Since the start of the war between Iran and Israel at the beginning of the year, attention has been focused on the increase in the cost of living and the price of fossil fuels.
A recent UN report warned that the world has already exceeded the 1.5 degree Celsius temperature limit. global warming. This value, defined in 2015 in the Paris Agreementmeasures the increase in temperature compared to the average values of the pre-industrial era. The limit of 1.5 degrees Celsius was set as the boundary to avoid climate change catastrophic and irreversible.
It is in this context that the UN conference is taking place, co-chaired by Türkiye and Australia. The meeting focuses on the evolution of the energy transition and the financing of decarbonizationto try to revive the objectives defined in the Paris Agreement.
Below is a glossary of terms and concepts that frame the COP31 and which will be under discussion.
Paris Agreement
International commitment signed by 196 countries in 2015, in COP21to reduce gas emissions with greenhouse effect (GHG) on the planet. It was adopted within the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It aims to prevent global temperatures from rising more than 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial values and limit this increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius.
Climate change
Changes in the planet’s natural climate cycles that persist over long periods of time. They may have natural causes or result from human activity, such as emission of large quantities of carbon dioxide carbon (CO2) into the atmosphere, due to the intensive use of fossil fuels. They manifest themselves in phenomena such as the melting of polar ice caps, the desertificationthe extinction of species, the destruction of ecosystems, forest fires, rising sea levels and extreme droughts and floods.
Global warming
Increase in the average temperature of the atmosphere at the surface of the planet and the ocean. This increase has become more evident in recent decades, also due to the intensification of the use of fossil fuels. The past decade was the hottest ever observed and, according to World Meteorological Organization (WMO), since 1980 each decade has been warmer than the previous one. The year 2024 was the hottest on record. The UN admits that temperatures could rise by three degrees by 2100.
ozone layer
Layer of ozone in the atmosphere that protects the planet from the Sun’s ultraviolet radiation. Without this protection there would be no life on Earth. Some gases produced by human activity can gradually destroy it, such as chlorofluorocarbons (CFC), formerly used in refrigeration systems.
Fossil fuels
Fuels with large amount of carbonsuch as oil, natural gas and coal. As they take a long time to form, they are not renewable.
Nationally Determined Contributions
NDC, in the original acronym. Contribution that each country proposes to make to reduce emissions greenhouse gases (GHG) and keep the temperature increase below 2 degrees Celsius. They arise from the Paris Agreement.
COP
Acronym for Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. High-level conferences on environmental protection.
Sustainable development
Model of global growth and development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the needs of future generations. It is characterized by nature preservation and the environment.
Zero emissions (or carbon neutrality)
Situation in which the same amount of greenhouse gases (GHG) is removed from the atmosphere as is emitted by human activities. This is achieved by reducing or eliminating the main sources of emissions and, for example, investing in forestswhich consume carbon to grow. Portugal wants to achieve this goal by 2050.
Pre-industrial era
Period before the Industrial Revolution, which began in England. By consensus, it corresponds to the period before the second half of the 18th century, that is, until 1750.
Extreme weather phenomena
Abnormal and increasingly frequent situations due to human influence on the climatesuch as extreme cold and heat waves, rains of unprecedented intensity, severe and persistent droughts, very violent winds, hurricanes of great intensity or floods on the coast. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the UN warn of the increase in the frequency and intensity of these phenomena.
Greenhouse gases
Gases that absorb infrared radiation emitted by the planet and prevent it from dissipating into space, warming the Earth through a greenhouse effect. These gases are also produced naturally, but human activity has increased them exponentially, and the burning of fossil fuels is the most dangerous source. THE main gas is CO2. THE methanewhose concentration in the atmosphere has increased in the last decade, has a warming power about 80 times greater than that of CO2 over a 20-year horizon.
Carbon market
Market created from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It works by exchanging carbon creditsan “authorization” for a company or country to emit greenhouse gases up to a certain limit. The goals can be negotiated with less emitting countries: those who emit less can sell their remaining licenses. Each credit corresponds to one ton of CO2.
Mitigation and adaptation to climate change
Actions to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. Mitigate the climate change requires reducing global emissions by around 45% by 2030, compared to 2010, and achieving the carbon neutrality by 2050. At the same time, national governments must prepare for these changes and reduce their consequences.
Sustainable Development Goals
Set of 17 goals established by the United Nations General Assembly for a more sustainable world by 2030. It is called Agenda 2030.
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
IPCCin the original acronym. Organization created by the UN in 1988, which brings together hundreds of scientists from around the world. It disseminates scientific information about climate change so that countries can make political decisions.
carbon footprint
Total CO2 emissions caused by the actions of people, companies, organizations or States, expressed in quantity of carbon dioxide or equivalent. THE Paris Agreement also intends to limit the carbon footprint of countries.
Losses and damages
Concept that designates the damage caused by the impacts of climate change. It was introduced by the Alliance of Small Island States at the Geneva international climate negotiations in 1991. notion of losses and damages compensation was largely ignored until it was resumed in 2013, at COP19, in Warsaw, where the Warsaw International Mechanism for Losses and Damages was created, which has so far had few practical results.
Kyoto Protocol
First international legal treaty to limit greenhouse gas emissions. It was approved in Kyotoin Japan, in 1997, and came into force in 2005.
Carbon sinks
Natural elements that absorb carbon from the atmosphere, such as trees and plants, through photosynthesis. The ocean is also a carbon sink, and algae absorb even more carbon than land plants.
