Skip Navigation

Climate Change & Energy

Definitions

Below is a directory of terms used in the field of climate change. Most of the definitions have been taken from the United States Environmental Protection Agency, with a few from the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), and the European Commission.

Climate change is the greatest challenge facing the world today. Long-term development planning must now include measures to deal with it.

N

Nitrous Oxide

A powerful greenhouse gas, whose major sources include soil cultivation practices, especially the use of commercial and organic fertilizers, fossil fuel combustion, nitric acid production, and biomass burning.

No Regrets

This is the term used to describe measures whose benefits — such as improved performance or reduced emissions of local/regional pollutants, but excluding the benefits of climate change mitigation — equal or exceed their costs. [Source: IPCC]