Arianna Griffa
Senior Policy Manager - Global
Global economies are gearing up for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30), set to take place in Belem, Brazil, this November. To help you make sense of the jargon, we have created a simple guide to the climate terms you will most likely encounter.
Adaptation and Resilience
'Adaptation' and 'resilience' represent related but distinct strategies for addressing the physical impacts of climate change. Adaptation involves reducing exposure or vulnerability to climate risks. In contrast, resilience is the "capacity to prepare for, respond to and recover from the impact of hazardous climatic events while incurring minimal damage".
Adaptation focuses on adjusting to climate risks, while resilience is withstanding and recovering from them. Together, they offer a comprehensive approach to managing climate risks.
Baku to Belem Roadmap to USD 1.3 trillion
The Baku to Belem Roadmap, a joint initiative by the COP29 and COP30 Presidencies, aims to mobilise at least USD 1.3 trillion annually by 2035 to support climate action in developing countries. Brazil’s Ministry of Finance will lead the COP30 Circle of Finance Ministers to shape the Roadmap and advance goal.
During COP29, developed nations pledged USD 300 billion per year under the New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG), falling short of the USD 1.3 trillion recommended by the High-Level Expert Group. This left emerging markets and developing economies (EMDEs) dissatisfied.
To address the gap, the Roadmap was included in the final COP29 text. It will explore ways to reform multilateral finance, improve access, strengthen domestic capacity, and unlock large-scale investments. Unlike the NCQG, it will be developed as a published report and serve as a key deliverable for COP30.
➡️ Read the key takeaways from the UN’s mid-year climate meetings in Bonn, setting the tone for COP30.
BTR – Biennial Transparency Reports
Parties to the Paris Agreement are required to submit a Biennial Transparency Report (BTR) every two years under the Enhanced Transparency Framework (ETF), which is a UNFCCC tool that outlines how countries report on their progress in addressing climate change. The first submission was scheduled for 31 December 2024 and the next report would be submitted in 2026.
The BTR replaces previous reporting mechanisms like Biennial Update Reports (BURs) and Biennial Reports (BRs) to ensure more comprehensive and standardised data for global climate action. It aims to provide detailed information on national greenhouse inventories, progress in achieving NDCs, climate change impacts, adaptation measures and more.
Climate finance
Climate finance refers to financial resources – such as loans, investments, grants, and public budgets – used to support climate mitigation, adaptation, and resilience.
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) notes that while global capital is sufficient to close the climate investment gap, major barriers prevent its effective redirection toward climate goals. The challenge is not just raising funds but aligning existing financial flows with climate objectives.
COP30 Action Agenda
The COP30 Action Agenda is specifically the programme to mobilise non-party stakeholders – such as civil society, businesses, investors, non-government organisations (NGOs), all levels of government – in coordinated climate action. Its purpose to accelerate and scale climate action by highlighting solutions that can be repeated and scaled up in different places in a structured manner, allowing transparency in assessing progress and ensuring accountability.
The agenda will be organised around six key areas, reflecting the breadth and urgency of action needed to meet collective commitments under the Paris Agreement and previous COPs:
- Transitioning Energy, Industry, and Transport
- Stewarding Forests, Oceans, and Biodiversity
- Transforming Agriculture and Food Systems
- Building Resilience for Cities, Infrastructure, and Water
- Fostering Human and Social Development
- Cross-cutting Enablers and Accelerators
The COP30 Presidency envisions that the Action Agenda, coupled with all other dimensions of COP30, will contribute to putting into practice what has been collectively agreed so far, favouring implementation of existing initiatives over the introduction of new ones.
Country platforms
Country platforms are government-led frameworks that coordinate domestic and international support around national climate or development goals. They unify donors, development banks, private investors, and other partners under one strategy.
In climate finance, these platforms help align funding with national priorities, improve coordination, and drive measurable outcomes. They also streamline efforts to attract large-scale investment.
A key example is South Africa’s Just Energy Transition Partnership (JETP), which uses the country platform model to support its shift from coal to clean energy, while promoting job creation and energy security.
COP – Conference of the Parties
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the annual climate summit under the UNFCCC, where countries meet to advance global climate action. Hosting duties rotate among five UN regional groups – namely African States, Asia-Pacific states, Eastern European states, Latin American and Caribbean States, and Western European and Other states – to ensure balanced representation.
GGA – Global Goal on Adaptation
The Global Goal on Adaptation (GGA) is a collective commitment under the Paris Agreement to help countries better cope with the adverse impacts of climate change. It is intended to serve as a unifying framework to drive political action and attracting more funding for adaptation, putting it on equal footing as efforts to reduce emissions.
The GGA focuses on strengthening resilience, reducing vulnerability, and contributing to sustainable development. Recognising that countries experience climate impacts differently and have varying levels of vulnerability, the GGA encourages solutions that are tailored to local contexts and particular needs of vulnerable groups.
GST – United Nations Global Stocktake
The Global Stocktake is a five-yearly review under the Paris Agreement that assesses collective progress on climate action and informs countries’ future plans to meet global climate goals. It is referred to by some as the 'world's biggest report card'. The first set of Global Stocktake results was published at COP28.
The GST is focused on three main areas: mitigation, adaptation, and means of implementation and support, the last of which includes finance. The results evaluate progress globally, but countries are expected to consider their outcomes when updating their Nationally Defined Contributions (NDCs).
GES – Global Ethical Stocktake
Inspired by the Global Stocktake, the Global Ethical Stocktake (GES) proposes an ethical and planetary dialogue on the climate crisis. While Global stocktake focuses on scientific and technical assessments of climate progress, the GES brings in ethical, moral, cultural and philosophical perspectives into climate action. To do so, it will bring together social, cultural, spiritual, business, scientific, and political leaders in intercontinental dialogues and self-organised events.
The GES is an initiative jointly launched by the President of Brazil, Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, and the United Nations Secretary-General, António Guterres.
EMDCs / EMDEs - Emerging Markets and Developing Countries/Economies
A catch-all term for an enormously diverse range of poorer or less economically developed nations. Sometimes referred to as the "global south", in contrast to advanced economies in the "global north". Many question the accuracy and effectiveness of these broad categorisations.
Just Transition
A just transition is one that keeps the interests of those most affected by the climate transition – such as workers, vulnerable communities, suppliers of goods and services, and others – at its core. It recognises that decarbonising the economy may disproportionately impact certain communities and workers, and steps must be taken to make the transition as fair and inclusive as possible. This includes addressing equity and fairness, promoting social inclusion, creating economic opportunities, and upholding human rights.
Loss and Damage
Loss and Damage refers to the harms caused by climate change that cannot be avoided through mitigation or adaptation. It includes both economic losses (like damaged infrastructure) and non-economic losses (like loss of culture or biodiversity), especially affecting vulnerable countries least responsible for climate change.
Mitigation
Climate change mitigation refers to the actions taken to reduce or prevent greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions into the atmosphere, which will prevent the planet from warming further. This also includes actions that enhance carbon sinks that absorb more carbon from the atmosphere.
NAPs – National Adaptation Plans
National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) are strategic frameworks that are developed by countries to address and manage the impact of climate change. They guide nations to identify medium- and long-term needs to adapt to changing climate conditions, reduce vulnerabilities and build resilience across various sectors.
NCQG – New Collective Quantified Goal
The new climate finance goal is to mobilise USD 300 billion a year for developing countries by 2035. It replaced the previous goal of mobilising USD 100 billion per year for climate action in developing countries by 2020, which was agreed at the Copenhagen Accord in 2009 and reinforced by the Paris Agreement.
NDCs – Nationally Determined Contributions
A country's individual, self-defined national climate pledges as part of the Paris Agreement. NDCs detail what a country will do to help meet the global goal to limit temperature increases to 1.5°C by 2050, including how it will adapt to climate impacts and ensure sufficient finance to support these efforts.
Each participating country is required to establish an NDC and update it every five years "to reflect the highest possible ambition", with the next wave due by the end of 2025.
Paris Agreement
A legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties (countries) at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP21) in Paris on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. The overarching goal of the agreement 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.”
TFFF – Tropical Forests Forever Fund
The Tropical Forests Forever Fund (TFFF) is a proposed USD 125 billion investment fund that will rely on both public and private investment and is designed to incentivise tropical countries to support forest conservation. The fund, proposed by Brazil in 2023 at COP28, aims to provide a long-term source of finance for countries that maintain their tropical forest cover.
UNFCCC - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The UNFCCC, established in 1994, is the foundation of global climate action, with 198 member countries. It oversees climate negotiations, maintains the registry of national climate pledges (NDCs), and provides technical analysis. Ahead of each COP, it hosts preparatory sessions to shape discussions and ensure progress on international climate commitments.
We will be publishing more resources and guides to help you navigate COP30 in Belem, Brazil. Stay tuned to IIGCC for updates – follow us on LinkedIn and X.