COP27: Recall results of climate COPs

COP27, the UN conference on climate change that began two weeks ago in Egypt, is coming to an end. The conclusions of this type of event require arrangements between countries with different interests, which is why they tend to take time and bring results that leave part of the nations dissatisfied.

But what has already been achieved at COPs in other years? When did they start to take place? What are the main conflicts?

Ask your questions below and remember the main outcomes of previous editions.

First, what is a climate COP?

It is a conference to discuss the practical rules of the Climate Convention, an agreement signed between countries within the framework of the United Nations to combat climate change.

The acronym COP, in English, means “Conference of the Parties”. In addition to the COP on climate change, there are COPs on other topics organized by the UN.

In the case of the climate, they take place annually. An exception was 2020, when, because of the Covid-19 pandemic, it was postponed.

Since when do COPs happen?

Since 1995, the year following the entry into force of the Climate Convention. The goal is to set rules to implement the fight against the climate crisis and update the results of these efforts.

At that first COP, signatories agreed to negotiate a legal instrument —a protocol— to implement the convention.

How do COPs work?

Negotiators discuss specific topics in groups, such as transparency, finance or adaptation, with the aim of delivering a consensual text proposal. This stage usually lasts a week or extends for a few more days.

In the middle of the second week, ministers, who have government mandates, meet to try to resolve points where there was no consensus and conclude negotiations.

On the last day of the meeting, the consensus text, or agreement, is presented, in addition to other decisions that may have arisen during the COP.

What are the main blocks in the negotiations?

1. European Union – the group that tends to be more aggressive in terms of decarbonization targets and measures; due to the war in Ukraine, which brought an energy crisis to the continent, this position tends to be less clear

2. umbrella (umbrella) – formed by the USA, Japan, New Zealand, Australia, Russia and Norway, they tend to block initiatives that make many concessions to emerging countries. Norway, however, although a major oil producer, has proposed ambitious goals and financed poorer countries

3. Environmental Integrity (EIG) – formed by OECD countries that are neither in the European Union nor in Umbrella: Mexico, Korea, Switzerland, Lichtenstein and Monaco. Aims to be a bridge between developed and developing countries

4. G77 + China – formed by 133 developing nations, including Brazil, South Africa and China. Its focus is to obtain greater financing from developed countries. Within the G77 there are at least eight more active subgroups, in addition to smaller ones:

• Basic – subgroup of the G77 formed by the emerging countries Brazil, South Africa, India and China

• small islands – 40 nations that are at risk of disappearing due to rising sea levels; advocate more ambitious targets and push for compensation for irreversible losses and damages

• LDCs – 48 least developed countries from Africa, Southeast Asia and Oceania

• Like-Minded Developing Countries – includes Saudi Arabia, Belarus, Philippines, Egypt, Pakistan, Venezuela, Cuba, Nicaragua and others and advocates that the imposition of environmental commitments on the poorest countries is imperialism of the richest

What landmark decisions have already been taken at COPs?

The most important conclusion to date was that of 2015, in France, which produced the Paris Agreement: a project to reform the structure of the world economy, to combat climate change and avoid the catastrophes that it can produce.

The COP26, in Glasgow (Scotland), in 2021, also played an important role in closing the so-called rule book of the Paris Agreement. The lack of new climate finance commitments by the developed bloc has, however, barred the willingness of the rest of the world to go further with targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

The final text of COP26 opted for the verb “reduce” instead of “eliminate” coal consumption, as a result of a fight won by China and India. On the other hand, the document cites the importance of containing global warming by up to 1.5°C —a limit that prevents the disappearance of island countries—, unlike the Paris Agreement, which accepted up to 2°C.

The meeting, when also touching on rules for the international carbon market, approved a 5% tax on the transaction of carbon credits traded between private sector projects or NGOs. Transactions between countries, however, were free of fees and, therefore, without contribution to adaptation funds, due to refusal by the developed bloc.

Other COPs, however, produced advances before Glasgow and Paris.

In Bali (Indonesia), for example, in 2007, China agreed to negotiate voluntary targets that were measurable, and in Cancún (Mexico), in 2010, the Green Climate Fund was created and the objective of maintaining global warming was defined. temperature by no more than 2°C above the pre-industrial temperature.

The COP in Durban (South Africa), in 2011, was the event in which the need for mandatory targets for all countries was formalized, and in Lima, in 2014, several of the points approved later in Paris were agreed.

Timeline of climate conferences

1992 – The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, Rio-92 (or Eco-92, or Earth Summit) took place in Rio de Janeiro. Considered a success, the agreement produced three UN conventions, a declaration on forests and a letter of intent on sustainable development, Agenda 21. The text of the Climate Convention, also called the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ( UNFCCC), was signed at Rio-92 and entered into force in 1994.

1995 – COP1 – Berlin (Germany) – Produced a negotiating mandate for a legal instrument to implement the Climate Convention

1996 – COP2 – Geneva (Switzerland)

1997 – COP3 – Kyoto (Japan) – The principle was established that all countries have a responsibility to fight the climate crisis, but those that developed earlier have a responsibility to bear greater costs and more capacity. The principle became known as CBDR (acronym for common but different responsibilities, in English) and established goals for rich countries, in the period from 2008 to 2012. The protocol, however, was not approved in the USA, the largest issuer, making the ineffective agreement.

1998 – COP4 – Buenos Aires (Argentina)

1999 – COP5 – Bonn (Germany)

2000 – COP6 – The Hague (Netherlands)

2001 – COP6-2 – Bonn (Germany)

2001 – COP7 – Marrakech (Morocco)

2002 – COP8 – New Delhi (India)

2003 – COP9 – Milan (Italy)

2004 – COP10 – Buenos Aires (Argentina)

2005 – COP11 – Montreal (Canada)

2006 – COP12 – Nairobi (Kenya)

2007 – COP13 – Bali (Indonesia) – Produced the Bali Road Map: over the next two years, parties to the Kyoto Protocol agreed to negotiate its extension and an increase in actions; Climate Convention countries that did not participate in the protocol, such as China, agreed to negotiate voluntary targets that were measurable and verifiable. These commitments would apply for the period from 2013 to 2020.

2008 – COP16 – Poznań (Poland)

2009 – COP15 – Copenhagen (Denmark) – The conference was supposed to produce an agreement based on the negotiations started in Bali, but it failed, because the US and China declared themselves unprepared to compulsorily commit to actions and goals, as Europe wanted. Leaders wrote a political declaration, known as the Copenhagen Accord, providing for voluntary targets not subject to charge, but it was not officially adopted.

2010 – COP16 – Cancún (Mexico) – The Green Climate Fund, the main climate financing mechanism, was created. Commitments assumed in Copenhagen were formalized, such as that the goals belong not only to developed countries, but also to emerging ones. The objective of maintaining warming at a maximum of 2ºC above the temperature of the pre-industrial era was also defined, with an indicative target of a maximum of 1.5ºC.

2011 – COP17 – Durban (South Africa) – Produced the greatest advance in the negotiations since the Kyoto Protocol: the need for a universal agreement was formalized, with mandatory measures to cut greenhouse gas emissions for all countries in the world . The program was to close the agreement in 2015 and put it into effect from 2020.

2012 – COP18 – Warsaw (Poland) – An international loss and damage mechanism was launched, which would compensate more vulnerable countries (mainly islands) for the impacts of climate change to which it is no longer possible to adapt. REDD+, a guide to reduce emissions from deforestation and forest degradation, was created.

2013 – COP19 – Doha (Qatar) – The Kyoto agreement has been extended until 2020

2014 – COP20 – Lima (Peru) – The elements of the future Paris Agreement were discussed: mitigation of climate change, adaptation, financing, an international mechanism that allows verification and collection of actions, losses and damages and a long-term plan. It was defined that the emission reduction targets would be stipulated by each country, and not imposed from the top down, as in Kyoto.

2015 – COP21 – Paris – The Paris Agreement establishes:

• The commitment to stabilize global warming “well below 2°C” in relation to the temperature of the pre-industrial period, “making efforts” to stabilize it at a maximum of 1.5°C.

• The adoption of determined contribution targets (NDCs) by all countries, valid from 2020 and revised periodically

• The expectation that all countries present long-term strategies to achieve climate neutrality (balance between emissions and removals of greenhouse gases) by the middle of this century

2016 – COP22 – Marrakech (Morocco) – Countries have begun to define the rules for implementing the Paris Agreement, but the election of Donald Trump to the Presidency of the United States and the subsequent dismantling of American environmental policy has put commitments under threat.

2017 – COP23 – Bonn (Germany)

2018 – COP24 – Katowice (Poland) – Rules on regular communication and accountability of the Paris Agreement were established, in addition to the alignment between investments and the consideration of losses and damages. But the attempt to establish rules on the carbon market was blocked by negotiators from Brazil

2019 – COP25 – Madrid (Spain) – Brazil once again blocked an agreement on the carbon market, in addition to preventing mentions of the oceans and human rights in the texts discussed.

2021 – COP26 – Glasgow (Scotland) – Closed the rulebook of the Paris Agreement, which covers issues such as the carbon market, but has not made progress in terms of climate finance. With pressure from China and India, the final text of the meeting adopted the verb “reduce” to talk about coal consumption, instead of “eliminate”, as other nations sought. However, the importance of containing global warming by up to 1.5°C was expressed, something that was not a consensus in the Paris Agreement, which accepted up to 2°C.

2022 – COP27 – Sharm el-Sheikh (Egypt)

2023 – COP28 – scheduled to take place in Dubai, United Arab Emirates

_{Sources: Climate Observatory; UNFCCC}

_{The Planeta em Transe project is supported by the Open Society Foundations.}