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Has carbon-related terminology got you a little confused? You’re not alone. This handy guide clears up the key concepts used to discuss carbon and climate change.
What is carbon?
Carbon is incredibly versatile, forming more compounds than all the other elements combined. It occurs in all living organisms and is the sixth most common element on Earth. Carbon plays an essential part in everything from coal to graphite to diamonds to fizzy drinks.
As a fundamental building block of life, carbon has many natural forms.
There’s carbon dioxide gas, or carbon combined with hydrogen to form methane gas, and the hydrocarbons in crude oil. Carbon also comes in many solid forms, including coal, diamond, graphite and graphene.
Human activity, like burning fossil fuels, releases additional carbon. This combines with oxygen in the atmosphere to produce the greenhouse gas (GHG) carbon dioxide.
Carbon is widely used as a shorthand for carbon dioxide.
Glossary of carbon-related terms
Carbon neutral Carbon neutrality means balancing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by ‘offsetting’ – or removing from the atmosphere – an equivalent amount of carbon for the amount produced. Carbon neutrality is a key stage on the net zero pathway
Net-zero In contrast to carbon neutrality, net-zero carbon means actually reducing greenhouse gas emissions across an organisation’s value chain, with the goal of balancing the emissions produced and emissions removed from the earth’s atmosphere.
Carbon offsetting A practice in which carbon emissions are balanced by reduction in emissions elsewhere, usually through payment. For example, emissions might be offset by investment in a renewable energy fund which supports research and programmes that deliver renewable energy and carbon reduction measures.
Carbon capture (also known as Carbon Capture, Utilization and Storage or CCUS) This is the process of capturing and dealing with carbon dioxide before it would otherwise be released into the atmosphere. For example, a power plant could capture its CO2 rather than releasing it. The carbon dioxide may be compressed into a liquid state and transported to a site where it can be pumped underground for storage. As an alternative to storage, CO2 can be used as a feedstock in a range of useful products and services.
Carbon budget A carbon budget sets a cap on the amount of carbon that can be emitted in a given timeframe by a country or company. The UK introduced a system of national carbon budgets within the 2008 Climate Change Act, putting a figure on the maximum level of carbon emissions permitted if reduction targets are to be met. A carbon budget can reflect different sources of carbon emissions, such as transportation, manufacturing and domestic use.
Carbon trading Carbon trading is the buying and selling of credits that permit a company or other entity to emit a certain amount of carbon dioxide. Those carbon credits and the carbon trade are authorized by governments with the goal of gradually reducing overall carbon emissions and mitigating its contribution to climate change. Carbon trading is also referred to as carbon emissions trading.
Carbon credits A permit which allows a company to emit a certain level of carbon . Carbon credits can sometimes be traded on a carbon market.
Carbon pricing A payment level applied to carbon emissions to incentivize reductions in emissions. This might be charged as a tax or through an auctioned permit system.
How standards can help
Reduction of carbon emissions starts with measurement, and there is no reliable system of measurement without standardization. Standards play a vital role in assisting organizations to record and verify their emissions.
Published in April 2022, BSI’s Net Zero Barometer reports on the progress of UK business on the road to net zero by 2050.
The free downloadable report, based on a survey of 1,000 senior decision makers from a range of UK industries, reveals both the progress and the remaining obstacle en route to net zero.. To help you, we’ve published our guidance on seven ways to drive your business to net zero by 2050.
PLUS: check out our interactive guide to the standards to achieve net zero in your sector here.
Standards that can help businesses achieve net zero:
If you want the essential standards, plus written and video guidance needed to get started on your organization's journey to net zero, why not consider a BSI Net Zero Solution Pack?
All available via the BSI Shop.
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