The United Nations will hold the 25th Conference of the Parties (COP25) in Santiago, Chile, from December 2 to 13. The COP will be chaired by Chile's Minister of the Environment, Carolina Schimidt. For the minister, the path to achieving true sustainable development is through caring for the environment; for which it is essential to address climate change adaptation and mitigation.
After Brazil withdrew from hosting COP25, another country had to be chosen. According to UN rules, in 2019 it is the turn of a Latin American or Caribbean country to host the event. Chile and Costa Rica had offered to host the event, but the Central American country withdrew due to costs, and offered to help Chile organize the Conference of the Parties.
At COP24 in Poland, Carolina Schmidt took over as leader of global carbon market negotiations and presented Chile as the host country for COP25. “This represents an enormous challenge, which we have taken on as a historic milestone that will allow us to continue advancing as a leading country in sustainable development and in our commitment to the environment,” she said.
What is the COP?
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), 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.
