COP31 Virtual platform terms of use

These are the Copyright and Terms of Use of the secretariat of the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC” or “Convention”), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris

Agreement (“UNFCCC secretariat”) under which you may use the digital platform (“Platform”) for the

31st session of the Conference of the Parties (“COP31”). Please read this carefully. By using the web or

mobile version of this Platform, you are accepting to be bound by the UNFCCC secretariat’s Copyright

and Terms of Use. If you do not accept the Copyright and Terms of Use stated herein, do not use this

Platform.

Copyright

I. Copyright

1. All use of materials, including information, and documents provided on this Platform (collectively,

“Content”) must comply with the Copyright and Terms of Use herein, including reproduction or

transmission, in whole or in part, in any form or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including

photocopying, recording or the use of any information storage and retrieval system. Any exception

to this requires permission in writing from the UNFCCC secretariat.

2. The Platform is under the authority of the UNFCCC secretariat. Any use, copying or reproduction

of the UNFCCC secretariat’s name and logo in any way requires the prior written authorization of

the UNFCCC secretariat. Requests for permission should be sent to the UNFCCC secretariat’s

Communications and Engagement division at webmaster@unfccc.int.

3. All high-resolution, high-quality footage and archival audio and video recordings of UNFCCC and

related meetings and conferences (“Audiovisual Materials”) are the property of the UNFCCC

secretariat, and their copyright is owned by the UNFCCC secretariat.

II. Licensing

1. The UNFCCC secretariat licenses Audiovisual Materials of the plenary sessions of the Conference

of the Parties (“COP”) to the Convention, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of

the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the

Parties to the Paris Agreement, as well as the plenary sessions of their subsidiary bodies.

2. For more information on the UNFCCC secretariat’s licensing requirements and how to submit a

request, please contact the UNFCCC secretariat’s website or the UNFCCC secretariat’s

Communications and Engagement division at webmaster@unfccc.int.

Platform Usage

I. General

1. Use of this Platform and its Content by any person (“User”), whether registered or otherwise, is

subject to the Terms of Use contained herein (“the Terms of Use”). Use of this Platform constitutes

agreement with the Terms of Use.

2. The UNFCCC secretariat administers this Platform for informative purposes only. Permission is

granted to Users to download and copy the Content from the Platform for the User's personal,

non-commercial use, without any right to resell or redistribute or to compile or create derivative

works therefrom, subject to the Terms of Use, and also subject to more specific restrictions that

may apply to specific Content within this Platform.

3. Unless expressly stated otherwise, any findings, interpretations and conclusions expressed in the

Content on this Platform are those of the various United Nations staff members, consultants and

advisers of the UNFCCC secretariat who prepared the work and do not necessarily represent the

views of the UNFCCC secretariat, UNFCCC Parties, the United Nations or its affiliates or its Member

States.

4. The UNFCCC secretariat reserves its exclusive right in its sole discretion to alter, limit or discontinue

the Platform or any Content in any respect. The UNFCCC secretariat shall have no obligation to take

the needs of any User into consideration in connection therewith.

5. The UNFCCC secretariat reserves the right to deny in its sole discretion any User access to this

Platform or any portion thereof without notice.

6. No waiver by the UNFCCC secretariat of any provision of these Terms of Use shall be binding except

as set forth in writing and signed by its duly authorised representative.

II. Indemnification of Liability and Disclaimer

7. As a condition of use of this Platform, the User agrees to indemnify the UNFCCC secretariat and its

affiliates from and against any and all actions, claims, losses, damages, liabilities and expenses

(including reasonable attorneys’ fees) arising out of the User’s use of the Platform, including,

without limitation, any claims alleging facts that if true would constitute a breach by the User of

the Terms of Use. If the User is dissatisfied with any Content on this Platform or with any of its

8. Content provided by the UNFCCC secretariat on this Platform is provided "as is", without warranty

of any kind, either express or implied, including, without limitation, warranties of merchantability,

fitness for a particular purpose and non-infringement. The UNFCCC secretariat specifically does not

make any warranties or representations as to the accuracy, completeness or timeliness of any such

Content. The UNFCCC secretariat may periodically add, change, improve or update the Content on

this Platform without notice. Under no circumstances shall the UNFCCC secretariat or its affiliates

be responsible or liable for any loss, damage, liability or expense incurred or suffered that is

claimed to have resulted from the use of this Platform and its Content, including, without

limitation, any inaccuracy, error, omission, interpretation of or discrepancies in the Content, any

deletion, defect or alteration of it, or, any interruption or delay in accessing the Content on this

Platform. The use of this Platform is at the User's sole risk. Under no circumstances, including but

not limited to negligence, shall the UNFCCC secretariat or its affiliates be liable for any direct,

indirect, incidental, special or consequential damages, even if the UNFCCC secretariat has been

advised of the possibility of such damages.

9. The User specifically acknowledges and agrees that the UNFCCC secretariat is not liable for any

conduct of any User.

10. This Platform may contain advice, opinions and statements of various information providers. The

UNFCCC secretariat does not represent or endorse the accuracy or reliability of any advice, opinion,

statement or other information provided by any information provider, any User of this Platform or

any other person or entity. Reliance upon any such advice, opinion, statement, or other

information shall be at the User's own risk. Neither the UNFCCC secretariat, the United Nations nor

its affiliates, nor any of their respective agents, employees, information providers or content

providers, shall be responsible or liable to any User or anyone else for any inaccuracy, error,

omission, interpretation of or discrepancies in the Content, any deletion, defect, alteration of or

any other use of any such Content, or for its timeliness or completeness, nor shall they be

responsible or liable for any interruption or delay in accessing such Content on the Platform, any

failure of performance, computer virus or communication line failure, regardless of cause, or for

any damages resulting therefrom.

11. This Platform may contain links and references to third-party web sites. The linked sites are not

under the control of the UNFCCC secretariat, and the UNFCCC secretariat is not responsible for the

content or privacy practices of any linked site or any link contained in a linked site. These links are

provided only as a convenience, and the inclusion of a link or reference does not imply the

endorsement of the linked site by the UNFCCC secretariat. If this Platform contains bulletin boards,

chat rooms, access to mailing lists or other message or communication facilities (collectively,

"Forums"), the User agrees to use the Forums only to send and receive messages and materials

that are proper and related to the particular Forum. By way of example and not as a limitation, the

User agrees that when using a Forum, the User shall not do any of the following:

(a) Defame, abuse, harass, stalk, threaten or otherwise violate the legal rights (such as rights of

privacy and publicity) of others;

(b) Publish, post, distribute or disseminate any defamatory, infringing, obscene, indecent or

unlawful material or information;

laws (or by rights of privacy and publicity) unless the User owns or controls the rights thereto or

has received all consents, as may be required by law;

(d) Upload or attach files that contain viruses, corrupted files or any other similar software or

programs that may damage the operation of another's computer;

(e) Delete any author attributions, legal notices or proprietary designations or labels in any file that

is uploaded;

(f) Falsify the origin or source of software or other material contained in a file that is uploaded;

(g) Advertise or offer to sell any goods or services, or conduct or forward surveys, contests or chain

letters, or download any file posted by another user of a Forum that the User knows, or reasonably

should know, cannot be legally distributed in such manner.

12. The User acknowledges that all Forums and discussion groups are public and not private

communications. Further, the User acknowledges that chats, postings, conferences, emails and

other communications by other Users are not endorsed by the UNFCCC secretariat or the United

Nations, and that such communications shall not be considered to have been reviewed, screened

or approved by the UNFCCC secretariat or the United Nations. The UNFCCC secretariat reserves

the right to remove, for any reason and without notice, any content of the Forums received from

Users, including, without limitation, email and bulletin board postings.

III. Pop-up Advertisements

13. When visiting the Platform, the User’s web browser may produce pop-up advertisements. These

advertisements were most likely produced by other websites the User visited or by third party

software installed on the User’s computer. The UNFCCC secretariat is not responsible for, nor

approves, authorizes or endorses the content of the source, link or any pop-up messages that the

User has received in connection with that source or link, nor does the UNFCCC secretariat endorse

3or recommend products or services for which the User may view a pop-up advertisement on the

User’s computer or phone screen while visiting this Platform.

IV. Push Notifications

14. By using the Platform, the User may receive push notifications. These include notifications as to

general meeting information, and notifications as to the UNFCCC secretariat news alerts. Users

may in most cases opt out of receiving push notifications by going to their “Profile” and then

changing the relevant settings.

V. The AI Video Agent

15. By using the Platform, the User may access and interact with an AI Video Agent that provides

information and assistance through video, voice and text interfaces in multiple languages.

16. The AI Video Agent is provided for informational and support purposes only. Responses generated

by the AI Video Agent may not always be accurate, complete or up to date. Users remain

responsible for independently verifying any information obtained through the AI Video Agent.

17. The AI Video Agent does not provide legal, technical, policy or other advice on behalf of the

UNFCCC secretariat or the United Nations, and any information provided through the AI Video

Agent shall not be considered an official position, interpretation or decision of the UNFCCC

secretariat or the United Nations.

18. User interactions with the AI Video Agent, including text, voice and video inputs, may be processed

to provide the requested service, improve functionality, monitor performance, maintain security

and ensure compliance. Users should not disclose any sensitive, confidential, or personal

information when using the service.

19.The UNFCCC secretariat reserves the right to modify, suspend or discontinue the AI Video Agent,

in whole or in part, at any time without notice.

VI. Country and Area Nomenclature

20. The designations employed and the presentation of Content in the Platform do not imply the

expression of any opinion whatsoever on the part of the UNFCCC secretariat, the United Nations

or its affiliates concerning the legal status of any country, territory, city or area or of its authorities,

or concerning the delimitation of its frontiers or boundaries. The term "country" as used in this

Content also refers, as appropriate, to territories or areas. The designations "developed" and

"developing" regions are intended for statistical and analytical convenience and do not necessarily

express a judgement about the stage reached by a particular country or area in the development

process.

VII. Preservation of Privileges and Immunities

21. Nothing herein shall constitute or be considered to be a limitation upon or a waiver of the

privileges and immunities of the UNFCCC secretariat or the United Nations, which are specifically

reserved.

Privacy Policy

I. Overview

1. This privacy statement describes the UNFCCC secretariat’s policy concerning the gathering and

sharing of the Users’ information through the Platform, and is complementary to the UNFCCC

secretariat’s Privacy Policy that is available at: https://unfccc.int/this-site/terms-of-use. By visiting

this Platform, you are further accepting the practices described in the UNFCCC secretariat’s Privacy

Policy.

2. When visiting this Platform, your email which you provided to the UNFCCC secretariat through the

UNFCCC Online Registration System will be used at the point of log in to confirm your identity.

II. Anonymous Platform Usage

1. By accessing this Platform, certain information about the User, such as Internet protocol (IP)

addresses, navigation through the Platform, the software used and the time spent, along with

other similar information, will be stored on servers of the web-hosting provider providing the

Platform. These will not specifically identify the User. The information will be used internally only

for web Platform traffic analysis.

2. This data will be also processed to keep the Platform secure and problem-free. The web hosting

provider keeps logs of connections to this Platform so that it is possible to detect and prevent

malicious activity. The logs contain the User’s IP address (which can reveal the User’s geographical

location), the date and time of connection, the pages the User has visited in what order and for

how long, and the browser the User is using (which can reveal the device used as well). This data

is not used on an individual level unless the traffic looks like an attack, in which case the connection

will be blocked. However, if the User has registered with the UNFCCC secretariat in connection with

any activity on the Platform, the information collected about the User’s normal Platform usage will

be identifiable to such User.

III. Collection and Retention of Personally Identifiable Information

1. All personal information will be purged from the Platform by the web-hosting provider following

the conclusion of COP31.

2. Joining electronic discussion groups may mean that other participants of the discussion group

(including non- UNFCCC secretariat employees) will see personal information that the User has

volunteered. For open discussion groups, this information will be public.

IV. Disclosure of Information to Others

1. The UNFCCC secretariat does not disclose to third parties the User’s personal information,

combined personal and demographic information or information about the User’s use of the

Platform (such as areas the User visits or the services the User accesses), without prior consent

except that:

(a) Companies and individuals with which the UNFCCC secretariat works to provide this Platform

will have access to such information. Examples may include hosting the web servers and

analyzing data. These companies and individuals will have access to the User’s personal

information solely as necessary to perform their functions.

(b) The UNFCCC secretariat may disclose such information, subject to its privileges and

immunities, if requested to do so by the UNFCCC secretariat’s internal governing and oversight

bodies, including Parties, or if necessary, in the UNFCCC secretariat’s sole discretion to protect

its property or rights, prevent a crime or protect the safety of Users or the public.

enable them to respond to the User’s needs, if necessary.

V. The UNFCCC secretariat’s Use of Collected Information

Use of Cookies

1. A cookie is a text file that is placed on the User’s hard drive by a web page server. Cookies are not

used to run programs or deliver viruses to the User’s computer. Cookies are uniquely assigned to

the User’s computer and can only be read by a web server in the domain that issued the cookie to

the User. The Use of a cookie is not linked to any personal information collected through the

Platform.

2. By setting a cookie, this will save the User time. For example, the UNFCCC secretariat will

remember the User the next time such User visits the Platform and therefore the UNFCCC

secretariat will not have to ask questions that the User has already answered (like username,

address information and preferences).

3. Users are always free to decline cookies if the Users’ browser permits, although in that case the

User may not be able to use certain features on the Platform and may be required to re-enter

information more frequently to use certain services on the Platform.

Use of Personal Information

1. The UNFCCC secretariat may use the personal information provided by the User to:

• contact such User – either in response to a query or suggestion, or to mail newsletters,

documents, publications, etc., and it also may provide the information to the UNFCCC

secretariat’s divisions so they can contact the User as well;

• help the User to quickly find relevant information based on such User’s interests, and help to

create Platform content most relevant to the Users;

• undertake statistical analysis.

VI. Provision of Personal Information

Providing personal information on the Platform is a prerequisite for using the Platform. If the User

chooses not to provide personal information, such User will not be able to use or access the Platform.

VII. Opting out and Updating Your Information

1. At any time, the User can correct, update, cancel or modify the provided information by returning

to the web page where the User first provided the information and contacting the focal point for

that page/relevant UNFCCC secretariat’s division or, in certain instances such as registration,

logging into the User’s account and changing the information there.

2. The User may elect to receive communications such as newsletters and other material from the

UNFCCC secretariat. If so, the User will have the opportunity to stop receiving such

communications at any time by logging into his or her account on the Platform and editing the

User’s contact preferences or by clicking the unsubscribe link at the bottom of the emails.

VIII. Security

The UNFCCC secretariat employs a range of techniques and security measures based on best practices

to protect the information maintained on its system from loss, misuse, unauthorized access or

disclosure, alteration, or destruction. However, the UNFCCC secretariat assumes no responsibility for

the security of information.

IX. Code of Conduct

By visiting the Platform, the User further accepts to be bound by the Code of Conduct for UNFCCC

Events, which can be found here.

X. Changes to the Privacy Policy and Code of Conduct

Users may visit the UNFCCC official website to see any changes to the Privacy Policy and Code of

Conduct.

XI. Contact

If Users have any objections, questions or concerns regarding the Terms of Use or Privacy Policy, they

may contact the UNFCCC secretariat’s Communications and Engagement division at

webmaster[at]unfccc.int.