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October 20, 2022
There is a lot of specific language and jargon used in the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) negotiations and related activities. This list of terms, which originated from the UNFCCC’s now-retired glossary, is designed to help you follow along with the UNFCCC’s annual Conference of the Parties (COP). Language in the glossary below originated from the UNFCCC website unless otherwise noted.
Many of the definitions reference key UNFCCC meetings or decisions. To learn more about those events and outcomes, check out the UNFCCC’s timeline.
This glossary accompanies EESI’s daily newsletter, COP28 Dispatch, which runs each day of COP. To sign up for that newsletter, click here.
Introduction last updated November 2023
Glossary updated October 2022
Adaptation Committee (AC)
The Adaptation Committee was established by the Conference of the Parties as part of the Cancun Agreements to promote the implementation of enhanced action on adaptation in a coherent manner under the Convention, inter alia, through various functions. More information available here.
Adaptation Fund
The Adaptation Fund was established to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable and are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Fund is to be financed with a share of proceeds from clean development mechanism (CDM) project activities and receive funds from other sources. It is operated by the Adaptation Fund Board. More information available here.
Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
An ad hoc coalition of low-lying and island countries. These nations are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and share common positions on climate change. Find the list of member countries here.
Amendment
A modification by the COP to the text of the Convention. If consensus cannot be reached, an amendment must win three-quarters of the votes of all Parties present and casting ballots.
Annex I Parties
The industrialized countries listed in Annex I to the Convention, which committed to returning their greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 as per Article 4.2 (a) and (b). They have also accepted emissions targets for the period 2008-12 as per Article 3 and Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol. They include the 24 original OECD members, the European Union, and 14 countries with economies in transition. (Croatia, Liechtenstein, Monaco, and Slovenia joined Annex 1 at COP-3, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia replaced Czechoslovakia.) List of Parties to the Convention can be found here.
Annex II Parties
The countries listed in Annex II to the Convention which have a special obligation to provide financial resources and facilitate technology transfer to developing countries. Annex II Parties include the 24 original OECD members plus the European Union. List of Parties to the Convention can be found here.
Bureau
A body responsible for directing the work of the COP. Its 10 members are delegates elected by each of five regional groups. The Bureau includes the COP President, six Vice Presidents, the Chairs of SBI and SBSTA, and a rapporteur. Each of the Convention's subsidiary bodies also has a Bureau.
Business and industry non-governmental organizations (BINGO)
One of nine non-governmental organization constituencies.
Capacity building
In the context of climate change, the process of developing the technical skills and institutional capability in developing countries and economies in transition to enable them to address effectively the causes and results of climate change.
Carbon market
A popular (but misleading) term for a trading system through which countries may buy or sell units of greenhouse-gas emissions in an effort to meet their national limits on emissions, either under the Kyoto Protocol or under other agreements, such as that among member states of the European Union. The term comes from the fact that carbon dioxide is the predominant greenhouse gas, and other gases are measured in units called "carbon-dioxide equivalents."
Cartagena Dialogue
A collection of around 40 countries working towards an ambitious legally binding agreement under the UNFCCC, and who are committed to becoming or remaining low carbon domestically. Participates include: Antigua & Barbuda, Australia, Bangladesh, Barbados, Burundi, Chile, Colombia, Costa Rica, Denmark, Dominican Republic, Ethiopia, European Union, France, Gambia, Georgia, Germany, Ghana, Grenada, Guatemala, Indonesia, Kenya, Lebanon, Malawi, Maldives, Marshall Islands, México, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Panama, Peru, Rwanda, Samoa, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland, Tajikistan, Tanzania, Uganda, UAE, and the United Kingdom.
Certified emission reductions (CER)
A Kyoto Protocol unit equal to 1 metric tonne of CO2 equivalent. CERs are issued for emission reductions from CDM project activities. Two special types of CERs called temporary certified emission reduction (tCERs) and long-term certified emission reductions (lCERs) are issued for emission removals from afforestation and reforestation CDM projects.
Chair (or Chairman, Chairperson, etc.)
National delegates elected by participating governments to lead the deliberations of the Convention's subsidiary bodies. Different chairs may be elected for other informal groups. The Chair is responsible for facilitating progress towards an agreement and serves during the inter-sessional period until the next COP.
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
A mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol through which developed countries may finance greenhouse-gas emission reduction or removal projects in developing countries, and receive credits for doing so which they may apply towards meeting mandatory limits on their own emissions.
Clearing house
A service which facilitates and simplifies transactions among multiple parties.
Common Reporting Format (CRF)
Standardized format for reporting estimates of greenhouse-gas emissions and removals and other relevant information by Annex I Parties.
Compliance
Fulfillment by countries/businesses/individuals of emission reduction and reporting commitments under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.
Conference of the Parties (COP)
The supreme body of the Convention. It currently meets once a year to review the Convention's progress. The word "conference" is not used here in the sense of "meeting" but rather of "association". The "Conference" meets in sessional periods, for example, the "fourth session of the Conference of the Parties." More information here.
Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP)
The Convention's supreme body is the COP, which serves as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The sessions of the COP and the CMP are held during the same period to reduce costs and improve coordination between the Convention and the Protocol. More information here.
Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA)
All States that are Parties to the Paris Agreement are represented at the CMA, while States that are not Parties participate as observers. The CMA oversees the implementation of the Paris Agreement and takes decisions to promote its effective implementation. More information here.
Consultative Group of Experts (CGE)
Consultative Group of Experts on National Communications from non-Annex I Parties. A panel established to improve the preparation of national communications from developing countries. National communications are an obligation of Parties to the Climate Change Convention.
Contact group
An open-ended meeting that may be established by the COP, a subsidiary body or a Committee of the Whole wherein Parties may negotiate before forwarding agreed text to a plenary for formal adoption. Observers generally may attend contact group sessions.
Declaration
A non-binding political statement made by ministers attending a major meeting (e.g. the Marrakesh Ministerial Declaration of COP-7).
Documents
Documents fall into different categories. Official documents are available to everyone and feature the logos of the United Nations and the Climate Change Convention. They carry a reference number, such as FCCC/CP/1998/1. Pre-session documents are available before a meeting, often in all six UN languages. In-session documents are distributed on-site (see CRPs, L docs, Misc. docs, Inf. docs and non-papers). Informal documents are often distributed outside the meeting room by observers.
Entry into force
The point at which an intergovernmental agreement becomes legally binding -- occurring at a pre-stated interval after a pre-stated and required number of ratifications by countries has been achieved. The Climate Change Convention required 50 ratifications to enter into force. It now enters into force for each new Party 90 days after that Party ratifies the Convention.
Environmental Integrity Group (EIG)
A coalition or negotiating alliance consisting of Mexico, the Republic of Korea, Switzerland, Liechtenstein, and Monaco.
Environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGO)
European Union (E.U.)
As a regional economic integration organization, the E.U. is a Party to both the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. However, it does not have a separate vote from its member states. Because the E.U. signed the Convention when it was known as the EEC (European Economic Community), the E.U. retains this name for all formal Convention-related purposes. Find all E.U. members states here.
Farmers and agricultural non-governmental organizations (Farmers)
Financial Mechanism
To facilitate the provision of climate finance, the Convention established a financial mechanism to provide funds to developing country Parties. The financial mechanism also serves the Kyoto Protocol. The Convention states that the operation of the financial mechanism can be entrusted to one or more existing international entities. The Global Environment Facility (GEF) has served as an operating entity of the financial mechanism for many years and at COP 17 in 2011, Parties also decided to designate the Green Climate Fund (GCF) as an operating entity of the financial mechanism. The financial mechanism is accountable to the COP, which decides on its policies, programme priorities and eligibility criteria for funding.
Global Environment Facility (GEF)
The GEF is an independent financial organization that provides grants to developing countries for projects that benefit the global environment and promote sustainable livelihoods in local communities. The Parties to the Convention assigned operation of the financial mechanism to the GEF on an on-going basis, subject to review every four years. The financial mechanism is accountable to the COP. More information here.
Global Stocktake (GST)
The stocktake takes place every five years, with the first-ever stocktake set to conclude at COP28. It's a moment to take a long, hard look at the state of our planet and chart a better course for the future. Decision 19/CMA.1 notes that the global stocktake “will be a Party-driven process conducted in a transparent manner and with the participation of non-Party stakeholders” (para. 10), it enables countries and other stakeholders to see where they’re collectively making progress toward meeting the goals of the Paris Agreement – and where they’re not. It’s like taking inventory. It means looking at everything related to where the world stands on climate action and support, identifying the gaps, and working together to agree on solutions pathways (to 2030 and beyond). Entry added November 2023.
Green Climate Fund (GCF)
At COP 16 in Cancun in 2010, Governments established a Green Climate Fund as an operating entity of the financial mechanism of the Convention under Article 11. The GCF will support projects, programmes, policies and other activities in developing country Parties. The Fund will be governed by the GCF Board. More information here.
Group of 77 (G-77) and China
A large negotiating alliance of developing countries that focuses on numerous international topics, including climate change. The G-77 was founded in 1967 under the auspices of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It seeks to harmonize the negotiating positions of its 131 member states.
Implementation
Actions (legislation or regulations, judicial decrees, or other actions) that governments take to translate international accords into domestic law and policy.
Indigenous Peoples Organizations (IPOs)
Informal contact group
A group of delegates instructed by the President or a Chair to meet in private to discuss a specific matter in an effort to consolidate different views, reach a compromise, and produce an agreed proposal, often in the form of a written text.
Intergovernmental organization (IGO)
Intergovernmental organizations (e.g., multilateral development banks, associations of countries) can have observer status to the UNFCCC. More information here.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
Established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme, the IPCC surveys world-wide scientific and technical literature and publishes assessment reports that are widely recognized as the most credible existing sources of information on climate change. The IPCC also works on methodologies and responds to specific requests from the Convention's subsidiary bodies. The IPCC is independent of the Convention.
JUSSCANNZ
An acronym representing non-E.U. industrialized countries which occasionally meet to discuss various issues related to climate change. The members are Japan, the United States, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Norway, and New Zealand. Iceland, Mexico, and the Republic of Korea may also attend JUSSCANNZ meetings.
Kyoto Protocol
An international agreement standing on its own, and requiring separate ratification by governments, but linked to the UNFCCC. The Kyoto Protocol, among other things, sets binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions by industrialized countries. More information here.
Land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF)
A greenhouse gas inventory sector that covers emissions and removals of greenhouse gases resulting from direct human-induced land use, land-use change and forestry activities.
Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
The world's poorest countries. The criteria currently used by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for designation as an LDC include low income, human resource weakness and economic vulnerability. Currently 48 countries have been designated by the UN General Assembly as LDCs.
Least Developed Countries Expert Group (LEG)
A panel of 13 experts which provides advice to LDCs on the preparation and implementation of national adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs) -- plans for addressing the urgent and immediate needs of those countries to adapt to climate change.
Least Developed Country Fund (LDCF)
The LDCF is a fund established to support a work programme to assist Least Developed Country Parties to carry out, inter alia, the preparation and implementation of national adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs). The Global Environment Facility, as the entity that operates the financial mechanism of the Convention, has been entrusted to operate this fund. More information here.
Local government and municipal authorities (LGMA)
Loss and damage
At COP 16 in Cancun in 2010, Governments established a work programme in order to consider approaches to address loss and damage associated with climate change impacts in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change as part of the Cancun Adaptation Framework. More information here.
Measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV)
A process/concept that potentially supports greater transparency in the climate change regime.
Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, an international agreement adopted in Montreal in 1987.
National adaptation plans (NAPs)
The national adaptation plan (NAP) process was established under the Cancun Adaptation Framework (CAF). It enables Parties to formulate and implement national adaptation plans (NAPs) as a means of identifying medium- and long-term adaptation needs and developing and implementing strategies and programmes to address those needs. It is a continuous, progressive and iterative process which follows a country-driven, gender-sensitive, participatory and fully transparent approach. More information here.
National adaptation programmes of action (NAPAs)
Documents prepared by least developed countries (LDCs) identifying urgent and immediate needs for adapting to climate change.
National communication
A document submitted in accordance with the Convention (and the Protocol) by which a Party informs other Parties of activities undertaken to address climate change. Most developed countries have now submitted their fifth national communications; most developing countries have completed their first national communication and are in the process of preparing their second.
National delegation
One or more officials empowered to represent and negotiate on behalf of a government.
Nationally determined contributions (NDC)
According to Article 4 paragraph 2 of the Paris Agreement, each Party shall prepare, communicate and maintain successive nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that it intends to achieve. Parties shall pursue domestic mitigation measures, with the aim of achieving the objectives of such contributions. More information here.
Non-Annex I Parties
Refers to countries that have ratified or acceded to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that are not included in Annex I of the Convention. List of Parties to the Convention is available here.
Non-governmental organizations (NGOs)
Organizations that are not part of a governmental structure. They include environmental groups, research institutions, business groups, and associations of urban and local governments. Many NGOs attend climate talks as observers. To be accredited to attend meetings under the Convention, NGOs must be non-profit. More information here.
Non-governmental organization constituencies
Groups admitted as observers at sessions of the Convention bodies with diverse but broadly clustered interests or perspectives. There are nine constituency groups: the business and industry non-governmental organizations (BINGO), the environmental non-governmental organizations (ENGO), the local government and municipal authorities (LGMA), the Indigenous peoples organizations (IPO), the research and independent non-governmental organizations (RINGO), the trade union non-governmental organizations (TUNGO), the farmers and agricultural non-governmental organizations (Farmers), the women and gender non-governmental organizations (Women and Gender), and youth non-governmental organizations (YOUNGO). More information here.
Non-Party
A state that has not ratified the Convention but attends meetings as an observer. More information here.
Observers
Agencies, non-governmental organizations, and Governments not Parties to the Convention which are permitted to attend, but not vote, at meetings of the COP, the CMP and the subsidiary bodies. Observers may include the United Nations and its specialized agencies; other intergovernmental organizations such as the International Atomic Energy Agency; and accredited non-governmental organizations (NGOs). More information here.
Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)
OECD is a unique forum where the governments of 37 democracies with market-based economies collaborate to develop policy standards to promote sustainable economic growth (Language from the U.S. Department of State).
Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC)
A group of 13 petroleum exporting countries including the Islamic Republic of Iran, Iraq, Kuwait, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, Libya, the United Arab Emirates, Algeria, Nigeria, Gabon, Angola, Equatorial Guinea, and Congo (Information from the OPEC website).
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP21 in Paris, on December 12, 2015 and entered into force on November 4, 2016. More information here.
Party
A state (or regional economic integration organization such as the European Union) that agrees to be bound by a treaty and for which the treaty has entered into force. More information here.
Plenary
A formal meeting of the entire COP, CMP or one of the subsidiary bodies. Formal decisions or conclusions may only be taken during plenary sessions.
President
The official of a member government elected by the Parties to preside over the COP, the CMP, and the CMA. The President is often a senior official or minister from the state or region hosting the Conference. The President may not participate in the negotiations as a representative of the member government during the term of presidency.
Protocol
An international agreement linked to an existing convention, but as a separate and additional agreement which must be signed and ratified by the Parties to the convention concerned. Protocols typically strengthen a convention by adding new, more detailed commitments.
Ratification
Formal approval, often by a Parliament or other national legislature, of a convention, protocol, or treaty, enabling a country to become a Party. Ratification is a separate process that occurs after a country has signed an agreement. The instrument of ratification must be deposited with a "depositary" (in the case of the Climate Change Convention, the UN Secretary-General) to start the countdown to becoming a Party (in the case of the Convention, the countdown is 90 days).
Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest Degradation (REDD)
REDD+ is a framework created by the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties to guide activities in the forest sector that reduces emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, as well as the sustainable management of forests and the conservation and enhancement of forest carbon stocks in developing countries. More information here.
Regional groups
Alliances of countries, in most cases sharing the same geographic region, which meet privately to discuss issues and nominate bureau members and other officials for activities under the Convention. The five regional groups are Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), and the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG).
Research and systematic observation
An obligation of Parties to the Climate Change Convention; they are called upon to promote and cooperate in research and systematic observation of the climate system, and called upon to aid developing countries to do so.
Research and independent non-governmental organizations (RINGO)
Rio Conventions
Three environmental conventions, two of which were adopted at the 1992 "Earth Summit" in Rio de Janeiro: the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and the Convention on Biodiversity (CBD), while the third, the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), was adopted in 1994. The issues addressed by the three treaties are related -- in particular, climate change can have adverse effects on desertification and biodiversity -- and through a Joint Liaison Group, the secretariats of the three conventions take steps to coordinate activities to achieve common progress.
Secretariat
The office staffed by international civil servants responsible for "servicing" the UNFCCC Convention and ensuring its smooth operation. The secretariat makes arrangements for meetings, compiles and prepares reports, and coordinates with other relevant international bodies. The Climate Change Secretariat, which is based in Bonn, Germany, is institutionally linked to the United Nations. More information here.
Small Island Developing States (SIDS)
SIDS are a distinct group of 38 U.N. Member States and 20 Non-U.N. Members/Associate Members of United Nations regional commissions that face unique social, economic and environmental vulnerabilities. (Language from the United Nations).
Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF)
The SCCF was established to finance projects relating to adaptation; technology transfer and capacity building; energy, transport, industry, agriculture, forestry and waste management; and economic diversification. This fund should complement other funding mechanisms for the implementation of the Convention. The Global Environment Facility (GEF), as the entity that operates the financial mechanism of the Convention, has been entrusted to operate this fund. More information here.
Square brackets
Typographical symbols [ -- ] placed around text under negotiation to indicate that the language enclosed is being discussed but has not yet been agreed upon.
Subsidiary body
A committee that assists the Conference of the Parties. Two permanent subsidiary bodies are created by the Convention: the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA). Two major temporary bodies that exist currently are the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP), established at COP 11 in Montreal, and the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA), established at COP 13 in Bali. Additional subsidiary bodies may be established as needed.
Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)
The SBI makes recommendations on policy and implementation issues to the COP and, if requested, to other bodies. More information here.
Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)
The SBSTA serves as a link between information and assessments provided by expert sources (such as the IPCC) and the COP, which focuses on setting policy. More information here.
Technology transfer
A broad set of processes covering the flows of know-how, experience and equipment for mitigating and adapting to climate change among different stakeholders
Trade related non-governmental organizations (TUNGO)
Umbrella group
A loose coalition of non-European Union developed countries formed following the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. Although there is no formal membership list, the group usually includes Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the United States.
United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
One of the sister Rio Conventions to the UNFCCC focused on desertification.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC secretariat (U.N. Climate Change) is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. The Convention has near universal membership (198 Parties) and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement.
Women and gender non-governmental organizations (women and gender)
Youth non-governmental organization (YOUNGO)
Glossary last updated October 2022
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