Translation is the communication of the meaning of a source-language text by means of an equivalent target-language text. The English language draws a terminological distinction (not all languages do) between translating (a written text) and interpreting (oral or sign-language communication between users of different languages); under this distinction, translation can begin only after the appearance of writing within a language community.
Current global observational and modelling capabilities allow scientists to produce estimates of the carbon budget, but many uncertainties remain. An EU-funded initiative was therefore established to provide more and better data on carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4) through a global carbon observation and analysis system.