COP - A Rundown

COP is an abbreviation for ‘Conference of the Parties’. There are all kinds of COPs for different international agreements. These can span from chemical weapons to desertification and biological diversity. However, the term has been largely associated with the meeting of a particular committee, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).

The UNFCCC was signed by 154 countries back in June 1992, to combat harmful human impacts on our world’s climate. COP meetings have been held annually to hold discussions on how it should be achieved and monitor the valuable progress that has been made. Each time the COP conference is held, a new and different country becomes the ‘COP president’; in charge of organising and running that year’s meeting. Any new and legally binding agreements made at the recent COP, tend to be named after the host city. For example, the 2015 Paris Agreement, the 2021 Glasgow Climate Pact etc.

Predominantly, politicians, diplomats and representatives of national governments are the most important people regarding the invitees to COP. However, many people attend to try and influence the outcome. This could include:

• Fossil fuel lobbyists: eager to protect their industry from needed action to keep coal, oil and gas firmly in the ground.
• Land and Environmental defenders: People calling for greater protections for their territories against exploitation by environmentally destructive industries; logging, mining, and industrial agribusiness.
• Climate organisations: Sending representatives for ultimate advocacy for rapid and ambitious action, planning to tackle the climate crisis.

COP 28 is the United Nations Climate Change Conference which took place in Dubai from 30th November 2023 until 12th December 2023 - Click here to see the Key Outcomes from COP 28.