A COP – Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), is an international treaty resulting from the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. It establishes the basic obligations of the 196 Parties (States) and the European Union to combat climate change.
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme decision-making body of the UNFCCC. The Parties meet every year to review progress in implementing the Convention, where other instruments that support its establishment are proposed, evaluated and approved.
The first COP was held in Berlin, Germany, in 1995. There have been 24 COPs held, the last in Katowice, Poland, in December 2018. The COP Presidency alternates between UN regions: Africa, Asia, Central Europe and Eastern, Western Europe and Latin America and the Caribbean.
COP 25
The 25th United Nations Climate Change Conference 2019 will take place from 2/12 to 13/12 in Madrid, Spain. It will feature the 25th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP 25) to the United Nations Framework Convention to Combat Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the 51st meetings of the UNFCCC subsidiary bodies – the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 51) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 51).
The meeting is an opportunity for the international community to reach a consensus on globally applicable mechanisms, one of the main ways to stimulate the necessary changes.
Brazil, with structural challenges in the environmental area, such as illegal deforestation, has adopted a strict commitment to reducing emissions among developing countries. The target, known as the Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), foresees a reduction of emissions of 43% by 2030.
