Conference of the Parties (COP)

DEFINITION
Valery del Carmen Salas Flores
Environmental Consultant

The term Conference of the Parties, better known through its acronym COP, is a term referring to the formal gathering of different state representatives (or “parties”) from all over the world to discuss a topic mandated by a Convention or treaty.

Originating with the Rio Convention in 1992, the most prominent COPs are the COP on climate change (organized by UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and hosted annually), the COP on biodiversity diversity (organized by the Convention on Biological Diversity and hosted every two years), and the COP to combat desertification (organized by the UN Convention to Combat Desertification every two years).

Over time, COPs have expanded far beyond diplomatic sessions. They have become meeting grounds for governments, scientists, activists, civil society, businesses, and multilateral organizations alike. This broader participation is structured through two distinct spaces:

The Blue Zone is the negotiation core of the COP. Accessible only through accreditation, it hosts formal talks between governments, official side events, pavilions, and authorized demonstrations. When someone mentions “attending COP”, they typically refer to the Blue Zone. This is where the agreements (or stalemates) that shape global policy emerge.

The Green Zone is the public-facing counterpart to the Blue Zone. Open with registration, it creates a bridge between the global political conversation and the host city’s communities, offering educational showcases and informal side events.

COPs play a crucial role in shaping the rules and setting goals for international policies related to their respective themes, having a significant impact on the economies worldwide. As global negotiation spaces, they also face political obstacles: conflicting interests, uneven representation between the Global North and the Global South in the attending civil society, lobbying, resource constraints, and language barriers. These tensions fuel longstanding criticisms of slow progress and structural inequities, yet COPs remain global forums of huge importance where the future of planetary governance is collectively debated.

COP28 Peoples Plenary Climate Words Pamela EA

Delegates take part in the People’s Plenary, a forum for civil society, Indigenous groups, and activists to demand climate justice from world leaders, at the 28th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP28) to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Dubai, UAE, 2024.
Photography By Pamela EA

RESEARCH
Definition edited by Zohra Briki
Research by Micheala Chan
Fact-checking by Hailey Basiouny

Definition January 27, 2026
Research February 7, 2026

COP stands for Conference of the Parties and is the ultimate decision-making body of the United Nations. Climate COPs are convened under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a multilateral treaty adopted in 1992. COPs are now the largest annual meetings convened by the UN, bringing together dignitaries, Heads of State, government representatives, civil society representatives, NGOs, IGOs, and media to discuss global efforts to advance the Paris Agreement.
COPs have grown into the world’s largest annual climate diplomacy gathering, with participation expanding from around 5,000 in the early years to more than 20,000 in recent summits, reflecting rising workloads and expectations around major agreements. Delegations now include thousands of party representatives, observer organisations, and media, though access varies, and “overflow” delegates are not fully counted. Attendance peaks when major treaties are anticipated, prompting the UNFCCC to cap NGO and media numbers after Copenhagen. While observer states remain few, delegation sizes have increased significantly, and gender balance (though improving) remains unequal, with men still making up the majority of delegates across COP history.
There are several COPs, convened under different UN Conventions. The most commonly referred to are the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD COP) and the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Even though the two have separate focuses, the climate and nature crises can’t be separated, and therefore the outcomes are often referred to together.
Across key moments since 1995, COPs have produced major milestones in global climate governance, from the Kyoto Protocol’s binding targets, to the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal and NDC system, to the creation of major funds and frameworks like the Green Climate Fund, the Talanoa Dialogue, the Glasgow Climate Pact, and most recently the operationalisation of the Loss and Damage Fund at COP28.
Although significant progress was not made at every annual COP, and the pace of decision-making has been slower than expected, the COP and the Paris Agreement have already translated into action. Examples include the financial sector’s moving away from fossil fuels, and the drop in the cost of clean energy. COP also means that countries are setting ambitious targets, creating reputations for the public to hold them accountable for. Experts also believe that COPs will be needed in the coming years to establish a fair way to reach climate targets.
The failures seen at COP29 reflect deeper, long‑standing patterns of exclusion within the COP system itself: consensus rules that empower obstruction, presidencies led by petrostates, a badge hierarchy that limits civil society influence, border and mobility barriers that restrict Global South participation, corporate capture of conference spaces, and delegation inequalities that sideline the most vulnerable countries. Together, these structural dynamics show that COPs often reproduce global power hierarchies rather than challenge them, raising questions about whose interests the process ultimately serves.
Although COPs are intended to be the world’s leading forum for collaborative climate action, they are increasingly criticised for enabling greenwashing and corporate influence - evident in fossil‑fuel‑dependent host countries, pro‑fossil statements from COP leadership, and the growing presence of fossil fuel lobbyists who outnumber some national delegations. To restore credibility, experts argue that COPs must exclude polluters from negotiations, shift from pledges to enforceable implementation, establish stronger climate‑focused legal and accountability mechanisms, and centre the needs of vulnerable populations.
COP decisions are made by consensus rather than majority vote. This rule was established at the UNFCCC’s founding but is now widely criticised for enabling obstruction, weakening ambition, and producing “lowest‑common‑denominator” outcomes. While consensus was meant to ensure fairness, it has allowed a small number of countries (including major fossil‑fuel producers) to dilute or block progress, as seen when “phaseout” of coal became “phase down” at COP26. Although some parties have proposed voting mechanisms or redefining consensus to prevent deadlock, changing the rules would itself require unanimous agreement, making reform extremely difficult.
Civil society is essential for accountability and public pressure at COPs, yet meaningful participation (especially for Global South organisations) remains limited by financial barriers, unclear information, visa and logistical challenges, restricted access to negotiation spaces, and unreliable hybrid systems. Despite rising NGO attendance, these structural obstacles prevent many groups from being heard, prompting calls for reforms that expand funding and access, improve communication and technology, and ensure civil society can genuinely engage in climate negotiations.
In 2024, a regional network in Latin America and the Caribbean met at the Global Gathering for Climate and Life in Oaxaca, Mexico. Indigenous and grassroots movements from across the world gathered to reclaim climate justice and resist extractivist economic models. Their declaration argues that COP summits have failed to meaningfully address the climate crisis. “The AntiCOP emerges as an autonomous, decentralized response, a space to articulate our struggles and propose concrete alternatives that strengthen our territories, enable us to defend our natural resources, and dignify our ways of life.”

1
United Nations Climate Change. “How COPs are organized - Questions and answers” UNFCCC, n.d.
2
Robert McSweeney. “Analysis: How delegations at COP climate summits have changed over time” Carbon Brief, October 27, 2021.
3
RSPB. “COP16, COP29, CO – What-Now... What Is COP Anyway?” RSPB, October 17, 2024.
4
Charlotte Lock. “From Berlin to Baku: What has COP achieved?” Geographical, October 19, 2024.
5
Anne-Sophie Brändlin. “Climate Crisis: Why Do We Need COP Anyway?” Dw.com, October 20, 2021.
6
Diaz, Carlos Shanka Boissy, and Jodi-Ann Jue Xue Wang. “Another COP Failure: When Will There Be Justice for Marginalised Voices? - Institute of Development Studies.” Institute of Development Studies, December 2, 2024.
7
Mohammad Ibrahim Fheili. “Are Climate Summits Giving Legitimacy to Polluters? Rethinking COP!” Linkedin, November 18, 2024.
8
Dr Joanna Depledge. “Guest post: The challenge of consensus decision-making in UN climate negotiations”. Carbon Brief, March 5, 2024.
9
Global Focus. “Ensuring civil society’s vital role in global climate policy” Global Focus, 2023.
10
Stay Grounded. “The final declaration from Anti-COP 2024” Stay Grounded, November 19, 2024.