COP23 is the 23rd session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). COP meetings are held annually to assess progress on addressing climate change. COP23 aims to advance the implementation of the Paris Agreement by facilitating collaboration between countries, developing technologies for net zero emissions economies, and giving a voice to vulnerable nations. While Fiji holds the presidency of COP23, the conference is being hosted in Germany due to Fiji's limited facilities to accommodate such a large meeting.
7. •COP are conferences which are
held each year in the framework of
the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC)
•These conferences assets
progress in dealing with climate
change .
10. •The UNFCCC began in 1992 at
the Earth Summit in Rio, when
countries joined the framework as
a way of working together
internationally to tackle climate
change. It entered into force in
1994
13. •What were the worst results of
previous COPs?
COP1 was held in 1995 in Berlin.
COP3 adopted The Kyoto Protocol in 1997
COP15 was held in Copenhagen in
2009
14. •What were the best results of
previous COPs?
COP17 was held in 2011 in Durban, South
Africa.
COP21 adopted The Paris Agreement in 2015
15. •What is special about this years
UNFCCC COP ?
Out of 23 meetings . This was the first time that a
Small Island Developing State has taken on this role. This
is highly symbolic in a time when rising sea levels and a
lack of resources/financial support threaten such nations..
16. •Why is COP23 being held in Germany
if Fiji has the presidency??
The presidency rotates between the five regional
groups of the UN. This time it’s Asia-Pacific states’ turn,
and Fiji was nominated. However, as a small island
nation, Fiji quite simply does not have the space nor the
facilities to host such a major conference.
17.
18. •How many countries attend
COP?
At each COP there are representatives from the
five recognized UN regions: Africa, Asia, Latin America
and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe, and
Western Europe and Others. There are currently 196
Parties to the UNFCCC – in other words, 196 countries
which can and do attend COP.
19. •What does COP23 hope to
achieve?
This year there is an emphasis on collaboration and
cooperation. COP23 President and Fijian Prime Minister Frank
Bainimarama has called for the voices of those who are most
vulnerable, including those from small nation states, to be heard,
and for the resilience of these nations to be increased. He has
also stated that he hopes that non-state actors can become more
closely involved.
COP23 aims to advance work on the Paris Agreement, for
example by pushing for technologies which will enable future
economies to have net zero greenhouse gas emissions, as well
as by accelerating collaborative action between all levels of
society and organizational bodies.