Common Terms

Commonly used terms on this website and within the inventory.

A

• ABI:

  Annual Business Inquiry

• Acid Deposition:

  Acid deposition, commonly known as acid rain, occurs when emissions from the combustion of fossil fuels and other industrial processes undergo complex chemical reactions in the atmosphere and fall to the earth as wet deposition (rain, snow, cloud, fog) or dry deposition (dry particles, gas)

• AP-42:

  Emissions Factors & AP 42, Compilation of Air Pollutant Emission Factors (US database)

• APU:

  Auxiliary Power Unit

• AQMA:

  Air Quality Management Area (UK)

• AQPI:

  Air Quality Pollutant Inventory

• AP:

  Air Pollutant

• AS:

  Aviation Spirit

• ATF:

  Aviation Turbine Fuel

• ATM:

  Air Traffic Movement

• ATOC:

  Association of Train Operating Companies

B

• BaP:

  Benzo[a]pyrene

• BAU:

  Business as usual

• BCA:

  British Cement Association

• BCF:

  British Coatings Federation

• BERR:

  Department for Business, Enterprise & Regulatory Reform (replaced by the BIS)

• BGS:

  British Geological Survey

• BIS:

  Department for Business, Innovation and Skills

• BMW:

  Biodegradable Municipal Waste

• BREF:

  Best Available Technology Reference

• BSOG:

  DfT's Bus Services Operators Grant

C

• CAA:

  Civil Aviation Authority

• CB:

  Carbon Budget

• CCA:

  Climate Change Agreement or Climate Change Act

• CCGT:

  Combined Cycle Gas Turbine

• CD:

  Crown Dependency

• CEH:

  Centre for Ecology and Hydrology

• CH4:

  Methane

• CHP:

  Combined heat and power

• CLRTAP:

  Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution

• CNG:

  Compressed Natural Gas

• CNS:

  Central nervous system

• CO:

  Carbon monoxide

• Co-firing:

  The burning of biomass products in fossil fuel power stations

• COP:

  Conference of the Parties

• CO2:

  Carbon dioxide

• CP Commitment PeriodCRT:

  Common Reporting Table

D

• DG:

  Devolved Government

• DEFRA:

  Department of Environment, Food and Rural Affairs

• DERV:

  Diesel Fuel used in road vehicles

• DESNZ:

  Department for Energy Security and Net Zero

• DfT:

  Department for Transport

• DoENI:

  Department of Environment Northern Ireland

• DPF:

  Diesel Particulate Filters

• DRDNI:

  Department for Regional Development Northern Ireland

• DSAs:

  Data Supply Agreements

• DUKES:

  Digest of UK Energy Statistics

E

• EE:

  Energy Efficiency

• EEMS:

  Environmental Emissions Monitoring System

• EfW:

  Energy from Waste

• EIONET:

  European Environment Information and Observation Network

• EMEP/CORINAIR:

  European Monitoring and Evaluation Program Emission Inventory Guidebook

• EMIR:

  Emission database of the County Administrative Boards

• EMIS:

  Swiss national air pollution database

• EPR:

  Environmental Permitting Regulations

• EPRTR:

  European Pollutant Release and Transfer Register

• EUETS:

  European Union Emissions Trading Scheme

• EUMM:

  European Union Monitoring Mechanism

• Euro standards:

  European standards on exhaust emissions for new vehicles sold

• Eutrophication:

  Over-enrichment of a water body with nutrients, resulting in excessive growth of organisms and depletion of oxygen concentration

F

• F-gases:

  Fluorinated greenhouse gases (anthropogenic) used in a range of industrial applications

• FAO:

  Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations

• FGD:

  Flue gas desulphurisation

G

• GCV:

  Gross Calorific Value

• GHG:

  Greenhouse gases

• GHGI:

  Greenhouse gas inventory

• Gothenburg Protocol:

  A multi-pollutant protocol signed in 1999 as part of the CLRTAP to reduce acidification, eutrophication and ground-level ozone in Europe, North America and Central Asia

• GWh:

  Giga Watt Hour (unit of energy)

• GWP:

  Global Warming Potential

H

• HCB:

  Hexachlorobenzene

• HCL:

  Hydrogen Chloride

• HDV:

  Heavy Duty Vehicle (includes lorries and buses)

• HF:

  Hydrogen Fluoride

• HFCs:

  Hydrofluorocarbons

• HGV:

  Heavy Goods Vehicles

I

• ICAO:

  International Civil Aviation Organisation

• IEF:

  Implied Emission Factor

• IPCC:

  Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

• IPPC:

  Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control

• ISR:

  The Northern Ireland Environment Agency's Inventory of Statutory Releases

• ISSB:

  Iron and Steel Statistics Bureau

K

• KDPs:

  Key Data Providers

• KP:

  Kyoto Protocol: An international agreement (1997) linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that sets binding obligations on industrialised countries to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases

• Kt:

  Kilo tonne

• KtC:

  Kilo tonne of Carbon

• KtC-e:

  Kilo tonne of Carbon-equivalent (taking account of GWP)

L

• LAGHG:

  Local Authority Greenhouse Gas

• LA-IPPC:

  Local Authority Integrated Pollution Prevention and Control

• LAPC:

  Local air pollution control

• LAQM:

  Local air quality management

• LCPD:

  Large Combustion Plant Directive

• LDV:

  Light Duty Vehicle

• LPG:

  Liquefied petroleum gas (Propane/Butane)

• LTO:

  Aviation Landing & Take Off

• LULUCF:

  Land Use, Land-Use Change and Forestry

M

• MoD:

  Ministry of Defence

• MPA:

  Mineral Products Association

• MPP:

  Major Power Producers (i.e. most power station operators)

• MSW:

  Municipal Solid Waste

• Mtherms:

  Megatherms

• Mtonnes:

  Megatonne

N

• N2O:

  Nitrous oxide

• NAEI:

  National Atmospheric Emissions Inventory

• NF3:

  Nitrogen triflouride

• NCV:

  Net Calorific Value

• NDC:

  Nationally Determined Contribution

• NECR:

  National Emission Ceiling Regulation

• NFR:

  Nomenclature for Reporting

• NH3:

  Ammonia

• NIEA:

  Northern Ireland Environment Agency

• NIPI:

  Northern Ireland Pollution Inventory

• NID:

  National Inventory Document

• NIS:

  National Inventory Systems

• NMVOC:

  Non-Methane Volatile Organic Compounds

• NOX:

  Nitrogen oxides

• NRW:

  Natural Resources Wales

O

• OCGT:

  Open Cycle Gas Turbine

• OGL:

  Open Government Licence

• ONS:

  Office for National Statistics

• ORR:

  Office of Rail Regulation

• OT:

  Overseas Territories

P

• PA:

  Paris Agreement: An international agreement (2015) linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that sets a framework for countries to report and reduce emissions of greenhouse gases

• PAHs:

  Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons

• PAMs:

  Policies and Measures

• PCP:

  Pentachlorophenol

• PFCs:

  Perfluorocarbons

• PI:

  The Environment Agency's Pollution Inventory for England

• PM:

  Particulate Matter

• PM0.1:

  Particulate Matter less than 0.1 micrometres in diameter (ultrafine particles)

• PM1:

  Particulate Matter less than 1 micrometres in diameter

• PM10:

  Particulate Matter less than 10 micrometres in diameter

• PM2.5:

  Particulate Matter less than 2.5 micrometres in diameter (fine particles)

• POC:

  Port of call

• POPs:

  Persistent Organic Pollutants

• ppm:

  Parts per million

• PRODCOM:

  Production Communautaire (Provides statistics on the production of manufactured goods)

• PRTR:

  UK Pollutant Release and Transfer Register

• PSDH:

  Project for the Sustainable Development of Heathrow

Q

• QA/QC:

  Quality assurance and quality control

R

• Radiative Forcing:

  A measure of how the energy balance of the Earth-atmosphere system is influenced when factors that affect climate are altered

• RESTATs:

  Renewable Energy Statistics (published by BEIS)

• Ricardo Energy & Environment:

  UK Inventory compiler (Ricardo Energy & Environment)

• RME:

  Rapeseed Methyl Ester fuel

• RTFO:

  Renewable Transport Fuels Obligation

• RVP:

  Reid Vapour Pressure

S

• SCCP:

  Short Chain Chlorinated Paraffins

• SEPA:

  Scottish Environmental Protection Agency

• SF6:

  Sulphur hexafluoride

• Smog (photochemical smog):

  Literally a contraction of "smoke" and "fog"; the colloquial term used for photochemical fog, which includes ozone and numerous other contaminants. Smog usually adds a brownish haze to the atmosphere

• SO2:

  Sulphur dioxide

• SPRI:

  Scottish Environmental Protection Agency's Scottish Pollutant Release Inventory

T

• TFEIP:

  Task Force on Emission Inventories and Projections

• THC:

  Total Hydrocarbons

• Transboundary Pollution:

  Pollution that originates in one country but, by crossing the border through pathways of water or air, is able to cause damage to the environment in another country

• TRL:

  Transport Research Laboratory

• Tropospheric Ozone:

  Ozone (O3) that occurs near the surface of the Earth. In pollution it causes concern because of its toxic effects

• TSP:

  Total Suspended Particulate

U

• UEP:

  Updated Energy Projection (UK energy forecasts produced by BEIS)

• UK ETS:

  United Kingdom Emissions Trading Scheme

• UKCCP:

  UK Climate Change Programme

• UKD:

  UK Gas Distributors

• UKMY:

  UK Minerals Yearbook

• UKPIA:

  UK Petroleum Industries Association

• UN/ECE:

  United Nations Economic Commission for Europe

• UNFCCC:

  United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

• US EPA:

  United States Environment Protection Agency

• USLP:

  Ultra-low Sulphur Petrol

W

• WAB:

  Withdrawal Agreement Bill: A UK bill to transpose many European regulations into UK law, including various regulations relating to mitigating and reporting greenhouse gas and air quality emissions

• WEI:

  Welsh Emissions Inventory

• WID:

  Waste Incineration Directive

• WML:

  Waste Management Licensing