers (NZAM) initiative, the Net Zero Banking Alliance (NZBA), Net-Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), and the Science-based Targets Initiative (SBTi).
- NGFS
Network for Greening the Financial System. The NGFS is a global network of central banks and financial supervisors set up in 2017 to foster voluntary colaboration and share best practice in two areas: environmental risks on the one hand and capital mobilisation for a green transition on the other hand. The former area dominates the activities of the NGFS in practice, however.
- NZAM
Net Zero Asset Managers initiative
- NZAOA
Net-Zero Asset Owner Alliance
- NZBA
Net-Zero Banking Alliance
- NZIA
Net-Zero Insurance Alliance
O
- OECM
One Earth Climate Model
P
- PAAO
Paris Aligned Asset Owners initiative
- PCAF
Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials
- PIK
The Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research
- Practitioner
The term practitioner captures a wide range of individuals who are active - often in a professional capacity - in a particular field such as finance. It is commonly used by academics to distinguish the researcher from those individuals of interest to the research endeavour.
- PRI
Principles for Responsible Investment - a UN-supported network of investors, works to promote sustainable investment through the incorporation of environmental, social and governance.
- PWP
Portfolio Warming Potential
S
- SBTi
The Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi) is an NGO initiative with the goal to facilitate climate action in the private sector by enabling organizations to set science-based GHG emissions reduction targets.
- SBTi-FI
Science Based Targets Initiative’s Framework for Financial Institutions
- Scope 1. 2 and 3 emissions
Scope 1 emissions are direct GHG emissions that occur at a company’s site or one that is controlled by it
Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy consumed by a company
Scope 3 emissions are any other indirect GHG emissions from the value chain of a company, and are differentiated into upstream emissions that occur in the supply chain and downstream emissions that occur as a consequence of using the firm’s products or services (c.f., GHG ProtocolLink opens in a new windowLink opens in a new window)
- Scope 1 emissions
Scope 1 emissions are direct GHG emissions that occur at a company’s site or one that is controlled by it
- Scope 2 emissions
Scope 2 emissions are indirect emissions from the generation of purchased energy consumed by a company.
- Scope 3 emissions
Scope 3 emissions are any other indirect GHG emissions from the value chain of a company, and are differentiated into upstream emissions that occur in the supply chain and downstream emissions that occur as a consequence of using the firm’s products or services (c.f., GHG ProtocolLink opens in a new window)
- SFDR
Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (EU)
T
- TCFD
Task-Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosure
- TCRE factor
The Transient Climate Response to cumulative carbon Emissions (TCRE) factor approximates the relationship between peak global mean temperature and cumulative emissions of carbon and is often used to translate emissions into a temperature score.
U
- UNEP FI
United Nations Environment Programme Finance Initiative
W
- WBCSD
World Business Council for Sustainable Development
- WRI
World Resources Institute
- WWF
World Wide Fund for Nature