Glossary
This glossary includes terms and definitions for Climate Risk.
The following cross-references are used in this glossary:
- See refers you from a term to a preferred synonym, or from an acronym or abbreviation to the defined full form.
- See also refers you to a related or contrasting term.
A
- AEP
- See Annual exceedance probability.
- annual exceedance probability
- A percentage value that indicates how likely an event is to happen in a particular year. For example, if an event has an AEP of 1%, then it has a one in 100 likelihood of happening in a year.
- archetype
- A representative asset. For example, in an organization that has multiple properties as assets, the archetypes might be data center, manufacturing, and office. When an analysis includes an archetype, general or repeatable information can be used instead of uniquely specifying all the characteristics of each individual asset.
B
- Biennial Exploratory Scenario
- A discussion paper that was written by the Bank of England in 2021 to explore the financial risks from climate change.
- BES
- See Biennial Exploratory Scenario.
C
- CD
-
See Cost of damage.
- climate
- The average conditions that describe the long-term pattern of weather in a particular region over a long time, typically 30 years or more. See also weather. See also weather.
- climate risk
- The potential for negative effects from a climate-related hazard on humans, assets, services, livelihoods, resources, and infrastructure. Climate risk is the result of the relationship between exposure, hazard, and vulnerability. See also exposure, hazard, and vulnerability.
- Climate Measurement Standards Initiative
- An initiative that develops open source technical business and scientific standards. These standards are used in Australia to estimate the future repair and replacement costs of real estate and infrastructure assets.
- CMIP
- See Coupled Model Intercomparison Project.
- CMSI
- See Climate Measurement Standards Initiative.
- coastal inundation
-
Sea water flooding due to high tides, wind, low air pressure, and waves that can damage coastal land, infrastructure, and buildings.
- convective winds
- Winds that are caused by temperature differences.
- Coordinated Regional Downsizing Experiment
-
A framework from the World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) that is used to evaluate regional climate model performance. The framework involves a set of experiments that are intended to produce regional climate projections. See also World Climate Research Programme.
- CORDEX
- See Coordinated Regional Downsizing Experiment.
- cost of damage
-
The monetary amount of damage to an asset that might be caused by climate-related hazards in a specified year. The cost of damage is based on the maximum value-at-risk for that asset. For example, if the total asset value is $100,000 and the MVAR is 1%, then the cost of damage to the asset in a specified year is $1,000.
- Coupled Model Intercomparison Project
- A World Climate Research Programme (WCRP) research project that is intended to develop a better understanding of past, present, and future climate changes.
D
- deterministic
- Describes a characteristic of computing systems when their outputs are completely determined by their inputs. See also probabilistic.
E
- engine
- Specialized software code that is needed to process large quantities of data effectively.
- environmental, social, and governance
- A set of three factors that are used to evaluate a company on the sustainability and social responsibility of its business practices.
- ERA5
- See European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5
- ESG
- See environmental, social and governance.
- European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts Reanalysis 5
- A climate reanalysis that is produced by the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). The reanalysis produces hourly estimates for climate variables that involve the land, the atmosphere, and the oceans.
- exposure
-
The presence of humans, assets, services, resources, and infrastructure in places that might be negatively affected by climate hazards. The level of exposure to a hazard can vary greatly depending on location. For example, a forest fire is unlikely to affect a large urban area such as a city. See also hazard.
- extreme heat
-
Heat that can cause electrical and mechanical components to fail or send spurious signals when their design temperature is exceeded.
- extreme wind
- High-wind conditions that might exceed the design specification for a building. Extreme wind involves changes in wind regimes, sea surface temperature, and wind speeds.
F
- failure probability
- The annual probability that a climate hazard, such as extreme heat, will cause an asset to stop working for one day with or without damage.
- Financial Stability Board
- An international body that was established in 2009 to monitor the global financial system and make recommendations.
- forest fire
- A destructive fire that spreads through trees and forest and creates flames and heat that can damage buildings and infrastructure. This definition excludes grass fires.
- FP
- See failure probability.
- freeze-thaw
- Fluctuation of air temperature between freezing and non-freezing temperatures. Saturated building materials freeze and expand then crack facades and structural elements.
- FSB
- See Financial Stability Board.
G
- GCM
- See global circulation model.
- GEBCO
- See General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans.
- General Bathymetric Chart of the Oceans
- A project to prepare a global series of publicly available charts that show the general shape of the seafloor.
- GHG
- See greenhouse gas.
- global circulation model
- A model that simulates the worldwide system of winds that transport heat from tropical to polar latitudes.
- greenhouse gas
- Gases in the atmosphere that trap heat and raise the surface temperature of the earth leading to global warming and climate change.
H
- hazard
-
Climate-related physical events or trends that might be detrimental to humans, assets, services, livelihoods, resources, and infrastructure. The likelihood of a hazard can vary greatly depending on location. For example, a forest fire is unlikely to affect a large urban area such as a city. See also exposure.
- HDW index
- See Hot-Dry-Windy index.
- HFP
- Heat failure probability. See failure probability.
- high risk property
-
A property that has a risk that is greater than or equal to 1% MVAR. See also maximum-to-date value-at-risk.
- Hot-Dry-Windy index
- An index that is based on the maximum wind speed and vapor pressure deficit and is an important factor in forest fires. See also vapor pressure deficit.
- HRP
- See high risk property.
I
- IBM® PAIRS Geoscope
- See Geospatial Analytics.
- IBTrACS
- See International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship.
- Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
-
An intergovernmental body of the United Nations that was created to advance scientific knowledge about climate change that is caused by human activities.
- International Best Track Archive for Climate Stewardship
- A project that includes the most complete global collection of tropical cyclone data. The project combines recent and historical tropical cyclone data from numerous sources to create a consolidated, publicly available data set.
- International Sustainability Standards Board
-
A board that develops standards for a high-quality, comprehensive, global baseline of sustainability disclosures.
- IPCC
- See Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
- ISSB
- See International Sustainability Standards Board.
J
K
L
- low risk property
- A property that has a risk that is less than 0.2% MVAR. See also maximum-to-date value-at-risk.
- LRP
- See low risk property.
M
- maximum value-at-risk
-
The annual risk of damage to an asset that is caused by climate-related hazards. The maximum value-at-risk (MVAR) is expressed as a percentage of the total asset value. For example, if the total asset value is $100,000, and the potential damage to the asset in a specified year is $1,000, then the MVAR is 1%.
- METAR
- See Meteorological Aerodrome Report.
- Meteorological Aerodrome Report
- A report that includes weather data that is important for aviation, such as wind speed, cloud cover, and precipitation.
- moderate risk property
A property that has a risk that is greater than or equal to 0.2% MVAR but less than 1.0% MVAR.
See also maximum value-at-risk.- MRP
- See moderate risk property.
- MVAR
- See maximum-to-date value-at-risk.
N
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- A US-based scientific and regulatory agency that has responsibilities that include forecasting weather and monitoring oceanic and atmospheric conditions.
O
- opportunity
- An effort that aims to mitigate against the effects of climate change or adapt to the changes. These efforts can cause economic, social, and environmental benefits. For example, to respond to climate change, organizations might move to low-emission energy sources, reduce operating costs by improving efficiency, or develop new products and services.
P
- physical risk
- Risks that are related to the physical impacts of climate change, such as fires or floods. See Transition risks.
- PL
- See productivity loss.
- productivity loss
- The effects of different types of disruption, including periods of closure that are associated with different hazard events. Productivity loss percentages are based on failure probability, which includes the annual average probability of the event occurring and the asset's vulnerability. See also failure probability.
- probabilistic
- The characteristic of being subject to randomness; non-deterministic. Probabilistic models include uncertainties in the analysis and do not produce the same outputs given the same inputs. One example of an uncertainty is that the global climate system is complex, so it is difficult to get exact climate conditions for the entire globe. See also deterministic.
Q
R
- RCM
- See regional climate model.
- RCP
- See representative concentration pathway.
- RCP1.9
- A climate change scenario based on a concentration of greenhouse gases that cause a global temperature increase of less than 1.5°C by the end of 2100. See also representative concentration pathway.
- RCP2.6
- A climate change scenario based on a concentration of greenhouse gases that cause a global temperature increase of approximately 1.6°C by the end of 2100. See also representative concentration pathway.
- RCP4.5
- A climate change scenario based on a concentration of greenhouse gases that cause a global temperature increase of approximately 2.4°C by the end of 2100. See also representative concentration pathway.
- RCP8.5
- A climate change scenario based on a concentration of greenhouse gases that cause a global temperature increase of greater than 4°C by the end of 2100. See also representative concentration pathway.
- regional climate model
- A model that simulates a local climate by using the output from a global circulation model as the input to a high-resolution climate model. See also global circulation model.
- representative concentration pathway
- Emission scenarios that were defined by the intergovernmental panel on climate change (IPCC). The representative concentration pathway (RCP) scenarios are climate change scenarios that predict future temperature increases based on different concentrations of greenhouse gases and different levels of mitigation. See also intergovernmental panel on climate change.
- return interval
- The amount of time that passes between occurrences of a hazard of a specific size.
- risk management
- The optimal allocation of resources to arrive at a cost-effective investment in defensive measures within an organization. For example, an organization might manage risks from climate change by identifying potential hazards and planning mitigation strategies that minimize the impact and maximize opportunities. See also hazards and opportunities.
- riverine flooding
- Changes in precipitation in a catchment that causes a river to exceed its capacity and flood nearby areas. Riverine or fluvial flooding can damage low-lying buildings or infrastructure assets.
S
- soil movement
- Soil contraction due to less rainfall that causes movement damage to structures.
- surface water flooding
- Increased frequency of extreme rainfall that leads to overland flooding. Surface water or pluvial flooding can damage low-lying buildings or infrastructure assets.
- synoptic winds
- Winds that are caused by pressure differences in the atmosphere.
T
- task force on climate-related financial disclosures
- The financial stability board (FSB) created the task force on climate-related financial disclosures (TCFD) to improve and increase reporting of climate-related financial information. The work of the TCFD is completed, and the recommendations are fully incorporated into the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) standards. See also financial stability board and International Sustainability Standards Board.
- TCFD
- See taskforce on climate-related financial disclosure.
- transition risk
- Risks that are related to the move to a lower-carbon economy, such as reducing greenhouse gases, and switching to renewable energy. See also Physical risks.
V
- value-at-risk
-
The risk of damage to an asset that is caused by climate-related hazards. This value is expressed as the percentage of the asset value.
- Vapor pressure deficit
- The difference between the amount of water in the air and the maximum amount of moisture that the air can hold.
- VAR
-
See value-at-risk.
- VPD
- See vapor pressure deficit.
W
- weather
- Describes the conditions of the atmosphere over a short time, such as a day or a week. See also climate.
- WCRP
- See world climate research programme.
- World Climate Research Programme
- An organization that coordinates international research on some of the most urgent scientific questions related to climate change.