Start here · Essential guide
Climate and Energy Terms Explained for Beginners
A plain-language starter glossary of common climate and energy words, from emissions and net zero to capacity and the grid, to help you follow the debate.
Energy Fundamentals
Climate and Energy Terms Explained
A plain glossary-style set of the terms heard in energy and climate news.
Carbon Capture and Storage Basics
A balanced introduction to capturing carbon dioxide, how it is stored or used, the roles proposed for it and the cost and uncertainty questions that remain.
Carbon Footprint Explained
What a carbon footprint counts, how it is usually estimated for people, products and organizations, and why the number is useful but limited as a measure.
Energy Poverty and Energy Access Explained
What it means for households to lack reliable, affordable energy, how energy access and energy poverty differ, and why they are measured and debated.
Energy Security Explained
What governments and households mean by secure energy supply, the main risks to it, and the trade-offs between cost, reliability and emissions.
Energy Units Explained: Watts, Kilowatt-Hours and Joules
A plain guide to watts, kilowatts, kilowatt-hours and joules, how power differs from energy, and how to compare figures without common mix-ups.
Scope 1, 2 and 3 Emissions Explained
A general explanation of Scope 1, 2 and 3, the three categories organizations use to report greenhouse gas emissions, with examples and common caveats.
What Are Greenhouse Gases
The main greenhouse gases, where they come from, how they are compared using carbon dioxide equivalent, and how they appear in discussions of energy.
What Is a Life Cycle Assessment
How a life cycle assessment tallies the environmental impact of a product or fuel from raw materials to disposal, and why its results depend on assumptions.
What Is Carbon Offsetting and Why Is It Debated
How carbon offsets work, the main types of projects, and the quality concerns critics raise, including additionality, permanence and double counting.
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