Activism – purposeful action, through campaigning and other means, to bring about change
Adaptation – a process of change that helps living things to better survive in an environment
Atmosphere – the layer of gases that surround a planet
Biodiversity – all of the different types of living things in an area or ecosystem. The more biodiverse an area, the greater the variety of living things found there.
Carbon drawdown – the process of capturing carbon dioxide gas from the atmosphere and storing it away inside a carbon sink
Carbon emissions – the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere, primarily from burning fossil fuels
Carbon footprint – the carbon emissions caused by a specific person or organization
Carbon sink – something that stores a large amount of carbon dioxide, such as the ocean, kelp forests, rocks, woodland, cement, soil and fossil fuels
Carbon tax – a fee that some countries have introduced which is paid to the government by anyone who generates high carbon emissions
Carbon zero/net zero – the point at which the amount of carbon being removed from the atmosphere is equal to the amount of carbon emissions being released
Civil disobedience – refusing to obey a law because you believe it to be unethical, as a form of non-violent protest
Climate – the typical weather patterns in a specific area over a period of time
Climate change – long-term changes to the climate, in this instance usually referring to the warming of Earth’s atmosphere and increased extreme weather patterns
Climate crisis/disaster/emergency – terms used to describe the current state of our world, in which changes to our climate are coming faster than society and nature can adapt to, causing extreme weather patterns and disasters such as wildfires, drought and mass extinction
Climate justice – the effects of climate change are not evenly spread, and those countries with the highest levels of carbon emissions are not necessarily the ones that suffer the most from increased extreme weather patterns. Climate justice looks to ensure that those most vulnerable to climate change receive the financial support and resources that they need.
Ecosystem – all of the living things in an area and the relationships between them and the surrounding environment
Environment – the natural surroundings of a living thing; it also often refers to the natural world more generally
Fossil fuels – natural substances formed underground from the buried remains of living things. Over millions of years of heat and pressure, the remains decompose into substances like coal and oil, which contain carbon. These can be burned to generate energy, releasing large volumes of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Geoengineering – a large-scale manipulation of the Earth’s atmosphere or ecosystems that could be used to tackle climate change. For example, spraying chemicals into clouds in order to release rain.
Green energy – energy from renewable sources such as sunlight, wind, rain and the tides, which are constantly replenishing
Greenhouse effect – the result of greenhouse gases absorbing heat from the sun, which stops it from leaving the atmosphere and thus warms the Earth’s surface
Greenhouse gases – gases such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide, which trap heat
Indigenous communities – groups of native people who have historically lived in an environment. Many Indigenous communities serve as guardians of the natural environment and emphasize sustainable balance between humans and nature.
Intercropping – mixing the types of crops grown on farmland in order to reduce pests, maintain healthy soil and use less fertilizer
Mass extinction – the extinction of a large number of species in a relatively short time period. There have been five mass extinctions on Earth, the most recent of which killed off the dinosaurs 65 million years ago.
Microplastics – extremely small pieces of plastic in the environment resulting from the breakdown of products
Permaculture – farming techniques that use land in ways which mimic nature, to avoid creating unnecessary waste. For example, intercropping or using natural compost instead of chemical fertilizers.
Plastivore – a type of living creature that consumes plastic by breaking down the material; examples are particular bacteria and wax worms
Rehabilitation and restoration – returning an ecosystem such as a flood plain, forest or wetland to its natural state
Rewilding – allowing areas of land to regenerate, sometimes through the reintroduction of key species
Sustainability – ensuring that the way we live now does not use up resources which cannot be replaced, so that this way of life can be maintained for many years to come
Tipping point – an event that will cause irreversible changes to the climate, with very serious implications for the future of our planet