Environmental Policy — Flashcards
Grade 10 · Social Studies · Flashcards
Key terms and concepts in environmental policy, climate science, and international environmental agreements.
Flashcards
- Climate Change
- Long-term alteration of global climate patterns, primarily caused by human burning of fossil fuels since the Industrial Revolution.
- Greenhouse Gases
- CO2, methane, nitrous oxide, and other gases that trap heat in the atmosphere; increased by human activity.
- Kyoto Protocol (1997)
- First binding international agreement requiring industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
- Paris Agreement (2015)
- Global climate treaty to limit warming to 1.5–2°C above pre-industrial levels using nationally set reduction targets.
- IPCC
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change — UN scientific body that assesses global climate research and advises policymakers.
- EPA
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency — enforces environmental laws covering air quality, water purity, and hazardous waste.
- Environmental Justice
- Ensuring all communities, regardless of race or income, have equal protection from environmental hazards and pollution.
- Carbon Tax
- A financial penalty on fossil fuel use proportional to carbon emissions, designed to reduce greenhouse gas output.
- Renewable Energy
- Energy from sources that naturally replenish, including solar, wind, geothermal, and hydroelectric power.
- NDCs
- Nationally Determined Contributions — each country's self-set climate action plans under the Paris Agreement.
- Cap and Trade
- A market-based approach to controlling pollution by limiting total emissions and allowing companies to buy and sell allowances.
- Biodiversity
- The variety of life on Earth; threatened by habitat destruction, pollution, and climate change.
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