Glossary | Climate Lexicon I

Interglacials

Interglacial periods are the heat periods between the ice ages. The current interglacial (last interglacial) is called the Würm (often spelled ”Wurm”) glaciation.

IPCC

IPCC stands for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. The IPCC was founded in 1988 by the World Organization for Meteorology and the United Nations Environment Program. The main task of the IPCC is providing information on the following topics:

1. anthropogenic (man-made) climate change,
2. the risks and consequences of climate change,
3. adapting to climate change and avoiding dangerous climate change.

IOS International Organization for Standardization

The International Organization for Standardization, or IOS(abbreviated), is an international association of standardization organizations (Germany: DIN - German Institute for Standardization & CH: SNV Swiss Standards Association) and develops international standards. Internationally, the abbreviation IOS is used. Today, 166 countries are represented by IOS, each member represents 1 specific country. The environmental management standard ISO 14001 sets globally accepted requirements for an environmental management system. Further environmental standards in IOS are: 14040 f. (ecological balance), 14062 (development and environment), 14020 (environmental labeling), 14031 and 14032 (environmental performance assessment) and 19011 (audit).

IUCN / World Conservation Union

The acronym IUCN stands for International Union for the Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources. It was founded as a non-governmental organization in France with headquarters in Gland, Switzerland. IUCN is committed to the protection of nature on reservations. Conferences are held every four years. With a membership of 1241 (members from countries, government organizations, national and international non-government organizations). IUCN has offices in 62 countries.