Glossary

Glossary of climate change acronyms and jargon

 

Negotiators at the climate change meetings rely on an extensive vocabulary of acronyms and technical jargon. Here are some of the most important.

I) The Players

 

Ad hoc Group on Article 13 (AG13) - A subsidiary body (committee) created by COP-1 to explore how to help governments overcome difficulties they may experience in meeting their commitments.

Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate (AGBM) - A subsidiary body created by COP-1 to conduct the talks that led to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol; the AGBM concluded its final meeting on 30 November 1997.

Annex I Parties - The industrialized countries listed in this annex to the Convention are trying to return their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 as per Article 4.2(a) and (b). They have also accepted emission targets for the period 2008-12 as per Article 3 and Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol. They include the 24 original OECD members, the European Union, and 14 countries with economies in transition (Croatia, Liechtenstein, Monaco and Slovenia joined at COP-3, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia replaced Czechoslovakia).

Annex II Parties - The rich countries listed in this annex to the Convention have a special obligation to help developing countries with financial and technological resources. They include the 24 original OECD members plus the European Union.

AOSIS - The Alliance of Small Island States is an ad hoc coalition of low-lying and island countries. These countries are particularly vulnerable to sea-level rise and share common positions on climate change. The 42 members and observers are American Samoa, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cook Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Jamaica, Kiribati, Maldives, Malta, Marshall Islands, Mauritius, Nauru, Netherlands Antilles, Niue, Palau, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Singapore, Solomon Islands, St. Kitts & Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Tonga, Trinidad and Tobago, Tuvalu, US Virgin Islands, and Vanuatu.

Bureau - Responsible for directing the work of the COP. Its 10 members are delegates elected by each of the five regional groups and they include the COP President, six Vice Presidents, the Chairs of SBI and SBSTA, and a rapporteur. In addition, each subsidiary body also has its own Bureau.

Chair (or chairman etc.) - The participating governments elect a Chair for the subsidiary bodies from amongst the delegates. Different Chairs may be elected for other informal groups. The Chair is responsible for facilitating progress towards an agreement and serves during the inter-sessional period until the start of the next COP.

Committee of the Whole - Often created by a COP to facilitate the process of negotiating text. When the Committee finishes its work it turns the text over to the COP which finalizes and then formally adopts it during a plenary session.

Conference of the Parties (COP) - The COP is the supreme body of the Convention. It currently meets once a year to review the Convention's progress. The word "conference" is not used here in the sense of "meeting" but rather of "association", which explains the seemingly redundant expression "fourth session of the Conference of the Parties".

COP/MOP - The Kyoto Protocol's supreme body will be the COP, which will serve as the Protocol's meeting of the Parties. The sessions of the COP and the COP/MOP will be held during the same period. This will improve cost-effectiveness and coordination with the Convention.

countries with economies in transition (EIT) - Those Central and East European countries and former republics of the Soviet Union that are in transition to a market economy.

European Union (EU) - As a regional economic integration organization, the European Union can be and is a Party to the Convention; however, it does not have a separate vote from its members. The EU can also be a Party to the Protocol. Because it signed the Convention when it was known as the EEC, it retains this name for all formal Convention-related purposes. Its members are Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, and the UK.

friends of the chair - Delegates who are called upon by the Chair (who takes into account the need for a political balance among various interests) to assist in carrying out specific tasks.

Group of 77 and China - The G-77 was founded in 1967 under the auspices of the United Nations Conference for Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It seeks to harmonize the negotiating positions of its 132 developing-country members.

Global Environment Facility (GEF) - The multi-billion-dollar GEF was established by the World Bank, the UN Development Programme, and the UN Environment Programme in 1990. It operates the Convention's "financial mechanism" on an interim basis and funds developing country projects that have global climate change benefits.

Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) - The INC met during five sessions between February 1991 and May 1992 to draft the Convention; it met six more times to prepare for COP-1 before completing its work in February 1995.

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) - The IPCC was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Programme. It conducts rigorous surveys of the world-wide technical and scientific literature and publishes assessment reports that are widely recognized as the most credible existing sources of information on climate change. The IPCC also works on methodologies and responds to specific requests from the Convention's subsidiary bodies.

JUSSCANNZ - The non-EU industrialized countries meet as a group to discuss various issues; they are Japan, the US, Switzerland, Canada, Australia, Norway, and New Zealand. Iceland, Mexico, and the Republic of Korea may also attend meetings.

national delegation - One or more officials who are empowered to represent and negotiate on behalf of their government.

non-governmental organizations (NGOs) - Many relevant NGOs attend the climate talks as observers in order to interact with delegates and the press and provide information. NGOs must be non-profit and can include environmental groups, research institutions, business groups, and associations of urban and local governments.

non-Party - A state that has not ratified the Convention may attend talks as an observer.

observer - The COP and its subsidiary bodies normally permit observers to attend their sessions. Observers may include the United Nations and its specialized agencies, the International Atomic Energy Agency, non-Party states, and other relevant governmental or non-governmental organizations.

OECD - The Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development consists of Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Republic of Korea, Japan, Luxembourg, Mexico, the Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, the UK, and the US.

Party - A state (or regional economic integration organization such as the EU) that agrees to be bound by a treaty and for which the treaty has entered into force.

President - Elected by the Parties to preside over the COP, the President is often a senior official or minister from the state or region hosting the meeting.

regional groups - The five regional groups meet privately to discuss issues and nominate bureau members and other officials. They are Africa, Asia, Central and Eastern Europe (CEE), Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC), and the Western Europe and Others Group (WEOG).

secretariat - Staffed by international civil servants and responsible for servicing the COP and ensuring its smooth operation, the secretariat makes arrangements for meetings, compiles and prepares reports, and coordinates with other relevant international bodies. The Climate Change secretariat is institutionally linked to the United Nations.

subsidiary body - A committee that assists the Conference of the Parties. Two permanent ones are defined by the Convention: the Subsidiary Body for Implementation and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice. COP-1 also established two other temporary bodies: the Ad hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate, which concluded its work on 30 November 1997, and the Ad hoc Group on Article 13. Additional subsidiary bodies may be established as needed.

Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) - Makes recommendations on policy and implementation issues to the COP and, if requested, other bodies.

Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) - Serves as the link between the information and assessments provided by expert sources (such as the IPCC) on the one hand, and the policy-oriented needs of the COP on the other.

II) The action (meetings, documents, process)

agenda - A programme of work that the delegates adopt and are guided by; the annotated agenda contains a more detailed explanation of each agenda item.

amendment - The COP can change the existing Convention text through consensus or, if consensus cannot be reached, by a three-quarters majority vote by all Parties present and voting.

Berlin Mandate - Adopted at COP-1, the Berlin Mandate launched the talks that led to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol.

consensus - An agreement can be adopted by consensus rather than by a vote when there are no stated objections from delegations.

contact group - The COP or the Committee of the Whole may establish an open-ended meeting wherein Parties can negotiate before forwarding agreed text to the plenary for formal adoption. Observers can generally attend.

COP sessions - The first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP-1) was held in Berlin from 28 March to 7 April 1995, the second (COP-2) in Geneva from 8 - 19 July 1996, the third (COP-3) in Kyoto from 1 -11 December 1997, and the fourth (COP-4) is being held in Buenos Aires from 2 - 13 November 1998.

Conference Room Papers (CRPs) - A category of in-session documents containing new proposals or outcomes of in-session work for use only during the session.

declaration - A non-binding political statement made by ministers attending a major meeting (e.g. the Geneva Ministerial Declaration at COP-2).

decision - Unlike a resolution, a decision is a formal agreement and leads to binding actions. It becomes part of the agreed body of decisions that direct the work of the COP.

documents - Official meeting documents are available to everyone and feature the logos of the United Nations and the Climate Change Convention and a reference number, such as FCCC/CP/1998/1. Pre-session documents are available before the meeting, often in all six UN languages. In-session documents are distributed on-site (see CRPs, L docs, Misc. docs, and nonpapers). Informal documents are often distributed outside the meeting room by observers.

drafting groups - To facilitate negotiations, the President or the Chair may establish smaller drafting groups to meet separately and in private to prepare text. Observers generally may not attend.

entry into force - Intergovernmental agreements, including protocols and amendments, are not legally binding until they have been ratified by a certain number of countries; the Climate Change Convention required 50 and enters into force for each new Party 90 days after it ratifies.

informal contact group - On the instructions of the President or Chair, delegates may meet in private to discuss specific matters in order to consolidate different views, reach a compromise, and produce an agreed proposal, often in the form of a written text.

L. docs - In-session documents that contain draft reports and texts for adoption by the COP or the subsidiary bodies, usually in all 6 UN languages.

meetings vs. sessions - Each session of the COP is divided into a number of meetings. Each meeting is generally scheduled from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. or from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m., so that the morning of 2 November will be the first meeting of the fourth session of the COP.

misc. docs - Miscellaneous documents are issued on plain paper with no UN masthead; they generally contain views or comments submitted as received from a delegation without formal editing.

nonpapers - In-session documents issued informally to facilitate negotiations; they do not have an official document symbol although they may have an identifying number or the name of the authors.

plenary - A meeting of the entire COP where all formal decisions are taken.

protocol - A protocol is linked to an existing convention, but it is a separate and additional agreement that must be signed and ratified by the Parties to the convention. Protocols typically strengthen a convention by adding new, more detailed commitments.

ratification - After signing the Convention or the Protocol, a country must ratify it, often with the approval of its parliament or other legislature. The instrument of ratification must be deposited with the depositary (in this case the UN Secretary-General) to start the 90-day countdown to becoming a Party.

recommendation - Weaker than a decision or a resolution and not binding on Parties.

reservation - A Party may accept a decision of the COP while noting its reservations and concerns for the record. However, no reservations may be made to the Convention itself or to the Protocol.

resolution - Unlike decisions, resolutions do not generally become part of the formal body of decisions that guide the work of the COP. They are directives that guide, opinions rather than permanent legal acts.

rules of procedure - The rules that govern the proceedings of the COP, including the procedures for decision-making and participation. The COP has not yet adopted the rules and all expect one (on voting) are currently being "applied".

Second Assessment Report (SAR) - Also known as Climate Change 1995, the IPCC's SAR was written and reviewed by some 2,000 scientists and experts world-wide. It concluded that "the balance of evidence suggests that there is a discernible human influence on global climate" and confirmed the availability of "no-regrets" options and other cost-effective strategies for combating climate change.

signature - The head of state or government, the foreign minister, or another designated official indicates his or her country's agreement with the adopted text of the Convention or the Protocol and its intention to become a Party by signing.

square brackets - Used during negotiations to indicate that a section of text is being discussed but has not yet been agreed.

Third Assessment Report (TAR) - The IPCC's Third Assessment Report is expected to be finalized in late 2000 and published in early 2001.

III) The issues

activities implemented jointly (AIJ) - Under a pilot phase that ends by 2000, AIJ activities can be carried out through partnerships between an investor from a developed country and a counterpart in a host country. The purpose is to involve private-sector money in the transfer of technology and know-how. See also Joint Implementation.

Article 4.1 - This Convention article contains general commitments for all Parties - developing and developed.

Article 4.2 - This Convention article contains specific commitments for developed country (Annex I) Parties only, notably to take measures aimed at returning greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000.

clean development mechanism (CDM) - The Kyoto Protocol establishes the CDM to enable industrialized countries to finance emissions-avoiding projects in developing countries and receive credit for doing so.

emissions trading - The Kyoto Protocol establishes a mechanism whereby Parties with emissions commitments may trade their emission allowances with other Parties. The aim is to improve the overall flexibility and economic efficiency of making emissions cuts.

financial mechanism - As defined by the Convention, its role is to transfer funds and technologies to developing countries on a grant or consessional basis, under the guidance of the COP. The Global Environment Facility is "operating" the mechanism on an interim basis.

greenhouse gases (GHGs) - The major GHGs responsible for causing climate change are carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrous oxide (N20). The Kyoto Protocol also addresses hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6).

"hot air" - Refers to the concern that some governments will be able to meet their commitment targets with minimal effort and could then flood the market for emissions credits, reducing the incentive for other countries to cut their own domestic emissions.

in-depth review (IDR) - The first submissions of national communications by developed countries were subjected to a series of in-depth reviews generally involving country visits by international teams of experts.

joint implementation (JI) - The Kyoto Protocol establishes a mechanism whereby a developed country can receive "emissions reduction units" when it helps to finance projects that reduce net emissions in another developed country (including countries with economies in transition). Some aspects of this approach are being tested as Activities Implemented Jointly (see AIJ).

mechanisms - The Kyoto Protocol establishes three mechanisms to increase the flexibility and reduce the costs of making emissions cuts; these are the Clean Development Mechanism, emissions trading, and joint implementation.

national communications - A central requirement of the Convention (and the Protocol) is that each Party must inform the others about its national climate change activities. Many developed countries have submitted their second reports and developing countries have started to submit their first.

policies and measures - Countries must decide what policies and measures to adopt in order to achieve their emissions targets. Some possible policies and measures which Parties could implement are listed in the Kyoto Protocol and could offer opportunities for intergovernmental cooperation.

Quantified Emissions Limitation and Reduction Commitments - Legally-binding targets and timetables under the Kyoto Protocol for the limitation or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions for developed countries.

review of commitments - The Parties must regularly review the adequacy of the Convention's Article 4.2 (a) and (b) outlining developed country commitments to limit emissions. The first review took place at COP-1 and led to the Berlin Mandate and the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. The second review is to take place in Buenos Aires.

sinks - Under the Kyoto Protocol, developed countries can include changes in net emissions (calculated as emissions minus removals of CO2) from certain activities in the land-use change and forestry sector. Calculating the effects of sinks (growing vegetation tends to absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere) is methodologically complex and still needs to be clarified.

voluntary commitments - During the Kyoto negotiations, a draft article that would have permitted developing countries to voluntary adhere to legally binding emissions targets was dropped in the final hours. This issue remains important for some negotiators and may be discussed in Buenos Aires.