Glossary
Terms and country groups, each at two reading levels.
Jargon, decoded
- COP
- The yearly UN climate summit. Short for Conference of the Parties.Supreme body of the UNFCCC (1992). Meets annually with the CMP and CMA.
- Paris Agreement
- The 2015 deal where every country agreed to limit warming and to write its own plan for doing so.Treaty adopted at COP21, in force since 2016. Long-term goal: well below 2°C, pursuing 1.5°C. Bottom-up NDCs with a five-year ambition cycle.
- NDC
- A country’s own climate plan and emissions target. Renewed every five years.Nationally determined contribution under Article 4. The current round sets 2035 targets.
- Brackets
- Square brackets around words in a draft mean countries have not agreed on them.Unagreed text. Nested or alternative brackets mark competing options.
- Global stocktake
- A five-yearly check on whether the world is on course. The first one, in 2023, said no.Article 14 process. GST1 concluded at COP28; GST2 concludes in 2028.
- Adaptation
- Preparing for climate impacts: sea walls, heat plans, drought-proof crops.Article 7. Tracked through the Global Goal on Adaptation and its 59 indicators.
- Mitigation
- Cutting the emissions that cause warming.Reducing sources or enhancing sinks of greenhouse gases.
- Loss and damage
- Harm from climate change that can no longer be prevented or prepared for.Article 8. Covered by the Warsaw Mechanism and the Fund for responding to Loss and Damage.
- NCQG
- The new climate finance target: $300bn a year by 2035.New Collective Quantified Goal, decided at COP29. Successor to the $100bn goal.
- Action Agenda
- Voluntary pledges announced at a COP. Nobody votes on them and nobody is bound by them.Presidency-led initiatives outside the negotiated outcome. Türkiye leads it this year.
- Mutirão
- The name of last year’s main decision. A Brazilian word for a community working together.The Global Mutirão decision, the Belém headline text. The presidency said it was not a formal cover decision.
- Subsidiary bodies
- The two technical committees that do the detailed work in week one.SBSTA (science and technology) and SBI (implementation), at their 65th sessions.
Who is in the room
Countries rarely negotiate alone. They speak through groups, and one country can sit in several.
G77 and China
The main voice of developing countries: 134 of them, from tiny islands to India. They agree on money and often split on everything else.134 developing-country Parties. Coordinates on finance and differentiation; internally divided on mitigation between AOSIS, LDCs, LMDC and others.
AOSIS
Small island countries. Rising seas threaten their existence, so they push hardest for 1.5°C.Alliance of Small Island States, 39 members. Anchors 1.5°C language, loss and damage, and adaptation finance.
LDCs
The world’s poorest countries. They need the most help and caused the least of the problem.Least Developed Countries group. Priorities: grant-based finance, adaptation, simplified access.
African Group
All 54 African countries negotiating together, mostly on money and adaptation.African Group of Negotiators, 54 Parties. Lead demandeur on adaptation finance and the GGA.
European Union
27 countries speaking with one voice. Usually pushes for faster emissions cuts and resists new money commitments.27 member states negotiating as a bloc. Called the Belém outcome a missed opportunity on mitigation.
Umbrella Group
Rich countries outside the EU, such as Australia, Canada, Japan and the UK.Loose coalition of non-EU developed countries. The US historically sat here.
LMDC
A group including India, China and Saudi Arabia. It insists rich countries act first because they polluted first.Like-Minded Developing Countries. Defends common but differentiated responsibilities; resists top-down mitigation targets.
Arab Group
22 Arab countries. Several depend on oil and gas exports and oppose fossil fuel language.22 Parties. Consistently opposes fossil fuel phase-out formulations; emphasises response measures.