COP27 is now in full swing and what a week it’s been! To mark the start of Week 2, we’ve put together a quick guide on some of the lingo you might’ve heard being used during the climate talks to help you make sense of it all.
Keep reading, here’s our COP27 jargon buster!
Adaptation – anticipating the adverse effects of climate change and taking appropriate action to prevent or minimise the damage they can cause. (Source: European Environment Agency)
COP – stands for ‘Conference of the Parties’
Global Stocktake – undertaken every 5 years, it’s the process of monitoring and reviewing the progress made in achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. (Source: UNFCCC)
‘Loss and damage’ – the negative, and often destructive impacts of climate change on human societies and the natural environment. (Source: United Nations)
Mitigation – making the impacts of climate change less severe by preventing or reducing greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere. (Source: European Environment Agency)
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC’s) – national climate actions set by signatories of the Paris Agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. (Source: UNFCCC)
Nature-based solutions (NbS) – actions to protect, sustainably manage and restore natural ecosystems to address societal challenges. (Source: IUCN)
Net Zero – achieving an equal balance between the amount of greenhouse gas emissions being produced and removed from the atmosphere. (Source: National Grid)
Paris Agreement (2015) – a legally binding international treaty on climate change which commits countries to limiting global warming levels to well below 2, preferably to 1.5oC, compared to pre-industrial levels. (Source: UNFCCC)
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs): a set of universal, internationally agreed 17 Goals that provide a blueprint of actions to be achieved globally by 2030 as part of the 2030 Agenda. (Source: United Nations)
UNFCCC – stands for the ‘United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change’