The 29th Conference of the Parties (COP29), the annual UN climate summit, began on November 11 in Baku and will conclude on November 22. The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany, in March 1995. Initiated by the United Nations, the summit aims to review national communications and emission inventories submitted by member countries. During the summit, all 198 countries that have joined the international treaty called the UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) discuss their climate achievements and shortfalls, allowing for adjustments to meet their climate goals. Under this framework, voluntary actions are discussed to prevent ‘dangerous anthropogenic’ interference with the climate system.
Understanding a few key terms (such as carbon market, NCQG, Paris Agreement, Net Zero, NDCs, and Climate Finance) is essential to fully grasp the discussions and outcomes of COP29.
Here’s a breakdown of some of the most important jargons to know:
Net Zero Or Carbon Neutrality
It is a target to balance a country’s emissions produced by greenhouse gases. It is also recognized that greenhouse gases are not the only contributors to emissions; however, the goal is for a country’s emissions entering the environment to equal the greenhouse gases being removed from the atmosphere. The target is set to achieve Net Zero by 2070. As we address the repercussions of climate change, it has become the responsibility of organizations to play their part in reducing the carbon emissions they produce.
In simple terms, Net Zero refers to the balance between the amount of greenhouse gas (GHG) that’s produced and the amount that’s removed from the atmosphere.
Kyoto Protocol
It is the base protocol from where efforts to save the environment and address climate change began. Reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fighting climate change are the goals of this legally binding pact. All businesses who take part in it or sign a treaty under it are required to adhere to the Kyoto Protocol’s primary discussion topics, which are reducing greenhouse gas emissions and fighting climate change. Under this, developed countries were given targets to reduce carbon emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol, which binds industrialised nations and economies in transition to limiting and reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions in line with individually negotiated targets, operationalizes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Convention merely requests that those nations establish mitigating policies and measures and submit quarterly reports.
The Kyoto Protocol adheres to the Convention’s annex-based structure and is founded on its tenets and rules. Because it acknowledges that industrialized nations have a significant portion of the blame for the current high levels of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere, it merely binds them and sets a greater burden on them on the idea of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities.
NDCs (Nationally Determined Contributions)
NDCs are climate action plans submitted by each country under the Paris Agreement. These commitments outline how each nation plans to reduce emissions and adapt to climate impacts. Each nation’s efforts to lower national emissions and prepare for the effects of climate change are embodied in its NDC. Each Party to the Paris Agreement is required to create, announce, and uphold a series of nationally determined contributions (NDCs) that it hopes to accomplish. In order to accomplish the goals of such contributions, the parties will seek domestic mitigating measures.
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement was adopted in 2015 at COP21 in Paris, hence the name Paris Agreement. It aims to reduce the rising global average temperature. It is also called a landmark deal as it is legally binding for 196 countries for the first time ever. Its overarching goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.”
Glasgow Pact
At the United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) in 2021, an agreement known as the Glasgow Climate Pact was made. The agreement is the first climate deal that specifically calls for a reduction in unabated coal use.[2] Late in the negotiating process, a promise to “phase out” coal was modified to “phase down” coal for China, India, and other coal-dependent nations.
Carbon Markets
Carbon markets allow countries or companies to buy and sell carbon credits, which represent reductions in greenhouse gas emissions. This system incentivizes emissions reductions by putting a price on carbon, encouraging participants to adopt cleaner practices.
Climate Finance
Climate finance refers to funding from developed countries to help developing nations address climate change. This includes investments in renewable energy, climate-resilient infrastructure, and adaptation strategies. Climate finance is a central issue at COP29, with ongoing discussions about how to increase and effectively allocate these funds.
IPCC – Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPCC was set up in 1988 by World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) to check how the state/nation is performing in fighting with climate change. The main activity of the IPCC is the preparation of reports assessing the state of knowledge of climate change. These include assessment reports, special reports and methodology reports. To deliver this work programme, the IPCC holds meetings of its government representatives, convening as plenary sessions of the Panel or IPCC Working Groups to approve, adopt and accept reports.
NCGQ – New Collective Quantified Goal
The new amount that must be mobilised by developed countries every year from 2025 onward to finance climate action in developing countries.
(Source: UNFCCC)