Deciphering COP21: A glossary of climate change terms

The document defines essential terminology for the COP21 summit, including the roles of the UNFCCC and ADP, the distinction between mitigation and adaptation, and the classification of countries into Annex groups based on historical emissions responsibility.

• The COP21 meeting in Paris aims to establish a universal, legally binding climate agreement to limit global warming to below 2 degrees Celsius compared to pre-industrial levels.
• The UNFCCC, an international treaty from 1992, serves as the framework to prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, with the Conference of the Parties (COP) acting as its supreme body.
• Countries are categorized by their historical responsibility for emissions: Annex 1 consists of wealthy industrialized nations from 1992, Annex 2 are OECD members of Annex 1, and Non-Annex 1 are primarily developing countries.

APA

Chestney, N. (2015). Deciphering COP21: A glossary of climate change terms. World Economic Forum. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/do-you-speak-climate/

Chicago

Chestney, Nina. Deciphering COP21: A glossary of climate change terms. World Economic Forum, 2015. https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/do-you-speak-climate/.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Chestney |first1=Nina |title=Deciphering COP21: A glossary of climate change terms |publisher=World Economic Forum |date=27 November 2015 |url=https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/do-you-speak-climate/ |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{chestney2015deciphering, author = {Chestney, Nina}, title = {{Deciphering COP21: A glossary of climate change terms}}, institution = {World Economic Forum}, year = {2015}, month = nov, url = {https://www.weforum.org/stories/climate-action/do-you-speak-climate/}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }