What happens at a COP?
A little bit of history...
In 1992, countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, as a framework for international cooperation to combat climate change by limiting average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and coping with impacts that were, by then, inevitable.Under the agreement every country on earth is treaty-bound to “avoid dangerous climate change”, and find ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions globally in an equitable way. COP (Conference of the Parties) are the annual meetings to evaluate the job done and what we still have to do.
How does a COP work?
A COP is usually two weeks long during which different sessions of negotiation happen, and also meeting with the Civil Society. There’s also some side-event, thematiques conferences that can highlight a subject. Some negotiators sometimes participate in these conferences. Negotiations are led by environment ministers and civil servants, aided by UN officials. Nearly every country is expected to send a voting representative at the level of environment secretary or equivalent, and the big economies will have extensive delegations.
COPs are the only forum on the climate crisis in which the opinions and concerns of the poorest countries carry equal weight to that of the biggest economies, such as the US and China. Agreement can only come by consensus, which can be frustrating and means some countries – notably Saudi Arabia – can act as a drag on more ambitious action, but gives COP decisions global authority. Each of the 196 nations on earth, bar a few failed states, is a signatory to the UNFCCC foundation treaty and no country has yet opted to withdraw from it.
Learn More
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The inside story of the Paris climate agreement
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Climate crisis: what is COP and can it save the world?
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- WEBSITE
2021 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Conference of the Parties
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