Glossary to avoid getting lost between broadcasts and acronyms of the Madrid Climate Summit

• COP25. Ambition, ambition and ambition to achieve zero emissions in 2050
• Climate crisis: The Paris Agreement is insufficient to curb climate change

Climate change has become one of the main issues on the world agenda and with the Climate Summit that begins this Monday in Madrid, the climate crisis will be one of the most talked about topics during the next two weeks. But long acronyms, chemical formulas, English terms or scientific names little known to the public abound in climate science and UN meetings. Here we give you a glossary to not miss anything and follow any conversation about COP25.

ACIDIFICATION. It is the chemical alteration of the environment by the presence in the atmosphere of polluting gases that cause the so-called acid rain. The soil absorbs carbon dioxide, which affects the vegetation. In the oceans and lakes, the pH of the water (its acidity) changes, damaging the aquatic fauna.

PARIS AGREEMENT. Treaty signed by 195 countries during the COP21 Climate Summit December 21, 2015. Establishes a global plan to reduce pollutant emissions and limit the increase in global temperature well below 2ºC with respect to the start of the Industrial Revolution. It will take effect in 2020.

ANTHROPOCENE. The geological era that happens to the Holocene (which began 11,700 years ago) and is characterized by the impact of the human being on the planet. The term was coined by Chemistry Nobel Laureate Paul Crutzen in 2000.

BIOMASS Total mass of living organisms in an area.

CHILE. The country that chairs the COP25 Madrid Climate Summit and the one that was initially going to host it. Due to the serious disturbances in Santiago, the Chilean government resigned in October to organize it and Spain proposed that Madrid be the headquarters.

UNFCCC Acronym for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was born in New York in 1992 to limit the concentration of polluting gases that affect the climate.

COP25. It is the official name of the UN Climate Summit held in Madrid from December 2 to 13: the 25th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

CO2 Carbon dioxide is essential for life and is found naturally on Earth. However, it is also a greenhouse gas and the main responsible for climate change due to the large increase in its emissions. It is generated, above all, by the use of fossil fuels such as coal, oil and gas.

CRIOSPHER. It encompasses all the icy masses of the planet: glaciers, permafrost, sea ice, etc.

DEFORESTATION. The disappearance of a forest, usually due to a fire or by felling trees, to obtain pastures or build.

GREENHOUSE EFFECT. The phenomenon by which certain gases in the atmosphere retain part of the energy emitted by the soil when heated by solar radiation. It is a natural phenomenon but it is accentuated by the emission of so-called greenhouse gases. The most harmful are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O) and fluorinated gases (HFCs, PFC, SF6).

FREE FLIGHT. The movement that promotes stop flying for environmental reasons and use other means of transport. He was promoted in 2008 by Maja Rosén and popularized by Greta Thunberg. In Sweden they call it flygskam, something like shame for flying.

GREEN CLIMATE FUND. UN mechanism to help developing countries adapt to climate change.

GREENWASHING From the English green (green) and washing (washing), this term is used to describe the bad practices of some companies that try to present a product as environmentally friendly when in reality it is not.

GRETA THUNBERG. The young activist who stood in August 2018 in front of the Swedish Parliament with a placard to protest the inactivity of politicians has encouraged millions of young people to demonstrate to demand from governments measures against climate change. At 16, she has become a world leader.

HCFCs and CFCs. Fluorinated greenhouse gases are chemical compounds present in aerosols or refrigeration devices that heat the atmosphere and destroy the stratosphere's ozone layer. Therefore, its use was restricted in the 90s.

CARBON FOOTPRINT. An indicator that reflects the total greenhouse gases emitted directly or indirectly by a person, a company or an institution.

WATER FOOTPRINT. Another indicator, which in this case measures the amount of water used to manufacture a product we consume or to provide a service. The term was coined by Dutch scientist Arjen Hoekstra, who died this month.

IPCC Acronym in English of the Interguber-namental Group of Experts on Climate Change of the UN, responsible for providing objective scientific data on the impact of global warming. His exhaustive reports, prepared by almost a thousand scientists from around the world, are the reference for the negotiations of climate agreements.

CARBON NEUTRALITY. Or zero carbon footprint. This objective that more and more companies and institutions consider is achieved when the CO2 emitted into the atmosphere is compensated with mitigation actions that prevent the emission of an equivalent amount of that gas.

EXTINCTION REBELLION (XR). In Spanish, Rebellion against Extinction, is a social movement that was born in 2018 to promote global environmental policies. They hold protests and demonstrations and have declared themselves on hunger strike because of the weather.

PERMAFROST A land that remains frozen or at a minimum temperature of 0ºC for at least two years.

KYOTO PROTOCOL. International agreement signed by 184 countries to reduce the emissions of six greenhouse gases responsible for climate change. It was adopted in 1997 and entered into force in 2005. The COP18 Summit was extended until December 2020, when the Paris Agreement should enter into force.

WALLACE BROECKER. He was the father of the term climate change. This scientist from Columbia University, who died last February, used it in 1975 for the first time in an article in which he warned of the rise in temperatures due to the action of man.

According to the criteria of The Trust Project

• Climate Summit
• Environment
• Climate change
• Science and Health
• science

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