| Term | Acronym | Definition |
| Greenhouse gases | GHGs | Greenhouse gases are a group of gases that trap heat from solar radiation in the Earth's atmosphere. These gases act as a blanket, increasing the temperature on the surface of the Earth. |
| Carbon dioxide | CO2 | One of the most common greenhouse gases. |
| Methane | CH4 | A common gaseous hydrocarbon, which has a warming effect 84 times that of CO2 over 20 years and 28 times that of CO2 over 100 years. |
| Sulfur hexafluoride | SF6 | A man-made gas used as an electrical insulator that has a warming effect 23,500 times that of CO2. |
| Carbon dioxide equivalent | CO2eq / CO2-eq / CO2e | Carbon is used as a common form of measurement for all greenhouse gases. This unit of measurement indicates the potential impact of non-CO2 gases on global warming in carbon terms. |
| Kilowatt hours | kWh | The standard unit of measurement for energy consumption. |
| Power usage effectiveness | PUE | The metric used to measure data center energy efficiency. |
| Global warming potential | GWP | The potential impact of greenhouse gases on global warming. Measured in terms of CO2e. |
| World Meteorological Organization | WMO | A specialized agency of the United Nations whose mandate covers weather, climate and water resources. |
| Million metric tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalent | MMTCDE | Measurement term for CO2eq |
| Nationally Determined Contribution | NDC | The means by which members of the Paris Climate Agreement are expected to update their progress. |
| Conference of the Parties | COP | An annual event involving all parties in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. |
| United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change | UNFCCC | A group created to achieve the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with the climate system. |
| Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change | IPCC | The objective of the IPCC is to provide governments at all levels with scientific information that they can use to develop climate policies. |
| Science Based Targets initiative | SBTi | A body that defines and promotes best practice in science-based target setting. For example, creating the standards for net zero |
| Carbon-free energy | CFE | This term is usually used to talk about the percentage of renewable energy used as a proportion of the total energy used |
| Power Purchase Agreement | PPA | A contract you sign with a power plant to purchase RECs |
| Renewable Energy Credit | REC | Renewable energy credits (also known as renewable energy certificates) represent the energy generated by renewable energy sources |
| Paris Climate Agreement | PCA | An international treaty agreed in 2015 by 196 parties and the UN to reduce the Earth's temperature increase |
| joules | J | Energy is measured in joules (J). |
| grams of carbon per kilowatt hour | gCO2eq/kWh | The standard unit of carbon intensity is gCO2eq/kWh, or grams of carbon per kilowatt hour. |
| Voluntary Carbon Market | VCM | A decentralized market where private actors voluntarily buy and sell carbon credits that represent certified removals or reductions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) in the atmosphere. |
| Verified Carbon Standard | VCS | A standard for certifying carbon emissions reductions. |
| Software Carbon Intensity | SCI | A standard which gives an actionable approach to software designers, developers and operations to measure the carbon impacts of their systems. |