These notes are the first chapter of a monograph, dedicated to a detailed proof of the equivariant index theorem for transversally elliptic operators. In this preliminary chapter, we prove a certain number of natural relations in equivariant cohomology. These relations include the Thom isomorphism in equivariant cohomology, the multiplicativity of the relative Chern characters, and the Riemann-Roch relation between the relative Chern character of the Bott symbol and of the relative Thom class.