What is a COP?

The COP, or Conference of the Parties, is the annual gathering of the signatory states of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - UNFCCC adopted in 1992 at the Rio Summit. This international treaty provides a framework for States' efforts to limit their impact on the climate and to develop international cooperation.

It is during the COPs that states hold discussions, make decisions and monitor their implementation. In 1997, the COP 3 was marked by the signing of the Kyoto Protocol on the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions by 5%. In 2015, the COP 21 culminated in the Paris Agreement, which aims to limit the rise in temperature to 1.5°C, and which incorporated the subject of the ocean into the climate negotiations. Following this recognition of the ocean's role, the IPCC - Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change - produced a special Ocean and Climate report in 2019.