3. TERMS, DEFINITIONS, AND ACRONYMS

Activity Data - Data on the magnitude of human activity (e.g., land use and land-use changes related to forests) resulting in emissions or removals taking place during a given period.

Additionality - Additionality refers to carbon offset benefits that would not have happened on their own accord, i.e. without the effect of carbon financing.

Baseline Emissions - Baseline emissions are the level of emissions that would occur without policy intervention or the implementation of a project.

Beneficiaries - Recipients of Monetary and Non-Monetary Benefits identified in the Benefit Sharing Plan. Beneficiaries may include sub-entities and other relevant stakeholders (including, e.g., local communities or groups, local civil society organizations, etc.) and may have to be updated from time to time.

Biomass - Collective term for organic matter that can be used to generate electricity, transformed into fuel or used directly to produce heat.

Commissioning - The process at the end of the construction of a power station which includes activities necessary to guarantee that all the station’s components, machinery and systems are working correctly and are capable of doing so safely and efficiently under normal operating conditions.

Company, Client, or Organization - A company that has sought to work with this standard could be a net polluter or emitter of greenhouse gases.

CO2 equivalent - CO2 equivalent is a measurement unit that is used to weigh the emissions of different greenhouse gases with different climate-changing effects.

The amount of CO2 equivalent is calculated by multiplying the mass of given greenhouse gas by its “Global Warming Potential” (GWP).

Direct emissions - Emissions that are generated by sources owned or controlled by the company or entity being studied.

Emission factor - A factor that indicates the kilograms of carbon dioxide equivalent emitted per unit of activity

Emission Reductions, (ER) - The process of emission reduction from natural or humanmade activity

Energy - The capacity for doing work; usable power (as heat or electricity); the resources for producing such power.

Energy Efficiency - The achievement of using less energy without reducing the benefit provided by the end-user service.

GHG source - Any process or activity that releases a GHG into the atmosphere.

Global Warming Potential (GWP) - A factor expressing the contribution to the greenhouse effect of a GHG concerning carbon dioxide (whose reference potential is 1), over a given period.

Greenhouse Gases (GHG) - Gaseous constituents present in the atmosphere retain, inhibit, or block part of the infrared (IR) component of solar radiation that strikes the Earth. The main greenhouse gases are Carbon dioxide (CO2); Methane (CH4); Nitrogen monoxide (NO); Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); Fluorocarbons (PFCs); and Sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).

Hydropower, or hydroelectric power - Is a renewable source of energy that generates power by using a dam or diversion structure to alter the natural flow of a river or other body of water.

Indirect Emissions - Emissions are a consequence of the operations of the specific company or entity being studied, but they occur from sources owned or controlled by external parties. They include emissions due to activities upstream or downstream of the operations of the company or entity under study.

Inverter - A device that converts continuous current (CC) to alternating current (AC).

Kilowatt Hour (kWh) - A unit of measure for energy typically applied to electricity usage. It is equal to the amount of energy used at a rate of 1000 watts over one hour. One kWh is roughly equal to 3,412 British Thermal Units (Btu).

Offsetting - The action that entirely or partly compensates emissions that remained unabated in a company, product, or service value chain, through investments in activities that reduce or remove an equivalent number of emissions and that are developed outside the boundaries of the organization.

Offshore (plant) - Power plants, that are located offshore and mounted on purpose-built structures, which are either floating or fixed to the seabed.

Onshore/offshore wind power - A plant that turns the kinetic energy of the wind into electricity. The term onshore refers to wind farms on land while offshore means wind farms built on open water, generally at sea or on the ocean.

Photovoltaic (PV) Cell - Sometimes referred to as a solar cell, a device that utilizes the photoelectric effect to convert incident sunlight directly into electricity. This can be distinguished from solar thermal energy, which is sometimes used to create electricity indirectly.

Primary Energy - The energy that has not transformed into another form. This may include fuels like natural gas or oil or may include other forms of energy, such as solar or wind energy.

Project Proponent/Developer - An organization or individual that develops projects to initiate emission reduction or carbon sequestration processes.

Removals - Removal of carbon dioxide (CO2) from the atmosphere by a carbon sink.

Renewable Energy Resource - An energy source that is naturally replenished. Examples include biomass, wind, geothermal, hydro, and solar energy.

Smart Grid - An electric grid that can use two-way communication and computer processing to provide increased reliability and efficiency. Smart grids may be able to automate and control more functions than the current electric grid.

Solar Energy - Radiant energy from the Sun.

Solar Thermal Generation - Electricity generated from heat produced by solar energy.

Sustainability - Sustaining the supply of energy and materials needed to support current levels of consumption, making them available where most needed, and addressing the environmental problems resulting from their extraction, consumption, and disposal.

Thermal Expansion - A material’s change in volume, area, or length upon heating.

Uncertainty - The level of statistical uncertainty related to the estimation of ERs to be generated during the Crediting Period under the ER Program accounts for, among others, errors related to Reference Level estimation and ER measurements.

Validation - Systematic, independent, and documented process for the evaluation of GHG reduction of an ER Program against agreed criteria, to determine if the ER Program conforms to the agreed criteria.

Verification - An independent examination of data monitoring to help establish whether a project’s actual emissions are consistent with Climate Protocols and Obligations.

Verified Emission Reduction (VER) - A unit corresponding to one metric tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent emissions and issued for verified emission reductions or removals achieved by projects approved authority.

Wind Power - Power obtained by harnessing the energy of the wind.

Guidance Notes - A guidance note is a document issued by the PCS that provides supplemental advice or instructions on how to meet certain elements or requirements under the Methodological Framework.