But what is COP 21?

02.11.2015 - With only 4 weeks left until the much anticipated COP 21, many people are still unsure about what it is exactly.

What you need to know about COP21:

·COP stands for Conference of the Parties

·It is the 21^st annual session of the United Nations Climate Change Conference

· COP21 will be held in Paris  this year from November 30 to December 11, 2015

· This year’s main objective is to achieve a legally binding and universal agreement on climate for the first time through INDCs (Intended Nationally Determined Contributions)

· 146 countries have submitted INDCs, tackling nearly 90% of global emissions

· Significant meetings since the first COP in Berlin in 1995 include:

• COP3 where the Kyoto Protocol was adopted
• COP11 where the Montreal Action Plan was produced
• COP17 in Durban where the Green Climate Fund was created

· The international political response to climate change began at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992, where the ‘Rio Convention’ included the adoption of the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

·“To take urgent action to combat climate change and its impacts”, is one of the Sustainable Development Goals, an inter-governmentally agreed set of targets for international development

The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) will present this year’s “Emissions Gap Report” on 6 November, including an assessment of submitted INDCs. 

UNRIC’s Related Links:

•   COP21
•   UNFCCC

Photo Credits:

•   Cartoon: UNDP / Norman Isaac