Fighting Climate Change

Saving Animal Populations

Where have participating countries met to discuss climate change?

Meeting of COP

Image of COP 26
Photo from UNFCCC COP 26 meeting from earth.org​

UNFCCC

What is being done by various countries to combat climate change? One initiative being taken is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC is a multilateral treaty which was put into practice in 1992. It began after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released their first assessment in 1990. The UNFCCC's purpose was to work towards mitigating anthropogenic climate change by stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations. All countries who have joined the UNFCC meet yearly to discuss climate change and negotiate a collective approach to it. There are currently 198 Parties that take part in the convention.

Host Country

The UNFCCC has met yearly since their first meeting in March of 1995. The only exception was 2001 where they met twice in that one year. These meetings are referred to as Conference of the Parties (COP). The first COP was held in Berlin. Germany was the host country for this meeting. The most recent meeting at the end of 2023 was held in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. The next meeting is going to take place in Baku, Azerbaijan. The location of the COP switches between five different United Nations regional groups. These groups are Africa, Asia-Pacific, Eastern Europe, Latin American and the Caribbean, and Western European and Others. When it is their turn to host, a regional groups decide amongst themselves who will host the conference. Notable results from such conferences include the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015. The COPs have been important in bringing different countries together and determining how best to act in response to climate change.

UN Climate Change Conferences

Host Countries of Every COP

Last 30 Hosts

  1. 1995, COP 1, Berlin, Germany, Western Europe and Other Group (WEOG)
  2. 1996, COP 2, Geneva, Switzerland, WEOG
  3. 1997, COP 3, Kyoto, Japan, Asia and Pacific Group
  4. 1998, COP 4, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC)
  5. 1999, COP 5, Bonn, Germany, WEOG
  6. 2000, COP 6, The Hague, Netherlands, WEOG
  7. 2001, COP 6-2, Bonn, Germany, WEOG
  8. 2001, COP 7, Marrakech, Morocco, Africa Group
  9. 2002, COP 8, New Delhi, India, Asia and Pacific Group
  10. 2003, COP 9, Milan, Italy, WEOG
  11. 2004, COP 10, Buenos Aires, Argentina, Group of Latin America and the Caribbean (GRULAC)
  12. 2005, COP 11, Montreal, Canada, WEOG
  13. 2006, COP 12, Nairobi, Kenya, Africa Group
  14. 2007, COP 13, Bali, Indonesia, Asia and Pacific Group
  15. 2008, COP 14, Poznan, Poland, Eastern Europe Group
  16. 2009, COP 15, Copenhagen, Denmark, WEOG
  17. 2010, COP 16, Cancun, Mexico, GRULAC
  18. 2011, COP 17, Durban, South Africa, Africa Group
  19. 2012, COP 18, Doha, Qatar, Asia and Pacific Group
  20. 2013, COP 19, Warsaw, Poland, Eastern Europe Group
  21. 2014, COP 20, Lima, Peru, GRULAC
  22. 2015, COP 21, Paris, France, WEOG
  23. 2016, COP 22, Marrakech, Morocco, Africa Group
  24. 2017, COP 23, Bonn, Germany, WEOG
  25. 2018, COP 24, Katowice, Poland, Eastern Europe Group
  26. 2019, COP 25, Madrid, Spain, WEOG
  27. 2021, COP 26, Glasgow, United Kingdom, WEOG
  28. 2022, COP 27, Sharm El Sheikh, Egypt, Africa Group
  29. 2023, COP 28, Dubai, United Arab Emirates, Asia and Pacific Group
  30. 2024, COP 29, Baku, Azerbaijan, Eastern Europe Group
UNFCCC