CMA is the short form for the group of the countries who have signed and ratified the Paris Agreement. The full name of this governing body is “Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement”. Meetings of this group are numbered and called “CMA1” etc. The first meeting of the …
Tag: UNFCCC
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty from 1997. It is connected to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It has in essence been replaced by the Paris Agreement, agreed at COP21 in December 2015. The Kyoto Protocol set more concrete targets for reducing emissions than the convention does. The targets were however far …
Joint Implementation – JI
Joint Implementation, often shortened JI, is a function of the Kyoto Protocol. It is called a flexible mechanism since it allows countries to buy and sell emissions to and from each other. Joint Implementation is to a large extent outdated. In its place a “New Market Mechanism” (NMM) under the Paris Agreement could come, but that …
INDC – Intended Nationally Determined Contribution
INDCs are the plans countries write which describe which climate action they’re intending to take, to contribute to the global efforts to combat climate change. INDC stands for Intended Nationally Determined Contribution. The plans can include mitigation efforts, adaptation measures and intended or needed climate finance. Once the plans have been submitted to the UN …
High Ambition Coalition
During the UN climate negotiations (and sometimes other UN meetings) countries join together in groups to achieve greater power. The “High Ambition Coalition” is such a group, and was first seen at COP21 in Paris. Its members are a bit unclear, with claims ranging from all 28 EU countries, USA and another 79 countries, mainly poor …
ADP – Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action
ADP was the most important working group in the climate negotiations leading up to the Paris Agreement, which was decided at COP21 in Paris late 2015. ADP is now replaced by APA – read more about it.
COP – Conference of the Parties
COP stands for Conference of the Parties. It is the name of the governing body of the UN Climate Change Convention (UNFCCC). It is also the name of the annual meetings of the countries who are parties to the convention. They usually take place in late November/early December and they are numbered. That means COP22 is …
APA – Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement
APA is the working group for advancing the Paris Agreement. The meetings (and documents) of APA are numbered, so that APA1 signifies the first session of the group, which was held in Bonn in May 2016. APA stands for Ad Hoc Working Group on the Paris Agreement. The group is lead by two co-chairs, Sarah Baashan and …
UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
UNFCCC is the climate convention under the United Nations, signed by practically all countries in the world. It is an international treaty aiming at avoiding dangerous climate change. The convention was adopted in Rio de Janeiro 1992. The formal name is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, but most often the abbreviation UNFCCC is used. …
Espinosa, Patricia
Patricia Espinosa is the new Executive Director for the United Nations’ climate body UNFCCC. She will take office after current Director Christiana Figueres leaves on 6 July 2016. Espinosa is Mexico’s ambassador to Germany and was earlier Secretary of Foreign Affairs in Mexico. She also led the UN climate change talks COP16 in Cancún 2010.