Climate is not the same as weather. Climate describes average conditions over long periods, generally 30 years or more. It includes statistics on things such as temperature, precipitation and wind. It not only measures things like total rainfall and high temperatures, but also whether there have been trends like long dry spells or heat waves.

Climate Change is a measurable change or trend in the climate that persists for an extended period, typically decades or centuries.

Adaptation is how people and nature respond to changes in climate. Adaptation can be reactive or proactive, where humans have the ability to be proactive by predicting changes and adapting in advance, unlike nature with the ability to only reactively adapt.

Climate Mitigation is an action to reduce the severity of something. In the context of climate change, humans are trying to reduce the severity by reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In regard to natural hazards, we mitigate the impacts of extreme weather events through actions that reduce the risk or intensity of such events.

Climate risk is the potential for adverse consequences of climate conditions for human and ecological systems. These climate conditions may change overtime, changing the likelihood and intensity of these risks.

A measure of the amount of carbon dioxide (and carbon dioxide equivalent of other gases) released into the atmosphere as a result of human activities.

Any gas that absorbs infrared radiation and are therefore creates a ‘greenhouse’ effect of trapping heat inside the earth’s atmosphere. Most molecules made up of three or more atoms act in this way, and the most common greenhouse gases include water vapour (H₂O), carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O).

Biological community of interacting organisms and their physical environment.

The variety of plant and animal life in the world or in a particular habitat, a high level of which is usually considered to be important and desirable.

The natural environment encompasses the interaction of all living species, climate, weather and physical environment.

An economic system based on the reuse and regeneration of materials or products. It is a system where any waste generated is seen as a resource and used within the system, rather than having a definitive end where it no longer has any use and is disposed of.

In the context of climate change, emissions are the production and/or release into the air of greenhouse gases and other aerosols caused by human activities.

A natural fuel such as coal or gas, formed in the geological past from the remains of living organisms.

Energy from a source that is not depleted when used, such as wind or solar power.

Sustainability is generally the ability for something to be maintained at a certain rate or level over a period of time. In terms of environmental sustainability, it is the avoidance of the depletion of natural resources in order to maintain an ecological balance. This can be translated to meeting the needs of the present generation without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.

A natural hazard is the potential occurrence of a natural event or trend that may cause loss of life, injury or other health impacts, as well as damage and loss to property, infrastructure, livelihoods, service provision, ecosystems and environmental resources.

It includes earthquake, tsunami, erosion, volcanic and geothermal activity, landslip, wind, drought, fire or flooding. It includes one-off events as well as longer-term trends like heat waves.

Hazards can be single or combined, sudden or slow. Each is characterised by its timing, location and scale, intensity and likelihood.

Resilience is the ability to cope with a hazardous event or a climate trend such as an increase in the number of days with a high temperature above 30℃. A resilient person, community, organisation or ecosystem is able to respond in ways that maintain their essential function, identity and structure. Resilience isn’t just down to your personality; there are lots of external factors that we can influence to build resilience.