A guide to COP29 climate jargon

Guide to key terms at COP29: UNFCCC, COP, NDC, global warming, climate change, greenhouse gases, Paris Agreement, net zero.

With the U.N. climate talks tackling complex topics from energy policy to global financial aid, the annual summit has developed its own ever-growing lexicon.

Here's a guide to some of the terms in play at this year's COP29 discussions.

UNFCCC: This acronym stands for the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which is the name of both the 1992 treaty committing nearly 200 countries to fighting global warming and the secretariat set up to implement that treaty.

COP: This acronym stands for Conference of Parties, and describes the annual summit of countries that have signed the UNFCCC treaty. This year's COP29 meeting in Baku marks the 29th such gathering since the UNFCCC took effect in 1994.

NCQG: This relatively new acronym will be focal at COP29. It stands for the New Collective Quantified Goal on Climate Finance, an annual target for funding developing country climate efforts.

NDC: Most often, these NDCs or Nationally Determined Contributions are referred to simply as "country pledges" and describe national action plans for reducing its emissions and adapting to climate impacts. The next round of NDCs are due in February, though some countries plan to submit new plans in Baku.

GLOBAL WARMING: The term describes the gradual increase in the global average temperature.