COP history

COP1 – COP14

COP1 Berlin 1995

The first Conference of the Parties was marked by uncertainty as to which means the individual countries possessed to combat greenhouse gas emissions. This resulted in “The Berlin Mandate”, which set a two-year analysis and evaluation phase. This phase was to result in a catalogue of instruments from which the member countries could choose and thereby compose a set of initiatives that matched their needs.

COP2 Geneva 1996

The second Conference of the Parties endorsed the results of the IPCC’s second assessment report, which came out in 1995. At this conference it was established that member countries would not pursue uniform solutions. Each country should have the freedom to find the solutions that were most relevant to its own situation. At the Geneva conference the parties also expressed a wish for binding targets to be defined in the medium-term future.

COP3 Kyoto 1997

At this conference the Kyoto Protocol was adopted after intense negotiations. For the first time the protocol introduced binding targets for greenhouse gas emissions in 37 industrialised countries from 2008 to 2012. Subsequently there were several years of uncertainty as to whether a sufficient number of countries would ratify the treaty, but on 16 February 2005 it came into force. Several of the member countries of the UNFCCC have not ratified the Kyoto Protocol and do not acknowledge its requirements regarding emissions.

COP4 Buenos Aires 1998

At this conference it became clear that there were several outstanding questions regarding the Kyoto Protocol. A two-year period was therefore scheduled to clarify and develop tools for implementing the Kyoto Protocol.

COP5 Bonn 1999

This conference was dominated by technical discussions concerning mechanisms under the Kyoto Protocol.

COP6 The Hague 2000

This conference was quickly marked by vehement political discussions concerning a proposal from the USA to let agricultural and forest areas be included as carbon sinks. If the proposal had been passed, it would at the same time have largely fulfilled the USA’s obligation to reduce its emissions of greenhouse gases. It also became clear that there was uncertainty as to which opportunities for sanctions should be adopted for the countries that did not live up to their obligations to reduce emissions. The meeting ended when the EU countries refused a compromise proposal, and the negotiations in reality broke down. It was agreed that negotiations would be resumed at an extraordinary conference in July 2001.

COP6 bis Bonn 2001

When the parties met again about six months after the breakdown in negotiations in The Hague, expectations of a result were not high. In the meantime the USA – under its new President Bush – had definitively rejected the Kyoto Protocol and accordingly only took part in negotiations about the protocol as an observer. Despite the low level of expectations, agreement was reached on several significant questions. These included the extent to which forests and other carbon sinks could be included in countries’ budgets for greenhouse gas emissions; the principles for sanctions relating to countries that did not meet their targets, and the flexible mechanisms that in different ways enabled reduction obligations to be moved between countries in return for financial compensation.

COP7 Marrakesh 2001

Later in 2001 the parties met again for the regular annual conference. Here negotiations concerning the Kyoto Protocol were (almost) completed. The results were gathered in the documents called the Marrakesh Accords.

COP8 Delhi 2002

At this conference the EU countries (under Danish chairmanship) tried unsuccessfully to get a declaration passed which called for more action from the parties under the UNFCCC.

COP9 Milan 2003

The focus of this conference was to clear up some of the last technical details concerning the Kyoto Protocol.

COP10 Buenos Aires 2004

At this meeting the countries gradually began to open discussions as to what would happen when the Kyoto Protocol expired in 2012. The technical discussions still took up a lot of time.

COP11/CMP1 Montreal 2005

This conference was the first one to take place after the Kyoto Protocol had come into force. Accordingly the annual meeting between the parties to the UNFCCC (COP) was supplemented by the annual conference between the parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP or COP/MOP). The countries that had ratified the UNFCCC but not accepted the Kyoto Protocol had observer status at the latter conference. The focus of both conferences was what should happen after the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012.

COP12/CMP2 Nairobi 2006

Here the last remaining technical questions regarding the Kyoto Protocol were finally answered. The work involved in reaching a new agreement for the period after Kyoto continued, and a series of milestones were established in the process towards a new agreement.

COP13/CMP3 Bali 2007

At this meeting the work involved in reaching a new agreement to replace the Kyoto Protocol took a decisive step forward. First with the acknowledgement of the most recent report from the IPCC and its conclusions that the signs of global warming were unambiguous; second by formulating a common tex.t calling for quicker action in this area, and finally with the adoption of the Bali Action Plan. This plan sets the scene for the negotiations leading to COP15 in Copenhagen, where a new agreement can hopefully be negotiated.

COP14/CMP4 Poznan 2008

At this conference the work towards a new global climate agreement in Copenhagen continued. The upcoming change of power in Washington set its mark on the conference, that was characterised by anticipation for the stance to be adopted by new American government. Still the parties reached an agreement on the work programme and meeting plan towards the Copenhagen conference and on the final operationalisation of the Adaptation Fund, that will support concrete adaptation measures in the least developed countries.