The UK will host the COP 26 UN Climate Change Conference from October 31 to November 12.

About :

The conference comes months after the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) published its assessment report on Earth’s climate, highlighting heat waves, droughts, extreme rainfall and sea-level rise in the coming decades.

The event will see leaders from more than 190 countries, thousands of negotiators, researchers and citizens coming together to strengthen a global response to the threat of climate change. It is a pivotal movement for the world to come together and accelerate the climate action plan.

Formation of COP

The Conference of Parties comes under the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC) which was formed in 1994. The UNFCCC was established to work towards “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.”

It laid out a list of responsibilities for the member states which included:

• Formulating measures to mitigate climate change
• Cooperating in preparing for adaptation to the impact of climate change
• Promoting education, training and public awareness related to climate change

COP1 to COP25

• Members have been meeting every year since 1995.
• The UNFCCC has 198 parties including India, China and the USA.
• The first conference (COP1) was held in 1995 in Berlin.
• At COP3 held in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997, the famous Kyoto Protocol was adopted. It commits the member states to pursue limitation or reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. It entered into force on 16 February 2005 and there are 192 Parties in the Kyoto Protocol.
• India hosted the eighth COP from October 23 to November 1, 2002 in New Delhi. The conference laid out seven measures including, ‘strengthening of technology transfer in all relevant sectors, including energy, transport and the promotion of technological advances through research and development and the strengthening of institutions for sustainable development.’
• One of the most important conferences, COP21 took place from November 30 to December 11, 2015, in Paris, France. Member countries agreed to work together to ‘limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.’

COP26 goals

• Secure global net-zero by mid-century and keep 1.5 degrees within reach :
• Adapt to protect communities and natural habitats : Countries will work together to ‘protect and restore ecosystems and build defences, warning systems and resilient infrastructure and agriculture to avoid loss of homes, livelihoods and even lives.’
• Mobilise finance : To deliver first two goals, developed countries must make good on their promise to mobilise at least $100bn in climate finance per year by 2020
• Work together to deliver : ‘finalise the Paris Rulebook’. Leaders will work together to frame a list of detailed rules that will help fulfil the Paris Agreement.