Climate Negotiations Glossary

The Climate Negotiations Glossary defines the technical, political, and procedural terminology of the UNFCCC process. It covers the governing bodies of the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol, and Paris Agreement, as well as the roles of various negotiation blocks, observer constituencies, and financial mechanisms. The guide explains specific articles of the Paris Agreement (such as Article 6 on carbon markets and Article 9 on finance), the functions of constituted bodies like the Adaptation Committee, and the logistical details of COP meetings, including the 'blue zone' and 'green zone'.

• The UNFCCC process is governed by three distinct bodies: the COP for the UNFCCC, the CMP for the Kyoto Protocol, and the CMA for the Paris Agreement.
• The Paris Agreement establishes temperature goals to limit global average temperature increase to 1.5°C or well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels.
• Article 6 of the Paris Agreement facilitates voluntary cooperation through different mechanisms: Article 6.2 for direct cooperation using internationally transferred mitigation outcomes (ITMOs), Article 6.4 for a new international carbon crediting mechanism, and Article 6.8 for non-market approaches.
• The UNFCCC's Financial Mechanism includes operating entities such as the Global Environment Facility (GEF) and the Green Climate Fund (GCF), alongside the Adaptation Fund, the Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), and the Least Developed Countries Fund (LDCF).
• The Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF) requires parties to submit Biennial Transparency Reports (BTRs) every two years, with the first submission deadline set for December 31, 2024, though flexibility is provided for LDCs and SIDS.
• The Global Stocktake (GST) is a five-year cycle to assess collective progress toward the Paris Agreement; the first GST concluded in 2023, finding that the world is not on track to limit warming to 1.5°C.
• The UNFCCC recognizes nine official observer constituencies for non-state actors, including BINGO, ENGO, Farmers, IPO, LGMA, RINGO, TUNGO, WGC, and YOUNGO.
• Developed countries committed to mobilizing USD 100 billion per year by 2020 for climate action in developing countries, a goal that was not met in 2020 and 2021 but preliminary data suggests was met in 2022.
• The Warsaw International Mechanism (WIM) and the Santiago Network are the primary structures for addressing loss and damage, which are climate impacts that cannot be avoided through mitigation or adaptation.

APA

(Dr.),, J. B. A. E.-I. (2024). Climate Negotiations Glossary. International Institute for Sustainable Development. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/climate-negotiations-glossary

Chicago

(Dr.),, Jennifer Bansard,Tomilola Akanle Eni-ibukun. Climate Negotiations Glossary. International Institute for Sustainable Development, 2024. https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/climate-negotiations-glossary.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=(Dr.), |first1=Jennifer Bansard,Tomilola Akanle Eni-ibukun |title=Climate Negotiations Glossary |publisher=International Institute for Sustainable Development |date=31 May 2024 |url=https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/climate-negotiations-glossary |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{dr2024climate, author = {(Dr.),, Jennifer Bansard,Tomilola Akanle Eni-ibukun}, title = {{Climate Negotiations Glossary}}, institution = {International Institute for Sustainable Development}, year = {2024}, month = may, url = {https://www.iisd.org/articles/deep-dive/climate-negotiations-glossary}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }