Conference of the Parties (COP)
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."
Annex I Parties
The industrialized countries listed in this annex to the Convention which were committed return their greenhouse-gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 as per Article 4.2 (a) and (b). They have also accepted emissions 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 Annex 1 at COP-3, and the Czech Republic and Slovakia replaced Czechoslovakia.)
Annex II Parties
The countries listed in Annex II to the Convention which have a special obligation to provide financial resources and facilitate technology transfer to developing countries. Annex II Parties include the 24 original OECD members plus the European Union.
Non-Annex I Parties
Refers to countries that have ratified or acceded to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change that are not included in Annex I of the Convention.
The Bali Roadmap and the Bali Action Plan (BAP)
In 2007 participating nations to the UNFCCC adopted the Bali Road Map as a two-year process to finalise a legally binding agreement by 2009, under two tracks, one under the Kyoto Protocol, and the second on Long-term Cooperative Action (LCA).
Ad-hoc Working Group - Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP)
To discuss future commitments for industrialized countries under the Kyoto Protocl. AWG-KP in mandated with setting emission reduction targets for industrialized countries for the second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol which begins in 2012.
Ad-hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA)
At Bali, the Conference of Parties (COP) launched a comprehensive process to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action, now, up to and beyond 2012, in order to reach an agreed outcome and adopt a decision at its fifteenth session. The outcome of the AWG-LCA is to be submitted for adoption at its fifteenth session in 2009.
Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)
The SBI makes recommendations on policy and implementation issues to the COP and, if requested, to other bodies.
Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)
The SBSTA serves as a link between information and assessments provided by expert sources (such as the IPCC) and the COP, which focuses on setting policy.
AWG-LCA
National Adaptation Programmes of Action (NAPAs)
Documents prepared by least developed countries (LDCs) identifying urgent and immediate needs for adapting to climate change. The NAPAs are then presented to the international donor community for support.
Nationally Appropriate Mitigation Actions (NAMAs)
Mitigation commitments or actions, including qualified emission limitation and reduction objectives, to be undertaken by both developed and developing country Parties. For developed country Parties, actions must ensure the comparability of efforts among them, taking into account differences in their national circumstances. For developing country Parties, actions undertaken in the context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building.
Measurable, Reportable and Verifiable (MRV)
All NAMAs by developed countries, and all supported (by finance and/or technology transfer) NAMAS by developing countries are to be carried out in a measurable, reportable and verifiable (MRV) manner.
REDD +
Policy approaches and positive incentives to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation in developing countries; and the role of conservation, sustainable management of forests and enhancements of forest carbon stocks in developing countries.
Technology transfer
A broad set of processes covering the flows of know-how, experience and equipment for mitigating and adapting to climate change among different stakeholders
AWG-KP
Kyoto Protocol (KP)
An international agreement standing on its own, and requiring separate ratification by governments, but linked to the UNFCCC. The Kyoto Protocol, among other things, sets binding targets for the reduction of greenhouse-gas emissions by 37 industrialized countries.
Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties (CMP)
The Convention's supreme body is the COP, which serves as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The sessions of the COP and the CMP are held during the same period to reduce costs and improve coordination between the Convention and the Protocol.
Assigned amount unit (AAU)
A Kyoto Protocol unit equal to 1 metric tonne of CO2 equivalent. Each Annex I Party issues AAUs up to the level of its assigned amount, established pursuant to Article 3, paragraphs 7 and 8, of the Kyoto Protocol. Assigned amount units may be exchanged through emissions trading.
Adaptation Fund
The Adaptation Fund was established to finance concrete adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Fund is to be financed with a share of proceeds from clean development mechanism (CDM) project activities and receive funds from other sources.Â
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)
A mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol through which developed countries may finance greenhouse-gas emission reduction or removal projects in developing countries, and receive credits for doing so which they may apply towards meeting mandatory limits on their own emissions.
Emission reduction unit (ERU)
A Kyoto Protocol unit equal to 1 metric tonne of CO2 equivalent. ERUs are generated for emission reductions or emission removals from joint implementation project.
Emissions trading
One of the three Kyoto mechanisms, by which an Annex I Party may transfer Kyoto Protocol units to or acquire units from another Annex I Party. An Annex I Party must meet specific eligibility requirements to participate in emissions trading.
Joint implementation (JI)
A mechanism under the Kyoto Protocol through which a developed country can receive "emissions reduction units" when it helps to finance projects that reduce net greenhouse-gas emissions in another developed country (in practice, the recipient state is likely to be a country with an "economy in transition"). An Annex I Party must meet specific eligibility requirements to participate in joint implementation.
Land use, land-use change, and forestry (LULUCF)
A greenhouse gas inventory sector that covers emissions and removals of greenhouse gases resulting from direct human-induced land use, land-use change and forestry activities.
"Hot Air"
Refers to the concern that some governments will be able to meet their targets for greenhouse-gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol with minimal effort and could then flood the market with emissions credits, reducing the incentive for other countries to cut their own domestic emissions.
Party Groupings
Alliance of Small Island States (AOSIS)
An ad hoc coalition of low-lying and island countries. These nations are particularly vulnerable to rising sea levels and share common positions on climate change. The 43 members and observers are American Samoa, Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Cape Verde, Comoros, Cook Islands, Cuba, Cyprus, Dominica, Dominican Republic, Federated States of Micronesia, Fiji, Grenada, Guam, Guinea-Bissau, Guyana, Haiti, Jamaica, Kiribati, Maldives, 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.
Environmental Integrity Group
A coalition or negotiating alliance consisting of Mexico, the Republic of Korea, and Switzerland.
European Union (EU)
As a regional economic integration organization, the EU is a Party to both the Convention and the Kyoto Protocol. However, it does not have a separate vote from its member states. Because the EU signed the Convention when it was known as the EEC (European Economic Community), the EU retains this name for all formal Convention-related purposes. Members are Austria, Belgium, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Poland, Portugal, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, and the United Kingdom.
Group of 77 (G-77) and China
A large negotiating alliance of developing countries that focuses on numerous international topics, including climate change. The G-77 was founded in 1967 under the auspices of the United Nations Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD). It seeks to harmonize the negotiating positions of its 131 member states.
Least Developed Countries (LDCs)
The World's poorest countries. The criteria currently used by the Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC) for designation as an LDC include low income, human resource weakness and economic vulnerability. Currently 50 countries have been designated by the UN General Assembly as LDCs.
Umbrella group
A loose coalition of non-European Union developed countries formed following the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. Although there is no formal membership list, the group usually includes Australia, Canada, Iceland, Japan, New Zealand, Norway, the Russian Federation, Ukraine, and the United States.
Other UN Conventions and Organisations
CBD
Convention on Biological Diversity.
ICAO
International Civil Aviation Organization.
IMO
International Maritime Organization.
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