UN Climate Change Conferences
Every year, countries who have joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) meet to measure progress and negotiate multilateral responses to climate change. Today there are 198 Parties to the Convention.
The UNFCCC is a multilateral treaty adopted in 1992 – shortly after the first assessment report by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1990 – to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations "at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-induced) interference with the climate system.”
Since entering into force in 1994, the UNFCCC has provided the basis for international climate negotiations, including landmark agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015).
The first Conference of the Parties (COP) was held in Berlin, Germany, in 1995. 28th COP was held at the end of 2023 in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. It included the first Global Stocktake, where States assessed the progress made towards the goals set in the Paris Agreement and charted a course of action. COP29 will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan, in November 2024.
The host country of the COP normally rotates among the five United Nations regional groups (Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin American and the Caribbean, and Western European and Others), with regional group members determining which country from their region will make an offer to host the conference.
COPs have created global milestones for the climate movement, setting standards and advancing action, including on reducing carbon emissions, accelerating a global energy transition, and helping countries adapt and build resilience to compounding climate issues. COPs are crucial in bringing governments together while also mobilizing the private sector, civil society, industry and individuals to tackle the climate crisis.
COP28
The UN Climate Change Conference in Dubai, United Arab Emirates, closed on 13 December 2023 with an agreement that signals the beginning of the end of the fossil fuel era by laying the ground for a swift, just and equitable transition, underpinned by deep emissions cuts and scaled-up finance. Negotiators from nearly 200 countries – in the world’s first ‘global stocktake’ of the Paris Agreement – agreed to ratchet up climate action before the end of the decade, with the overarching aim of keeping global temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.
COP26
The UN Climate Change Conference in Glasgow, United Kingdom, COP26, in 2021 brought together 120 world leaders and over 40,000 registered participants to discuss all facets of climate change — the science, the solutions, the political will to act, and clear paths for action. Nations adopted the Glasgow Climate Pact, a package of decisions, including strengthened efforts to build resilience to climate change, to curb greenhouse gas emissions and to provide the necessary financing for both.
COP27
The UN Climate Change Conference in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, COP27, in 2022 concluded with the adoption of the Sharm el-Sheikh Implementation Plan, which established a dedicated fund for loss and damage, maintained a clear intention to keep global warming to no more than 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, put a focus on accountability for businesses and institutions, created pathways to mobilize more financial support for developing countries, and shifted attention from promises to action. Read the key takeaways here.