Adaptation: With respect to climate change, adaptation is the process of adapting to the effects of climate change.

Alternative Energy: refers to energy sources other than fossil fuels. This includes all renewable sources and nuclear. It is typically considered as energy generated in ways that do not deplete natural resources or harm the environment.

Anthropogenic: Caused or produced by humans. In the context of climate change, it is held that humans have, through activities that produce significant CO2, been a significant factor in global warming, essentially since the industrial revolution.

Biodiversity: refers to the variety of life on Earth at all its levels, from genes to ecosystems, and can encompass the evolutionary, ecological, and cultural processes that sustain life.

Biosphere: the regions of the surface, atmosphere, and hydrosphere of the earth occupied by living organisms.

Climate Change: refers to long-term shifts in temperature and weather patterns. These shifts may be natural, such as through variations in the solar cycle. However, since the 1800's, human activities are believed to have been the main driver of climate change, primarily due to burning fussil fuels like coal, oil and gas. 

Climate Sensitivity: Climate sensitivity is a measure of the degree to which the Earth’s climate will cool or warm after a change in the climate’s system. Climate sensitivity pertains to the degree to which temperature will be affected by a doubling in CO2 concentrations in the atmosphere.

Ecological Sustainability: refers to the capacity of the biosphere to meet the needs of the present generation, without hindering future generations from being able to meet their needs. This means using our natural resources wisely in the short-term so that these resources are available in the long-term. Based on a long-term perspective, we conserve the productivity of waters, soils and ecosystems, while reducing our impact on the natural environment and people’s health to a level that the natural environment and humanity can handle.

Ecology: the scientific study of living organisms and their relationships to one another and their environment; the scientific study of the processes regulating the distribution and abundance of organisms.

Environment: the external conditions, resources, stimuli etc. within which an organism interacts.

Greenhouse Gas (GHG): Gases that trap heat in the atmosphere are called greenhouse gases. These are typically Carbon Dioxide, Methane, Nitrous Oxide, and fluorenated gases.

Gross Domestic Product (GDP): GDP measures the monetary value of final goods and services—those that are bought by the final user—produced in a country in a given period of time. It counts all of the output generated within the borders of a country. GDP is composed of goods and services produced for sale in the market and also includes some nonmarket production, such as defense or education services provided by the government.

Hydrosphere: The discontinuous layer of water at or near Earth's surface. It includes the combine mass of all liquid and frozen surface waters, groundwater held in soil and rock.

Mitigation: with respect to climate change, mitigation is the process of the process of reducing the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere.

Radiative Forcing: The amount of warming or cooling produced by a variety of physical and chemical changes that can affect the global energy balance and force changes in the Earth’s climate.

Renewable Energy: comes from a source that is naturally occurring and replenishes naturally at a rate that is equal to or faster than the rate at which they are consumed, without the interference of human intervention. Examples of renewable energy include solid biomass resources, liquid biofuels, biogas, solar energy, wind energy, geothermal, hydro and ocean resources.