Climate change acronyms

Last updated July 27, 2025

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) use tens of acronyms and initialisms in documents relating to climate change policy.

A

AAU: Assigned amount unit
AGGI: Annual Greenhouse Gas Index
AMO: Atlantic multidecadal oscillation
AO: Arctic oscillation

C

CDM: Clean Development Mechanism is an arrangement under the Kyoto Protocol allowing industrialised countries with a greenhouse gas reduction commitment (called Annex 1 countries) to invest in projects that reduce emissions in developing countries as an alternative to more expensive emission reductions in their own countries.
CDR: Carbon dioxide removal
CER: Certified Emission Reduction
CFC: Chlorofluorocarbon
CF₄: Carbon tetrafluoride
CH₄: Methane
COP: Conference of the Parties
CO₂: Carbon dioxide
C₂F₆: Hexafluoroethane

D

DER: Distributed Energy Resources is a small-scale unit of power generation that operates locally and is connected to a larger power grid at the distribution level. DERs include solar panels, small natural gas-fueled generators, electric vehicles and controllable loads, such as HVAC systems and electric water heaters. An important distinction of a DER is that the energy it produces is often consumed close to the source.

E

EEI: Earth's Energy Imbalance
ENSO: El Niño–Southern Oscillation

G

GCM: General circulation model or global climate model
GFDL: Geophysical Fluid Dynamics Laboratory
GHG: Greenhouse gas
GWP: Global warming potential

H

HCFC: Hydrochlorofluorocarbon
HFC: Hydrofluorocarbon
H₂O: Water vapor

I

IOD: Indian Ocean Dipole
IPO: Interdecadal Pacific oscillation
IPCC: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

M

MSL: Mean Sea Level

N

NCDS: Nationally Determined Contributions (aka Paris Accord/Agreement)
NAPA: National Adaptation Programme of Action.
NCAR: National Center for Atmospheric Research
NF₃: Nitrogen trifluoride
N₂0: Nitrous oxide

O

OHC: Ocean heat content
O₃: (Tropospheric) Ozone

P

PDO: Pacific decadal oscillation

R

RCP: Representative Concentration Pathway
REDD: Reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation mechanisms use market/financial incentives to reduce the emission of greenhouse gases from deforestation and forest degradation.

S

SSP: Shared Socioeconomic Pathways
SST: Sea surface temperature
SF₆: Sulfur hexafluoride

T

TEWI: Total equivalent warming impact

U

UHI: Urban heat island

W

WMO: World Meteorological Organization

References

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Climate change acronyms

Contents

A

C

D

E

G

H

I

M

N

O

P

R

S

T

U

W

See also

References