Governance & Policy

UNFCCC Bodies

Meaning statusEstablishedSource recordDirect document linkedWhy these are different

Definition

The bodies of the UNFCCC system comprise: the Conference of the Parties (supreme decision-making body, meeting annually); the subsidiary bodies SBI and SBSTA; the Bureau; and a growing family of constituted bodies doing specialised work — the Adaptation Committee, Standing Committee on Finance, Technology Executive Committee and Climate Technology Centre, the Paris Committee on Capacity-building, the Article 6.4 Supervisory Body, and the compliance committee, among others. The Paris Agreement adds the CMA (its governing body) alongside the CMP for the Kyoto Protocol.

References

unfccc.intBulk import source

Source imported for editorial provenance.

Source organisationSupporting reference

This reference provides supporting context for how “UNFCCC Bodies” is defined and used.

Overview

How it is used

The structure structures delegation work, agenda-setting between COPs, and the election and nomination processes through which parties steer the regime.

Why it matters

Treaties are texts; bodies are the regime in permanent session — where climate governance actually happens between the headlines.