CO-EXPLORING TERMINOLOGIES

This guide, published by the Stockholm Environment Institute, provides a methodology for conducting a terminology co-exploration exercise designed for climate change adaptation decision-making. It outlines a participatory process using cards to help stakeholders distinguish between related but distinct concepts such as weather versus climate and adaptation versus mitigation.

• The co-exploring terminologies activity is designed to help participants explore misunderstood or unfamiliar language regarding weather, climate, adaptation, mitigation, development, and disaster risk reduction. The process involves using large cards for concepts and smaller cards for descriptive statements or actions, which participants categorize and discuss to reach a shared understanding.
• The guide distinguishes between weather and climate based on timescales: weather reflects short-term conditions that can change in hours or days, while climate represents average weather conditions at a location over an extended period, specifically more than 30 years.
• The guide defines distinct roles for mitigation, adaptation, and disaster risk reduction (DRR). Mitigation focuses on reducing greenhouse gas emissions; adaptation manages or lowers risks from climate impacts to protect communities; and DRR aims to lessen damage from natural hazards, regardless of whether they are climate-linked.
• The exercise is structured for flexibility in group size and staffing. It can be run by a single facilitator for 6 to 10 participants or two facilitators for 8 to 24 participants, with the latter allowing for concurrent exercises and rotation between tables. The total time required is estimated at 30-40 minutes.

APA

Daniels, E., & Bharwani, S. (n.d.). CO-EXPLORING TERMINOLOGIES. Stockholm Environment Institute. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/co-exploring-terminologies-how-to-guide.pdf

Chicago

Daniels, Elizabeth, and Sukaina Bharwani. CO-EXPLORING TERMINOLOGIES. Stockholm Environment Institute, n.d. https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/co-exploring-terminologies-how-to-guide.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Daniels |first1=Elizabeth |last2=Bharwani |first2=Sukaina |title=CO-EXPLORING TERMINOLOGIES |publisher=Stockholm Environment Institute |url=https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/co-exploring-terminologies-how-to-guide.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{danielsndcoexploring, author = {Daniels, Elizabeth and Bharwani, Sukaina}, title = {{CO-EXPLORING TERMINOLOGIES}}, institution = {Stockholm Environment Institute}, url = {https://www.sei.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/co-exploring-terminologies-how-to-guide.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }