COP27: A field guide to climate jargon

STORY: Decades of climate talks have spawned a host of acronyms and jargon.

Here is a quick guide.

The Glasgow Pact was reached at the 2021 U.N. climate summit in Glasgow, Scotland.

It marked the first time a U.N. climate agreement mentioned the goal of reducing fossil fuel use.

The pact marked a breakthrough in efforts to resolve rules guiding the international trade of carbon markets to offset emissions.

"If this was a football match, then the current score would be 5-1 down in the match between humanity and climate change."

Agreed in December 2015, the Paris Agreement aims to limit the rise in the average global surface temperature.

Countries that signed the accord set national pledges to reduce humanity's effect on the climate that are meant to become more ambitious over time.

The Paris accord legally bound its signatories collectively

to keep the temperature rise "well below" 2.0 degrees Celsius – about 3.6 Fahrenheit – this century.

But the countries also promised to "pursue efforts" to keep the rise below 1.5C - or 2.7F,

which scientists say would help to avert some of the most catastrophic effects.

NDCs are the pledges that each country makes to reduce its emissions and adapt to climate change from 2020 onward.

Countries have to update and expand their NDCs every five years.

In 2009, richer countries agreed to contribute $100 billion together each year by 2020

to help poorer countries adapt their economies and lessen the impact of climate change.

They’ve agreed to extend this goal through to 2025, but the target has yet to be met.

To put things in perspective, a U.S. Energy Department official estimates that the U.S. alone needs to invest $1 trillion a year to meet its new climate targets.

The principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities"

states that developed countries, which produced more emissions in the past, should take the lead in fighting climate change.

The issue is always one of the most thorny in climate talks.

“Loss and damage” refers to the harm and destruction that happens when people and places are not prepared for climate-driven impacts,

and cannot adjust the way they live to protect themselves from longer-term shifts.

Some of the countries hit hardest by the impact of climate change are Bangladesh, Kenya and South Sudan.

Although richer countries have agreed to provide them with funding,

poorer countries continue to press for an agreed basis to assess liability for the losses and damage caused by climate change, and calculate compensation.