What is COP27? Here’s A Quick Guide To Common Climate Terms
Climate change has already started hitting us and we all know to some extent that our planet is in crisis. With world’s most important climate gathering, the COP27, underway, the news is rife with what’s happening in Egypt. Yet most people have little sense of what happens behind the closed doors of COP conferences, and they don’t understand the technical lingo and endless acronyms used during the conference.
Many of you may probably have no idea about what even COP27 means. First up COP27 isn’t a political drama title (as it sounds). COP is short for Conference of Parties to the UN Convention on Climate Change and this is its 27th annual conference.
What is COP27?
For nearly three decades, world governments, businesses, scientists and environmental organisations have been meeting every year to create a plan of action to tackle climate emergency. This meeting is called Conference of Parties (COP), is hosted by the United Nations.
Under the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), every country on Earth is treaty-bound to “avoid dangerous climate change” and find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally in an equitable way.
COP 27 2022: When and Where?
This year, COP27 is being held in the Egyptian coastal resort of Sharm el-Sheikh. It started on the 6th of Nov & will go on until the 18th.
Agenda: The countries submit plans on how they will tackle the climate emergency and track the progress of their previous commitments. Then what is Paris Agreement? COP21 in 2015 brought the Paris agreement where nearly 200 countries around the world committed to keeping global warming below 2 degrees and pursue efforts to not exceed 1.5C above pre-industrial levels.
Your COP27 Cheat Sheet: Climate Change Glossary
Here are commonly used terms and acronyms, which will help you get a better understanding of the Climate Change debate.
Adaptation
Any action that allows us to continue to meet our basic needs {like food, water, shelter, and health} by adjusting to actual or expected climatic changes. These actions might include building early warning systems for floods, or barriers to defend against rising sea level, for example.
Biodiversity
It refers to all Earth’s living systems including plants, trees and animals, on land and in the sea.
Carbon Footprint
It is a form of calculation of the amount of carbon dioxide released into the atmosphere as a result of the activities of an individual, organization, or community.
Carbon Offsetting
The action or process of compensating for carbon dioxide emissions arising from industrial or other human activity, by participating in schemes designed to make equivalent reductions of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere. Companies, governments and, even, individuals can cancel out the impact of some of their emissions by investing in projects that reduce or store carbon like forest preservation and tree plantation.
Climate Finance
Financial aid provided to tackle climate change. This aid is aimed to be used by developing nations to reduce carbon emissions and to promote ways in which to adapt, mitigate and build resilience to the effects of climate change. Green Climate Fund (GCF) was set up in COP16 in Mexico, by the developed countries for the same purpose.
Delegate
A person who is sent to represent a country at COP.
Fossil-Fuel Non-Proliferation Treaty
A legally binding plan to phase-out fossil fuels and accelerate an equitable transition.
Global Stocktake
A process of assessing global progress towards achieving the long-term goals of Paris Agreement.
Global Warming
Global warming is the long-term heating of the planet, and is commonly measured as the average increase in earth’s global surface temperature. It is human-induced, and is largely caused by an excess of greenhouse gas emissions. Heat-trapping pollutants — mainly carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, water vapor, and synthetic fluorinated gases—are known as greenhouse gases.
Green Bonds
Green bonds are fixed-income instrument specifically earmarked to finance climate and environmental projects. They work like any other corporate or government bond with borrowers issuing them to secure financing for projects that will have a positive environmental impact.
IPCC
Short for Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It is a United Nations body that assess the science related to climate change.
Loss and Damage
A term used to refer to the consequences of climate change that people can’t adapt to, or when options exist but the communications affected don’t have access to them.
Mitigation
Any action which helps to slow climate change either by decreasing greenhouse emissions or removing greenhouse gases from the atmosphere.
NDCs
Short for Nationally Determined Contributions. These are climate action plans by individual countries to reduce national greenhouse emissions and adapt to the effects of climate change under the Paris Agreement. They’re updated every five years to ensure they’re in line with global temperature targets
Net-Zero
A balance between the amount of greenhouse gases produced and removed from the atmosphere. In other words, net zero is the amount of carbon we put into the atmosphere is the same as the amount we remove.
Over 130 countries have committed to, or are considering committing to, net-zero emissions by 2050. India aims to reach net zero by 2070.
Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Seventeen interlinked goals set by the United Nations that serve as a call to action by all countries to end poverty, inequality, protect the planet, and ensure that all people enjoy health, justice and prosperity.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) An overarching treaty to address climate change.
COP27: The controversy
There’s been a lot of controversaries surrounding the COP27 {and for good reasons}. The most talked about is Coca-Cola being the main sponsor of COP27 climate conference. Coca Cola has been ranked as one of the world’s largest plastic polluters for four years straight. It’s ironic that a company so tied to the fossil fuel industry is allowed to sponsor such a vital climate meeting.
There’s more. They are serving foods that are causing climate change at a conference designed to fight climate change. Ironic. Animal farming is one of the biggest sources of greenhouse gas emissions, including methane. Its well-documented that animal agriculture poses threat to the planet. Scientists around the world are urging people to switch to a more plant-based diet to fight climate change.
A real missed opportunity. Leaders could have led by example, showcasing how switching to low-impact plant-based diet can make a huge difference to the future of our planet. And that it is delicious too!
If this wasn’t enough, the leaders even flew in their private jets, further burdening the planet with more emissions.
Our world is run by leaders who put profits over the planet, social justice and human rights.
Hope COP27 will be less talk and more action. Until then, let’s save the planet together – our future is in our hands
