United Nations Climate Change Conference

United Nations Climate Change Conferences
Heads of delegations at the 2015 United Nations Climate Change Conference, which established the Paris Agreement
Date1995 (1995)–present
Organized byUN

The United Nations Climate Change Conferences are yearly conferences held in the framework of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCCC parties – the Conference of the Parties (COP) – to assess progress in dealing with climate change, and beginning in the mid-1990s, to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.[1] Starting in 2005 the conferences have also served as the "Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol" (CMP);[2] also parties to the convention that are not parties to the protocol can participate in protocol-related meetings as observers. From 2011 to 2015 the meetings were used to negotiate the Paris Agreement as part of the Durban platform, which created a general path towards climate action.[3] Any final text of a COP must be agreed by consensus.[4]

The first UN Climate Change Conference was held in 1995 in Berlin.[5][6]

  1. ^ "What is the UNFCCC & the COP". Climate Leaders. Lead India. 2009. Archived from the original on 2009-03-27. Retrieved 2009-12-05.
  2. ^ The Adaptation Fund Archived 14 March 2014 at the Wayback Machine. Accessed on 14 March 2014.
  3. ^ Jepsen, Henrik; et al. (2021). Negotiating the Paris Agreement: The Insider Stories. Cambridge University Press. ISBN 9781108886246. Archived from the original on 2022-12-10. Retrieved 2022-12-16.
  4. ^ "COP26: Rich countries 'pushing back' on paying for climate loss". BBC News. 2021-11-08. Archived from the original on 2021-12-09. Retrieved 2021-11-08.
  5. ^ "Stages of climate change negotiations". Federal Ministry for the Environment, Nature Conservation, Building and Nuclear Safety. 2012-12-27. Archived from the original on 2017-01-13. Retrieved 2016-11-15.
  6. ^ "More Background on the COP". UNFCC. 2014. Archived from the original on 2016-11-15. Retrieved 2016-11-15.