This story was first published on November 14, 2025. Due to recent events, we are republishing it with updated information.
If this is your first time tuning in to the United Nations (UN) Climate Change Conference or COP, you might be a little lost.
A meeting among world leaders on solving the climate crisis sounds simple enough. That is, until you throw in a bunch of acronyms like NDCs, NAPs, and GST, along with technical terms like carbon markets, climate debt, and concessional finance — all with an extra side of a whole lot of politics.
As world leaders navigate the two-week-long conference’s complicated landscape, everyone else has to make sense of whatever it is that’s coming out of their mouths.
Here’s a list of terms you need to know if you’re tuning in to COP — which you probably should be doing if you care anything about our warming world.
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United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) – It is a treaty adopted in 1992 to halt climate change. It has since been joined by 198 countries, and is the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol and 2015 Paris Agreement. The ultimate goal of all these agreements is to control greenhouse gas emissions so that we do not end up irrevocably changing our climate to a dangerous degree.
Conference of the Parties (COP) – As a generic term, it refers to the decision-making body composed of the countries who agreed on an international treaty or convention. In the context of the world’s climate agreements, it is an annual summit of countries who signed the UNFCCC, where they decide how to implement their commitments to tackle climate change. During the COP, countries also meet to discuss the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement in conferences known as the CMP and CMA, respectively.
1.5ºC – A tipping point in the Earth’s temperature that triggers irreversible and self-reinforcing changes in the environment, as identified by scientists. These changes include the Amazon rainforest turning into a savanna, melting ice sheets, or dying coral reefs, among others.
35-by-35 Global Electrification Pledge – It is a pledge by governments to accelerate the clean energy transition by increasing the share of global final energy consumption met by electricity from almost 24% in 2023 to 35% by 2035.
Action Agenda – A platform for civil society to join voluntary initiatives that will accelerate emissions reduction, boost climate resilience, and support the transition to sustainable economies. It became a part of the COP’s regular program in COP21 back in 2015 as an initiative to expand beyond government negotiations and include people who don’t negotiate during the COP but act to put agreements into practice, like businesses, investors, and local governments.
Adaptation – It refers to preparations made for a warmer world with more heat waves and higher sea levels. They can include strategies like planting trees for shade or safeguarding supplies against extreme weather disruptions. Funding for these strategies is called adaptation finance. (EXPLAINER: A guide to UN climate jargon, from NDCs to ‘unabated’ emissions)
Baku Finance Goal – It is a commitment to channel $1.3 trillion to developing countries each year that will help them implement climate plans. To achieve this goal, developed countries must take the lead in mobilizing at least $300 billion per year for developing countries by 2035. The blueprint to achieve this is called the Baku to Belém Roadmap.
Belem Action Mechanism for a Global Just Transition (BAM) – It is a proposed mechanism that will outline how governments and the private sector can put people at the heart of national and sectoral transitions to renewable energy. This includes job creation, worker training, and strategies to diversify industries into climate planning and investment.
Biennial transparency reports (BTR) – Every two years, countries are required to submit a report on national inventories of their emissions, progress toward their nationally determined contributions, policies and measures, climate change impacts and adaptation, financial and technical support provided or needed, and areas for improvement. The first submission of these reports was in December 2024, which means the second submission period will fall a month after COP31 in 2026 ends.
Carbon credits – The carbon crediting mechanism was established under the Paris Agreement. When countries or companies reduce greenhouse gas emissions, they earn carbon credits that they can sell to other companies. Buying these credits allows companies to comply with their own emissions reduction obligations or meet net-zero targets. The trading systems in which carbon credits are sold and bought are called carbon markets.
Common but differentiated responsibilities (CBDR) – Based on a “polluter pays” principle, this idea says that wealthy countries should do more to rein in climate change because they contributed the most emissions historically to the atmosphere.
Climate debt – It is the sum of damages caused by emissions from developed countries on developing countries who do not emit as much yet are the most vulnerable to the impacts of climate change.
Climate finance – Funding provided by governments, development banks, private investors, and philanthropies to help countries lower greenhouse gas emissions or adapt to climate impacts. These include renewable energy projects or protection from floods, among others. (READ: What is climate finance and why does it matter?)
Champions – A person acting as a liaison between governments and civil society on behalf of the COP president, specifically working to involve businesses, communities, financial institutions, and other actors who do not negotiate climate agreements but are essential for putting them into practice. There are two types: high-level champions and youth champions. Each champion serves a term of two years.
Climate justice – An idea recognizing that those who contribute least to carbon emissions are paying the highest cost. It means holding responsible countries, corporations, and people that drive the climate crisis.
Concessional finance – It refers to below market rate finance provided by major financial institutions, like development banks and multilateral funds, to developing countries to accelerate development or climate objectives.
COP Truce – It is an appeal to nations to stop military operations during the month of the COP.
Cover decision – A statement outlining the high-level political agreements on key issues. It embodies what the summit has achieved and the broad goals that every country has agreed to pursue. (EXPLAINER: What happens at a COP climate summit?)
Decarbonization – The process of reducing carbon emissions.
Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) – It was established in Article 7 of the Paris Agreement as a goal to enhance a country’s capacity to adapt, strengthen resilience, and reduce vulnerability to climate change. It provides a system for countries to track their adaptation progress and urge them to act on managing climate change risks.
Global Implementation Accelerator (GIA) – It is a “cooperative, facilitative, and voluntary initiative” that aims to speed up programs to keep 1.5°C within reach and support countries in implementing their nationally determined contributions and national adaptation plans. The initiative started at COP30 in 2025 and will continue into COP31. It will focus on specific actions on the ground and the mobilization of all actors.
Global stocktake (GST) – It is a periodical assessment of the collective progress in achieving the Paris Agreement. It takes place every five years, with the first-ever stocktake concluded at COP28 in 2023. This assessment informs the climate action plans of every country.
Green Climate Fund – A fund established under the Paris Agreement to distribute $100 billion in annual climate finance from wealthy nations to help developing countries fund the energy transition and projects for adapting to a warmer world.
High-Level Segment – A part of the COP where national leaders give back-to-back speeches in the venue’s main plenary hall.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) – It is the UNFCCC’s main scientific body, where scientists from the countries who signed the treaty work together to release reports every six to seven years detailing global scientific consensus on climate science.
Just transition – A shift from fossil fuels, like coal into renewable energy sources, that looks after those who will be displaced by the energy transition, especially workers. (EXPLAINER: What is just energy transition?)
Kyoto Protocol – A treaty that entered into force in 2005 where industrialized countries agreed to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets. It only binds developed countries, placing a heavier burden on them because they are largely responsible for the high levels of these emissions in the atmosphere.
Loss and Damage Fund – Loss and damage refers to the negative consequences of climate change, like extreme weather events, rising sea levels, prolonged heatwaves, changes in ocean conditions, and damage to agriculture. They still occur despite mitigation and adaptation efforts, so COP28 approved a fund that will provide financial assistance to nations most vulnerable and impacted by these harmful effects. The Philippines is the host of this fund’s board.
Mitigation – It refers to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions to slow, if not halt, global warming. It is the main focus in the world’s transition away from fossil fuels to renewable energy sources.
Montreal Protocol – It is an international agreement that regulates the production and consumption of nearly 100 man-made chemicals that harm and deplete the ozone layer.
Mutirão Decision – It is the cover decision or final agreement made between countries at the end of COP30 hosted by Brazil. It was a compromise climate deal aimed at boosting finance for poor nations coping with global warming, although it omitted any mention of the fossil fuels driving it. The term “Mutirão” originally comes from the Tupi-Guarani language of Brazil and can be translated as “collective efforts.”
National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) – They are strategies developed by countries, particularly developing nations, to prepare for and respond to the impacts of climate change, such as droughts, floods, and sea level rise. Their main goals are to reduce climate vulnerability, integrate adaptation into public policies, plan actions based on scientific data, and access international climate finance.
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) – These are pledges by each country on their target amount for reducing greenhouse gas emissions and their plans to adapt to the impacts of climate change. They are submitted every five years to the UNFCCC secretariat, and must represent a progression compared to the previous NDC, reflecting a country’s highest possible ambition.
Net zero – It means releasing no more emissions than can be recaptured by technology, tree-planting, or other means. In short, reaching net zero means greenhouse gas concentrations stop increasing.
Negotiating group – Countries sending delegations are distributed into groups or blocs that work together to represent their common interests in international climate change negotiations. The Philippines is part of the Group of 77 + China — the largest alliance of developing countries that promotes the interests of the Global South — and co-founded (but eventually left) the Like-Minded Developing Countries bloc.
New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG) – It is a global climate finance goal set from a floor of $100 billion per year. In COP29 in 2024, they came up with a $300-billion annual target, called the Baku Finance Goal.