The most prominent glimpses in the history of the “COP” climate summits
Every year, what is known as the Climate Conference, also called the Conference of Parties, is held in a different city in a different city. This global summit is attended by countries that have signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a treaty that entered into force in 1994.
Since the conference began in 1995, the various versions of it have witnessed a number of prominent features that made some of these versions more famous and more influential than others. The last of these editions was the climate conference in Sharm El-Sheikh “COP27”, which was held last November under the slogan “Implementation Summit”.
The twenty-seventh climate summit was described by many climate experts as the most important summit since the Paris Summit in 2015, the summit that resulted in the “Paris Climate Agreement.” For the sake of the historical agreement on the concept of “losses and damages”, which means that the rich and developed countries – as the world’s most polluters – pay poor and developing countries for the damages they incur as a result of climate change.
We shed light with you on the most prominent climate summits since they were held for the first time in 1995.
Berlin had the honor of hosting the first summit of the Conference of the Parties (COP), where countries agreed on what is known as the Berlin Framework, which calls for specific and legally binding goals to reduce the emissions of developed countries, and also organizes the holding of subsequent sessions after the conference.
Kyoto Summit 1997:COP3
This summit saw the parties sign the Kyoto Agreement, and included specific goals, such as reducing emissions of major Greenhouse Gases (GHGs). The United States signed this agreement, then withdrew from ratifying it. This agreement entered into force in 2005, and the number of parties ratifying it – three years after this date – reached 183 parties.
Bali Summit 2007:COP13
This summit resulted in the Bali Road Map, which established a timetable for negotiations on a new international agreement to replace the Kyoto Agreement and include all countries, not just developed countries. Despite this, the Bali Action Plan did not set binding targets for Greenhouse Gases (GHGs) emitted by developing countries.
Paris Summit 2015:COP21
This summit resulted in the Paris Agreement, which is considered the first global agreement to limit climate change. The agreement essentially aims to contain the phenomenon of global warming to a level of less than two degrees, while striving to reach one and a half degrees, compared to average temperatures in the pre-industrial era. The agreement also included the allocation of 100 billion US dollars, making it a minimum amount of climate aid provided to developing countries. However, the summit failed to put an end to the use of fossil fuels. Because of the increasing dependence on it.
Bonn Summit 2017:COP23
Before this conference, then-US President Donald Trump announced his intention to withdraw from the Paris Agreement, which he later did. The present countries agreed on what is known as the “Powering Past Coal Alliance” or progress towards getting rid of coal, and this is through a gradual plan, to abandon this type of fossil fuel by 2030 for developed countries, and 2050 for the rest of the countries.
This summit witnessed one of the most important agreements in the history of the Conference of the Parties (COP), as developed countries agreed to what is known as the “Loss and Damage Fund,” which provides compensation to developing countries affected by climate change. But once again, the conference was unable to set real goals for transitioning to clean energy and reducing Greenhouse Gases (GHGs).
