Climate change represents one of the most significant threats to humanity, posing potentially catastrophic impacts on both people and the natural environment. Over the past three decades, climate policy has evolved into a significant policy domain, gaining substantial political importance, especially at the international level. In response, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) started organising the Conference of the Parties (COP) meetings.
These annual conferences bring together the representatives from nearly 200 countries that are signatories to the UNFCCC, to discuss and negotiate global climate policies and actions. The main goal of the UNFCCC COP meetings is to assess progress in dealing with climate change and to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
Today, the UNFCCC COP29 starts its work in Baku, Azerbaijan and is set to focus on advancing efforts to limit global warming, adapt to the impacts of climate change, and mobilise financing for these activities. It is important to highlight that each COP has a specific agenda, often built on previous sessions. In 1995, the first COP was held in Berlin, establishing a process to negotiate strengthening commitments for developed countries. In 1997, during COP3, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, achieving a historical milestone of being the first greenhouse gas emissions reduction treaty. The Protocol was later ratified in COP7 and entered into force in 2005.
In 2010, COP16 resulted in the Cancun Agreements, a comprehensive package by governments to assist developing nations in dealing with climate change, establishing the Green Climate Fund, the Technology Mechanism and the Cancun Adaptation Framework.
A notable COP was COP21 in 2015, where the UNFCCC Paris Agreement was adopted. In total, 195 nations agreed to combat climate change and unleash actions and investment towards a low-carbon, resilient and sustainable future. The Paris Agreement for the first time brings all nations into a common cause based on their historic, current and future responsibilities.
Last year, the COP28 Conference of the Parties took place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, from November 30 to December 12,2023. The conference was significant for its focus on Global Stocktake (GST), a process aimed at assessing collective progress towards achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement, the first formal assessment since the Paris Agreement was adopted.
