III. Glossary of Common Terms

Annex 1 countries: Signatories to the Climate Convention, largely from the North, who will abide by binding greenhouse gas emission reductions as agreed to under the Kyoto Protocol.
the Bank: The World Bank Group
carbon: A key element in fossil fuels, whose molecular weight is equivalent to less than one-third that of carbon dioxide.
carbon dioxide: CO2, the number one greenhouse gas, whose molecular weight is 3.68 times greater than carbon.
Earth Summit: The 1992 United Nations Convention on Environment and Development held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.
Earth Summit II: The five-year assessment of progress made since the Earth Summit in 1992, held in New York the week of June 23, 1997.
FCCC: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, or the Climate Convention.
G-7: The Group of Seven wealthiest industrialized countries. Includes the U.S., Germany, Japan, Italy, France, the U.K., and Canada. Russia has achieved ŇobserverÓ status at G-7 meetings, and hence the name G-8 is often also used.
GDP: Gross Domestic Product
gigaton: One billion tons
IBRD: International Bank for Reconstruction and Development
IDA: International Development Association
IFC: International Finance Corporation
IMF: International Monetary Fund
IPCC: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
MIGA: Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency
Non-Annex 1 countries:Signatories to the Climate Convention in developing countries who are given more leeway in reducing their greenhouse gas emissions.
MOS: Monthly Operational Summary, a report issued monthly by the World Bank on project lending.
NGO: non-governmental organization, or non-profit organization.
The North or global North: This refers, in shorthand, to those wealthier, industrialized countries of Europe and North America (including all of the Group of Seven, or "G-7," countries), as well as other countries like Australia which, although south of the equator, nevertheless are grouped with the "North" in terms of their economic status.
PID: Project Information Document. A brief description for public distribution on World Bank financed projects.
The South or global South: This refers, in shorthand, to the less industrialized countries, many of whom--but not all--are situated south of the richer, "Northern" countries of Europe and northern America.
UN: The United Nations
World Bank Group: Includes IBRD, IDA, IFC, and MIGA