The decisions that have the biggest impact on the planet are often made up of the simplest phrases. The importance of words is demonstrated each year when world leaders and diplomats gather at the United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as the Conference of the Parties (COP), to adopt a new climate agreement. Consider one particularly basic one: whether countries agree that they “should” voluntarily reduce climate pollution or phase out fossil fuel subsidies or contribute to international funds, or whether they “must.” Climate action encompasses broad, sometimes elusive concepts, which is why precise language is so important. To really reduce it, we need to take two broad steps at once: reduce emissions to limit global warming, and reduce the damage from warming that we have already caused. The longer we wait to reduce emissions from the fossil fuel industry, which has disproportionately caused the crisis, the more we will pay to adapt to the damage caused by climate change. (Rebecca Leber, vox.com)