COP Timeline

COP 1

• 1995
• Berlin, Germany
• At the first COP, countries met to review their progress at fulfilling the requirements of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The Berlin Mandate was then formed to establish legally binding targets for developed countries in order to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. This was to be adopted at COP 3 in Kyoto.

COP 2

• 1996
• Geneva, Switzerland
• Notably, the US changed its opposition to emission goals.
• Countries accepted the scientific findings on climate change proffered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its second assessment (1995).

COP 3

• 1997
• Kyoto, Japan
• The Kyoto Protocol was signed. More than 150 nations signed the treaty. The United States was a notable exception, even though Clinton signed it, Congress did not ratify.
• Annex 1 countries agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. They were also required to prepare policies for the implementation of their agreed upon reduction. Another aspect of the treaty was to establish an adaptation fund for climate change in developing countries.
• The treaty required participation from all ratified countries during the commitment period of 2008-2012.

COP 4

• 1998
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• The nations met again to resolve remaining issues from COP 3, namely elaborating the rules for emission reduction and exploring practical steps for the transfer of climate friendly technologies to developing countries.
• This proved to be a massive undertaking and the parties agreed to a 2 year plan for implementation, to be completed in 2000.
• Notably Argentina and Kazakhstan became the first non-Annex countries to undertake the greenhouse gas emission target.

COP 5

• 1999
• Bonn, Germany
• Significant progress was made to work on the 2 year plan from Buenos Aires.
• There was also increased participation from developing countries, led by Argentina and Kazakhstan.

COP 6

• 2000
• The Hague, Netherlands
• COP 6 was marred by controversies and disagreements. Namely over the US's proposal to allow credit for carbon sinks in their lands, also over the consequences for non-compliance by countries that failed their obligations. There were also disagreements over financial assistance needed by developing countries.
• Talks quickly broke down and were scheduled to resume at COP 6 in Bonn.

COP 6

• 2001
• Bonn, Germany
• When talks resumed, it was clear that little progress was made between the parties.
• Notably, new US president George Bush rejected the Kyoto Protocol and they appeared in the conference as observers.
• Talks made progress as credits for carbon sinks were granted. They outline three new funding methods for countries that needed assistance.  Moreover, talks to address the non-compliance issue were deferred until COP 7.  

COP 7

• 2001
• Marrakech, Morocco
• COP 7 finalised the remaining work needed to implement the Kyoto Protocol. The 2 year plan agreed upon in Buenos Aires was completed. These agreements became known as the Marrakesh Accords.
• A compliance regime was finally formulated to deal with parties that failed to meet the emission targets.
• The US continued its observer role.

COP 8

• 2002
• New Delhi, India
• Parties met to adopt the Delhi Ministerial Declaration that stated amongst others that Annex I Parties should implement their commitments including those relating to financial resources and technologies transfer for developing countries.
• Notably, Russia stalled their ratification process for the Kyoto Protocol, with the US and Australia still on the side-lines, Russian participation was crucial to reach the ratification criteria.

COP 9

• 2003
• Milan, Italy
• The parties agreed to use the Adaptation Fund outlined in COP 7 for developing countries.

COP 10

• 2004
• Buenos Aires, Argentina
• The parties met to reflect on the progress made in the 10 years since COP 1.
• The Buenos Aires Plan of Action was adopted to help developing countries adapt to climate change.
• Further talks were conducted on how to allocate emission targets post the Kyoto participation period which was set to end in 2012.

COP 11

• 2005
• Montreal, Canada
• COP 11 was also the first Meeting of the Parties (MOP-1) since Kyoto.
• The Montreal Action Plan was undertaken, it stated that the Kyoto Protocol was to be extended after 2012. Furthermore bigger emission targets were being negotiated.
• It was the largest gathering yet in a COP hosting with more than 10,000 delegates.

COP 12

• 2006
• Nairobi, Kenya
• Second meeting of MOP22.
• Parties adopted a 5 year plan to support climate change adaptation by developing countries and also worked on the procedures for the Adaptation Fund.

COP 13

• 2007
• Bali, Indonesia
• Representatives from over 180 countries present
• MOP-3 also held
• The Kyoto Protocol was the primary topic of negotiations. A road map named the 2007 Bali Action Plan was devised. The agreement was set to be adopted at COP 15 in 2009.
• Namely the Bali Action Plan acknowledged unequivocally that climate change was real and that cutting emissions and mitigation of climate change was strongly needed.

COP 14

• 2008
• Poznań, Poland
• Much of COP 14 was spent planning for COP 15. In addition, parties agreed to submit their emission targets and measures of 2020 in the coming year. They also discussed the issue of transferring environmentally friendly technologies to developing countries.
• Canada's lack of progress in developing measures and reaching its target was noted in the talks.

COP 15

• 2009
• Copenhagen, Denmark
• COP 15 was marred by protests, disagreements and infighting. Activists took to the streets of Copenhagen, London and various places in Australia. Several were arrested and even injured. The protests highlighted a growing dissatisfaction with the progress of the talks amongst the general population.
• As part of the Bali Action Plan, parties met to adopt an agreement. However, discussions did not prove to be fruitful. The US, China, India, Brazil and South Africa drafted the Copenhagen Accord but this was not a legally binding agreement. Although there was opposition, significantly from Bolivia, 138 countries had signed or signalled that they would sign.
• The agreement amongst others stated that climate change was the greatest challenge of our time. And that deep cuts in emissions were required to stabilise the climate. However as there were no legally binding targets, no party was beholden to reach any targets.

COP 16

• 2010
• Cancún, Mexico
• An agreement was adopted by the parties. It called for a Green Climate Fund and a Climate Technology Centre. The agreement called for developed countries to adhere to the cuts pledged in the Copenhagen Accord. It also required developing countries to draft a plan for their emission reduction.
• Thus the Cancun Agreements formalised the earlier Copenhagen Accord.

COP 17

• 2011
• Durban, South Africa
• The objective was to establish a new treaty to limit emissions. However, this did occur. But parties agreed to establish a legally binding deal known as the Durban Platform by 2015
• Parties also began to work for the Green Climate Fund. The framework was adopted. The fund was stated to distribute US$100 billion per year across poorer countries.
• There was notable criticism from scientists and environmental groups such as Greenpeace International.

COP 18

• 2012
• Doha, Qatar
• An agreement was reached to extend the Kyoto Protocol until 2020. Furthermore, the Durban Platform was set to be its successor and 2015 was set as the development deadline with 2020 set as the year of implementation.
• Little progress was made on the funding for the Green Climate Fund
• Russia, Belarus and Ukraine made objections to the session.

COP 19

• 2013
• Warsaw, Poland
• Much of the focus of this conference was on the final global climate change agreement set to be ratified in 2015.
• A growing dissatisfaction led to a mass walkout led by the G77 and China. 132 countries participated, they demanded developed countries to give them US$100 billion annually. Another walkout also occurred on the final day by WWF, Oxfam, ActionAid, the International Trade Union Confederation, Friends of the Earth and Greenpeace.
• Despite the walkout, developed countries were reluctant to set targets for the Green Climate Fund payments.

COP 20

• 2014
• Lima, Peru
• Talks were largely focussed on the lead-up to the 2015 Paris conference.

COP 21

• 2015
• Paris, France
• The conference settled the Paris Agreement, a hybrid of the Kyoto Protocol and the Copenhagen and Cancun agreements. The agreement included a reduction of greenhouse gas emissions. The parties also agreed to limit the increase of global temperature to 1.5C while reducing the global temperature to under 2C.
• The overall aim was to reduce emissions to a net-zero by 2050.
• The Paris Agreement was adopted by 196 parties and was set to be enforced from 2016.

COP 22

• 2016
• Marrakech, Morocco
• The main subject of talks in COP 22 was regarding water management and decarbonizing energy supplies.
• In between COP 21 and 22, new President Elect of the US, Donald Trump pulled out of the Paris Agreement, making them one of only 3 nations who refused to sign.
• Criticism of the conference was that it did not turn the agreements of 2015 into proper action.

COP 23

• 2017
• Bonn, Germany
• Talks were primarily focussed on settling the details of the Paris Agreement after enforcing it in 2020. The Fiji Momentum for Implementation was created to outline the steps required in 2018 to enforce the Paris Agreement.
• It was presided over by Prime Minister of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama, making it the first COP to be presided over by a smaller island and developing nation.

COP 24

• 2018
• Katowice, Poland
• The main aim of the conference was to have a full implementation of the Paris Agreement. An overall agreement was reached on the rules however there were disagreements regarding scaling commitments on reducing emissions, financing poorer countries including some other issues. These were to be discussed in the next COP.

COP 25

• 2019
• Madrid, Spain
• Talks were held on the last remaining point of contention in regards to the Paris Agreement, Article 6. It was regarding rules for the carbon market and other types of international cooperation.
• Scientists criticised the lack of dialogue about pressing issues like cutting greenhouse gas emissions. Results of the conference were deemed unsatisfactory.