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Environment & Climate vocabulary · Emissions and Carbon

Emissions

Meaning in environment & climate, with examples

/ɪˈmɪʃənz/nounCore term

In environment & climate, emissions means: Gases or particles released into the air, for example from vehicles, factories, power plants or farms. In climate work the word usually means greenhouse gases.

In Turkish: emisyonlar, salımlar

How it is used

Emissions are cut, reduced, curbed, measured, reported and offset; they rise, fall or peak. Common phrases: carbon emissions, GHG emissions, emissions reduction target, net emissions, direct and indirect emissions. The verb is emit: 'The plant emits 2 million tonnes of CO2 a year.'

Example sentences

  1. Transport emissions rose again last year as more people returned to driving.

  2. The company has committed to cutting its emissions by 42% by 2030.

  3. Under the new rules, plants must measure and report their emissions every quarter.

Common collocations

  • cut emissions
  • carbon emissions
  • emissions reduction target
  • emissions peak
  • direct emissions
  • greenhouse gasA gas in the atmosphere, such as carbon dioxide, methane or nitrous oxide, that traps heat from the sun and warms the Earth's surface.
  • carbon footprintThe total amount of greenhouse gases caused by a person, product, company or event, usually given in tonnes of CO2 equivalent.
  • net zeroA state in which the greenhouse gases a country or company still emits, after deep emission cuts, are balanced by the same amount being removed from the atmosphere.
  • emission factorA value that converts an activity, such as liters of fuel burned or kilowatt-hours of electricity used, into the amount of greenhouse gas or pollutant emitted.
  • Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissionsThe three categories used to report a company's greenhouse gases: Scope 1 from sources it owns, Scope 2 from the energy it buys, and Scope 3 from the rest of its value chain.

This word in other fields

The same English word can have a different meaning in another field:

More terms: Emissions and Carbon

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