This unit asks you to write a Chennai Climate Brief: a 4-page policy document for a decision-maker. You will need precise language to describe what is happening, what could happen, and what should be done. The vocabulary below is the working language of climate science and climate policy.
Vocabulary
| Term | What it means + visual cue | Sentence stem |
|---|---|---|
| Greenhouse gas (GHG) | A gas that traps heat in the atmosphere: CO₂, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, etc. Visual: Gas molecule trapping an outgoing heat arrow. | The dominant GHG driving this change is ___. |
| Radiative forcing | The change in energy balance caused by a factor (like GHGs). Positive forcing = warming. Visual: Scale tipping toward "warm" as GHGs accumulate. | Radiative forcing from ___ has increased because ___. |
| Mitigation | Actions to reduce greenhouse gas emissions or remove them from the atmosphere. Addresses the cause. Visual: Faucet being turned off. | Mitigation in this sector means ___. |
| Adaptation | Actions to adjust to climate impacts that are already happening or will happen. Addresses the consequences. Visual: Person opening an umbrella in the rain. | Adaptation for this challenge means ___. |
| Vulnerability | How exposed and unprepared a community, system, or ecosystem is to climate impacts. Determines who is hurt and how badly. Visual: Same flood hitting a poor neighborhood and a wealthy one. | The most vulnerable group for this challenge is ___ because ___. |
| IPCC | Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The international scientific body that synthesizes climate research. Reports use careful language about confidence. Visual: Globe with multiple national flags around it. | According to the IPCC, ___. |
| Projection | A model-based estimate of future climate under specific assumptions. NOT a prediction: depends on what humans do. Visual: Graph with multiple branching dashed lines for different scenarios. | Projections for Chennai under a high-emissions scenario suggest ___. |
| Scenario | A storyline about future emissions and choices (e.g., RCP/SSP scenarios). Used to compare possible futures. Visual: Three branching paths labeled "low," "middle," "high" emissions. | Under the ___ scenario, ___ is projected to ___. |
| Baseline | A reference period (often 1850-1900 or 1986-2005) used to measure change against. Visual: Horizontal dashed line with bars above showing departures from it. | Compared to the ___ baseline, ___ has changed by ___. |
| Anomaly | The difference between an observed value and the baseline average. Used to show change without being misled by normal variation. Visual: Bar chart with bars above and below a zero line. | The temperature anomaly for ___ was ___. |
| Heat wave | An extended period of unusually hot temperatures relative to local norms. Increasingly frequent in Chennai. Visual: Thermometer with red bars stretching across multiple days. | Heat waves in this region are projected to ___. |
| Sea-level rise | The long-term increase in average ocean height from thermal expansion and ice melt. Threatens coastal cities like Chennai. Visual: Coastline with two water-level lines, present and future. | Sea-level rise in Chennai by ___ is projected to ___. |
| Carbon budget | The total amount of CO₂ that can still be emitted while keeping warming below a target (e.g., 1.5°C). A finite, shrinking number. Visual: Bank account labeled "CO₂" steadily draining. | The remaining carbon budget for 1.5°C is ___. |
| Policy brief | A short, focused document written for a decision-maker. Argues for a specific action with evidence. Different from a research paper. Visual: Folder labeled "BRIEF" with executive seated nearby. | The audience for my brief is ___, so I will emphasize ___. |
| Equity | Fairness in how costs and benefits of climate action are distributed. Who pays, who benefits, who has voice. Visual: Three people of different heights standing on boxes to see over a fence. | An equity issue in this challenge is ___. |
| Co-benefit | An additional benefit of a climate action beyond its main goal (e.g., walkable cities reduce emissions AND improve health). Visual: Two-headed arrow labeled "climate + health." | A co-benefit of this action is ___. |
Term-to-data match. I will give you 5 short data clips (a temperature trend, a sea-level chart, a heat-wave count, etc.). For each, write the vocabulary term it best illustrates and a one-sentence interpretation.
With a partner: each of you pick one adaptation challenge from the U4 set. Argue in 2 minutes which is more urgent and why, using at least 5 terms from this list. Your partner challenges with: "who is most vulnerable in your scenario?"
Multilingual reference
For translations of these terms into Tamil, Hindi, French, Korean, or Japanese, see the Master Vocabulary Reference: U4 section. The five-column translation tables there are an AI-assisted starting reference: verify with a native-speaker peer or teacher when precision matters.
If you would like to discuss any of these terms in your first language with an AI tutor, you may. Document that use in the AI Documentation section of any assessment that follows. See the AI Documentation Protocol.