API (Application Programming Interface): A set of rules and protocols allowing different software applications to communicate with each other.
Asset Integrity Policy: Tero Carbon's rules ensuring the credibility and preventing misuse of environmental assets.
CAD Trust: Climate Action Data Trust. An independent global platform harmonizing carbon market data.
Chain of Custody: The documented history tracking the sequence of ownership, transfer, and retirement of a VCU.
Co-benefits: Positive impacts of a carbon project beyond GHG emission reductions (e.g., biodiversity, community development), often aligned with SDGs.
Custody Account: The designated Tero Carbon account/wallet assigned to a Marketplace to hold VCUs listed on its platform.
Detokenization (Marketplace): The act of burning/destroying the Marketplace's internal token representation of a VCU, done before notifying Tero to return the VCU to the native Tero ecosystem.
ERC-721A: An optimized standard for Non-Fungible Tokens (NFTs) on Ethereum-compatible blockchains, often used by Tero for operational certificates.
ERC-1155: A multi-token standard on Ethereum-compatible blockchains, used by Tero for representing batches of fungible VCUs from the same issuance.
FAQ: Frequently Asked Questions.
IPFS (InterPlanetary File System): A decentralized protocol for storing and sharing data. Used by Tero for VCU metadata.
Issuance: The event where Tero Carbon officially issues a batch of VCUs from a verified project monitoring period onto the registry.
kgCO2e: Kilogram of Carbon Dioxide equivalent. 1000 kgCO2e = 1 tCO2e. Marketplaces may use this unit internally.
Marketplace: An online platform integrating with the Tero Carbon API to list and facilitate trading/retirement of Tero Carbon VCUs.
Minting: The initial creation of a VCU token on the blockchain by Tero Carbon.
NFT (Non-Fungible Token): A unique digital asset on a blockchain, used by Tero for operational certificates.
Notification: An API call made using reportTransaction by the Marketplace to inform Tero Carbon of an internal event.
OpenSea: A popular public marketplace for NFTs, used by Tero for transparency of operational certificates.
Polygon: A public blockchain network (Layer 2 for Ethereum) used by Tero Carbon for its VCU tokenization due to efficiency and lower costs.
Privacy Policy: Document outlining how Tero Carbon handles personal data.
Registry: The official Tero Carbon system for recording and tracking VCU ownership, status, and transactions.
reportTransaction: The core API endpoint used by Marketplaces to notify Tero of internal Tokenization, Transfer, Retire, or Detokenization events.
Retirement: The permanent removal of a VCU from circulation so it can be claimed for offsetting emissions. In the new model, executed internally by the Marketplace and reported to Tero.
Retokenization (Tero Carbon): The process where Tero Carbon re-activates or re-issues its native VCU token representation in a user's Tero account, triggered after receiving an approved Detokenization notification from a Marketplace. Only performed for whole tCO2e units.
SDG (Sustainable Development Goal): 17 global goals set by the United Nations, often referenced as co-benefits of carbon projects.
Staging Environment: A non-production environment for testing API integration.
tCO2e: Tonne (metric ton) of Carbon Dioxide equivalent. The standard unit for VCUs in the Tero Carbon registry.
Tokenization (General): Representing an asset (like a VCU) as a digital token on a blockchain.
Tokenization (Marketplace): The mandatory process where a Marketplace creates its own internal digital representation of Tero VCUs held in its custody.
Transfer (Internal): Movement of the Marketplace's internal VCU representation between users on the Marketplace platform, reported to Tero.
VCU (Verified Carbon Unit): Tero Carbon's primary environmental asset for this API; a carbon credit representing one tonne of CO2e avoided, reduced or removed.
VCSU (Verified Carbon Stock Unit): Another Tero Carbon asset representing stored carbon; not part of this API integration.
VCM (Voluntary Carbon Market): The market for voluntary trading of carbon credits.
Webhook: An automated message sent from an application (Tero) to another (Marketplace) when a specific event occurs (e.g., notification approval).
