Environmental Policy Flashcards
Grade 12 · Social Studies · Flashcards
Key terms for understanding environmental policy, climate change, and sustainability at the 12th grade level.
Flashcards
- Paris Agreement (2015)
- International accord committing ~195 nations to reduce emissions to limit warming below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
- Montreal Protocol (1987)
- International agreement that phased out CFCs destroying the ozone layer; considered the most successful environmental treaty.
- Carbon Tax
- A fee on each ton of CO2 emitted, making fossil fuels more expensive to incentivize clean energy adoption.
- Cap-and-Trade
- Sets a cap on total emissions; companies trade permits, creating a market incentive to reduce emissions cost-effectively.
- EPA
- U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (est. 1970); sets and enforces national standards for air, water, and toxic substances.
- Greenhouse Gases
- CO2, methane, nitrous oxide — trap heat in the atmosphere; human emissions are causing global climate change.
- Tragedy of the Commons
- The tendency for shared resources to be overused when individuals act in self-interest, degrading them for everyone.
- Environmental Justice
- The principle that environmental burdens should not fall disproportionately on low-income and minority communities.
- Sustainable Development
- Meeting present needs without compromising future generations' ability to meet their own needs (Brundtland Commission, 1987).
- Precautionary Principle
- Take protective action against environmental risks even under scientific uncertainty, rather than waiting for full proof of harm.
- Renewable Portfolio Standard (RPS)
- Policy requiring utilities to generate a set percentage of electricity from renewable sources like wind and solar.
- Kyoto Protocol
- 1997 international climate treaty that set binding emission targets for developed nations only; succeeded by the Paris Agreement.
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