EIT Climate-KIC EIT Climate-KIC is the EU’s climate innovation agency, working to accelerate the transition to a zero- carbon and resilient world by enabling systems transformation. Headquartered in Amsterdam, it operates from 13 hubs across Europe and is active in 39 countries. EIT Climate-KIC was established in 2010 and is predominately funded by the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT), a body of the European Union. As a Knowledge and Innovation Community (KIC), it brings together more than 400 partners from business, academia, the public and non-profit sectors to create networks of expertise, through which innovative products, services and systems are developed, brought to market and scaled up for impact. Fossil fuels Coal, oil and natural gas are examples of fossil fuels that were created by decomposing animals and plants in the earth’s crust. Fossil fuels are a non-renewable resource that take millions of years to create; our supply of fossil fuels will eventually run out. The burning of fossil fuels is the main contributor to global warming as they release carbon dioxide into the atmosphere, increasing the greenhouse gas effect. Greenhouse gases Greenhouse gases are gases in the earth’s atmosphere that trap heat from the sun. Greenhouse gases include carbon dioxide, water vapour, ozone, nitrogen dioxide and methane. Greenhouse gas effect The greenhouse gas effect is when the gases in the earth’s atmosphere trap the sun’s heat, making the earth warmer. Human activities are changing earth’s natural greenhouse gas effect by burning fossil fuels. Too many greenhouse gases in the earth’s atmosphere trap in more and more heat from the sun, increasing the earth’s temperature. Incremental adaptation Adaptation that maintains the essence and integrity of a system or process at a given scale. In some cases, incremental adaptation can accrue to result in transformational adaptation. Mitigation Climate change mitigation strategies regroup all the efforts to reduce or prevent the emission of greenhouse gases (which leads to more climate change). Some of the ways to limit future emissions are the use of new technologies and renewable energies (including wind and solar power), to make older equipment more energy efficient and to change management practices or consumer behaviour. Net-zero emissions Net-zero emission means that all man-made greenhouse gas emissions must be removed from the atmosphere through reduction measures, thus restoring the earth’s natural greenhouse gas balance. To meet a goal of net- zero, any new greenhouse gas emissions that are produced must be as low as possible. And those produced emissions must be offset by a process that reduces greenhouses gases in the atmosphere (such as planting trees or capturing carbon dioxide). Paris Agreement The Paris Agreement is a global effort to respond to the threat of climate change. Signed by 195 countries in 2015 with the aim ‘to keep the increase in global mean surface temperature to well below 2°C, and to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change’.
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