23 Terms to Know at COP23

This guide from the World Resources Institute provides a glossary of 23 key terms and acronyms essential for understanding the climate negotiations at COP23, focusing on the implementation of the Paris Agreement.

• The Paris Agreement, adopted by 196 Parties at COP21 in 2015 and effective as of November 4, 2016, sets long-term goals to limit global temperature rise to well below 2 degrees C and pursue efforts to limit it to 1.5 degrees C above pre-industrial levels, while achieving net-zero emissions in the second half of the century.
• Nationally determined contributions (NDCs) are national climate plans detailing emissions-reduction targets, policies, and adaptation goals; 165 such plans have been submitted by 192 countries to the UNFCCC.
• The Modalities, Procedures and Guidelines (MPGs), also known as the Paris rulebook or operating system, are instructions for achieving the Paris Agreement's goals. These are being negotiated at COP23 and are scheduled for finalization by the CMA at COP24 in 2018.
• Developed countries committed at COP15 in 2009 to mobilize $100 billion annually by 2020 from public and private sources to assist developing nations with climate mitigation and adaptation.
• The United States is the only Party to announce plans to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, but the process cannot begin until November 4, 2019, three years after the Agreement entered into force for the U.S.

APA

World Resources Institute (2017). 23 Terms to Know at COP23. https://www.wri.org/insights/23-terms-know-cop23

Chicago

World Resources Institute. 23 Terms to Know at COP23. 2017. https://www.wri.org/insights/23-terms-know-cop23.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=World Resources Institute |title=23 Terms to Know at COP23 |date=13 November 2017 |url=https://www.wri.org/insights/23-terms-know-cop23 |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{worldresourcesinstitute2017terms, author = {{World Resources Institute}}, title = {{23 Terms to Know at COP23}}, institution = {World Resources Institute}, year = {2017}, month = nov, url = {https://www.wri.org/insights/23-terms-know-cop23}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }