The Oxford English Dictionary has added an entry for “global heating” in response to increasing use of the term and concerns that “global warming” does not capture the gravity of climate change.
Its definition of global heating says it is “often used in preference to global warming to convey more emphatically the seriousness of climate change caused by human activity and the urgent need to address it”.
The dictionary said that global heating was used about 15 times more often in the first half of last year than in the first half of 2018, although global warming was still the more frequently used term.
Another new entry is “natural capital”, defined as “the natural resources and environmental features in a given area, regarded as assets having economic value or providing a service to humankind”.
A special update of the dictionary launched to mark Cop26, the UN climate conference starting on October 31, also contains sub-entries on other increasingly popular terms including “eco-anxiety” and “net zero”. Sub-entries are compounds and phrases added to existing word entries.
Eco-anxiety is defined as “unease or apprehension about current and future harm to the environment caused by human activity and climate change”.
Net zero is “an overall balance between the amount of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases produced and the amount removed from the atmosphere; a target of achieving this in order to mitigate the effects of global warming”.
“Climate denier”, “climate sceptic” and “climate denialism” are also included to describe the rejection of the idea or evidence that climate change caused by humans is occurring, or represents a significant threat.
Other additions include “climate strike”, in recognition of the youth protests led by Greta Thunberg, as well as “extreme weather”, to describe weather that is very harsh, unseasonal or atypical for a region, especially when attributed to climate change.
Increased ownership of electric vehicles is reflected in new sub-entries for “range anxiety” and “smart charging”, and there are additions to “windmill” to refer to wind turbines and “tidal” to reflect the potential to generate power from the tides.
The OED, produced by Oxford Languages, part of Oxford University Press, started a project early in 2021 to broaden and review its coverage of vocabulary related to climate change and sustainability.
Its lexicographers have also traced existing climate-related words further back in time, tracking the term “climate change” back to a US magazine article in 1854.
In the 1980s, the world was talking about the greenhouse effect, but that was quickly overtaken by global warming, and then both were eclipsed by the use of climate change, which has seen sharp and steady growth over the past 40 years, the language experts said.
Now the language has become more urgent, with “climate emergency”, “climate crisis” and even “climate catastrophe” joining the lexicon and their use surging.
Trish Stewart, science editor at the OED, said: “As world leaders come together to seek solutions to the climate change problem, it has been fascinating, if at times somewhat alarming, to delve deeper into the language we use, both now and in the past, to talk about climate and sustainability.
“The very real sense of urgency that is now upon us is reflected in our language.
“What happens next depends on so many factors but one thing we can be sure of is that our language will continue to evolve and to tell the story.”
Language is also changing as people discuss how to tackle the crisis, such as “rain garden” to absorb rainwater and “air source” for a type of heat pump.
