> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://help.eq-earth.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://help.eq-earth.com/registry/glossary.md). # Glossary Key terms used in the Equitable Earth Registry and in this help center. For the full set of official definitions, see the [Equitable Earth Terms & Definitions](https://docs.eq-earth.com/terms-definitions-v1.3.2.pdf). | Term | Meaning | | ----------------------------------- | --------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- | | **Account holder** | An organization, such as a project developer or a buyer, with an approved Registry account. Account holders can hold ECUs and manage them through transfers and retirements. | | **Account Manager** | The user who manages an account. Account Managers can invite users and receive retirement certificates by email. | | **Batch** | A group of units from the same originating issuance, identified by a serial number range. | | **Beneficial owner** | The legal entity or individual on whose behalf ECUs are retired. Every retirement must be attributed to one, and it is disclosed publicly. Not to be confused with the Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO) checked during KYC. See [Create a Beneficial Owner](/registry/retirements/create-a-beneficial-owner.md). | | **Billing Manager** | The contact who receives the account's invoices. | | **Block start / block end** | The first and last unit numbers in a batch, from 1 to 999,999,999. | | **Buffer pool** | A centrally managed reserve of non-tradeable ECUs, held in a dedicated Registry account, that compensates for potential losses of carbon stock in projects. At each issuance, 20% of the project's ECUs go to the buffer pool. Its content is publicly disclosed on the Registry. | | **CAR / CL** | Corrective Action Request / Clarification Request: findings issued by Equitable Earth during certification reviews, which the developer must address. | | **Cancellation** | The permanent removal of ECUs by the Secretariat, in response to a reversal, a double-counting event, a project failure or an erroneous issuance. Cancelled ECUs can no longer be transferred or retired. | | **Certification team** | The Equitable Earth team that publishes and manages project pages and documents, and requests issuances on behalf of developers. | | **Compensation claim** | A retirement of ECUs by an individual or organization to offset the GHG emissions attributable to them. | | **Contribution claim** | A retirement of ECUs by an individual or organization to represent a financial contribution to mitigating climate change and supporting ecological conditions and livelihoods. | | **Conversion** | The process by which PRUs become ECUs. PRUs convert in serial-number order: the first units in a batch convert first. See [Before You Transfer](/registry/transfers/before-you-transfer-batches-and-conversion.md). | | **Double counting** | Two parties claiming the same emission reduction or removal. It covers double issuance, double claiming and double use. The Registry's unique serial numbers and retirement records are designed to prevent it. | | **Due Diligence Report** | The report summarizing a full KYC investigation. For project developers, it is published on the Registry during the feasibility phase. See [Account Review and Approval](/registry/your-account/account-review-and-approval.md). | | **ECU** | Equitable Carbon Unit. Each ECU represents a VVB-verified reduction or removal of one tonne of CO₂ equivalent from the atmosphere, associated with the biodiversity and livelihood benefits of the project. ECUs are not biodiversity credits. Formerly called VRU. | | **ECU status** | Every ECU is either **active**, **cancelled** or **retired**. | | **Encumbered units** | Units that are held back and can't be transferred until Equitable Earth releases them. | | **Issuance** | The creation of ECUs for a project after a successful verification. The Certification team requests it on the developer's behalf and the Secretariat approves it. After the buffer pool allocation, the remaining 80% is transferred to the account holder(s). | | **KYC / AML** | Know Your Customer / Anti-Money Laundering checks, required for every account under the Anti-Fraud Policy. See [Account Review and Approval](/registry/your-account/account-review-and-approval.md). | | **Labels** | Tags showing that ECUs meet the eligibility requirements of CORSIA, ICROA or ICVCM. | | **Project developer** | The person or entity that manages and develops a project. | | **Project page** | The public page of a project on the Registry, with its key information and documents. | | **PRU** | A unit issued to a project, identified by its issuance date. PRUs can be transferred and convert to ECUs in serial-number order. | | **Registry administrator** | The Registry role with the highest level of permissions, held by the Director of the Secretariat. | | **Retirement** | Using ECUs to make a claim on behalf of a beneficial owner. An ECU can only be retired once; retired ECUs can no longer be transferred or cancelled. See [Retire ECUs](/registry/retirements/retire-ecus.md). | | **Retirement certificate** | The PDF confirming a retirement, emailed to the Account Manager and available in the My Retirements report. | | **Retirement reason** | The type of claim made with a retirement, disclosed publicly: **Compensation claim** or **Contribution claim**. | | **Reversal** | When emissions from loss events in a verification period exceed the removals achieved during that period. Reversals are compensated by cancelling ECUs from the buffer pool. | | **Secretariat** | The Equitable Earth team that administers the Registry. Only the Secretariat can issue and cancel ECUs. | | **Serial number** | The unique, permanent identifier of a batch, in the format `EQE-[project type]-[project ID]-[country]-[unit type]-[issuance date or vintage]-[batch]-[block start]-[block end]`. | | **Subaccount** | A separate holding within your account, used to organize units or split a batch. See [Split a Batch Using a Subaccount](/registry/transfers/split-a-batch-using-a-subaccount.md). | | **Transfer** | Moving units to another account holder or to one of your subaccounts. | | **Transferor / Transferee** | The account sending units / the account receiving them. | | **Ultimate Beneficial Owner (UBO)** | The natural person who ultimately owns or controls a legal entity. A KYC term, different from the beneficial owner of a retirement. | | **Vintage** | The year in which the GHG reductions or removals represented by an ECU took place. | | **VRU** | Former name of the ECU. Units issued under that name are treated exactly like ECUs. | | **VVB** | Validation and Verification Body: an independent, accredited third party that validates and verifies projects. | --- # Agent Instructions This documentation is published with GitBook. GitBook is the documentation platform designed so that both humans and AI agents can read, navigate, and reason over technical content effectively. Learn more at gitbook.com. ## Querying This Documentation If you need additional information that is not directly available in this page, you can query the documentation by asking a question. Perform an HTTP GET request on the following URL with the `ask` and `goal` query parameters: ``` GET https://help.eq-earth.com/registry/glossary.md?ask=&goal= ``` `ask` is the immediate question: it should be specific, self-contained, and written in natural language. `goal` is what the user is ultimately trying to achieve, the reason they need the answer. 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