Arabic Sustainability Dictionary

Paris Agreement

The 2015 international treaty under the UNFCCC that aims to hold global warming well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels and to pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5°C.

Particulate matter (PM)

Microscopic solid or liquid particles suspended in the air, such as PM10 and PM2.5, that can harm respiratory and cardiovascular health.

Partnership for Carbon Accounting Financials (PCAF)

A global industry-led initiative that provides a standard for financial institutions to measure and disclose the greenhouse gas emissions associated with their loans and investments.

PCAF data quality score

A score from 1 (best) to 5 (worst) that PCAF assigns to financed-emission estimates according to the type of data used, from verified reported emissions to sector averages.

Persistent organic pollutants (POPs)

Toxic chemicals that persist in the environment, accumulate in living organisms and are regulated under the Stockholm Convention.

Physical risk

Climate-related risks arising from acute events, such as floods and heatwaves, or chronic shifts, such as rising temperatures and sea levels.

Planetary boundaries

A scientific framework of nine Earth-system processes, such as climate change and biosphere integrity, with limits within which humanity can operate safely.

Polluter pays principle

The principle that those who cause pollution should bear the costs of preventing it and remedying the damage.

Pollution

The introduction of substances or energy into air, water or soil that harm human health or the environment.

Power purchase agreement (PPA)

A long-term contract under which a buyer purchases electricity, often from a specific renewable project, at an agreed price.

Precautionary principle

The principle that lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason to postpone cost-effective measures to prevent serious or irreversible environmental harm.

Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI)

A UN-supported network of investors that commit to six principles for incorporating ESG issues into investment practice.

Process emissions

Greenhouse gas emissions released by chemical or physical reactions in industrial processes, such as calcination in cement and lime production, rather than by fuel combustion.

Produced water

Water brought to the surface together with oil and gas during extraction, which must be treated, reinjected or disposed of.

Product-as-a-service (PaaS)

A business model in which customers pay for the use or performance of a product rather than owning it, giving the provider an incentive to make it durable.

Production route

The specific technology or process used to make a good, such as blast furnace or electric arc furnace for steel, which affects its embedded emissions.

Professional scepticism

An attitude of a questioning mind and critical assessment of evidence, alert to conditions that may indicate misstatement.

Project finance

Long-term financing of a specific project in which repayment relies mainly on the project's own cash flows.

Protected area

A clearly defined geographical space recognised and managed, through legal or other effective means, for the long-term conservation of nature.

Proxy voting

Voting on shareholder meeting resolutions by a representative on behalf of a shareholder who does not attend in person.