The United Nations Conference on Climate Change became known by the acronym COP because it is originally called Conference of the Parties (COP), referring to the "parties" that sign an important environmental commitment in the last 30 years. The origin of the event comes from a treaty signed in 1992 by countries around the world.
The story begins in Brazil. The document was signed during the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development, held in Rio de Janeiro. Also known as Eco-92 or Rio-92, the event was a watershed for the way the world looks at the environment and climate change. At that time, thirty years ago, it was not so common for the press to put terms such as "ecology" on the agenda, for example. But since then, the subject has become increasingly relevant.
One of the events that marked Eco-92 was that, for the first time, there was a significant participation of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) in the center of the discussions, a practice that remains in world forums today.
Another important advance was the signing of several treaties. One of them, signed by 189 countries, signed the global commitment to make continuous and multilateral efforts to continue dealing with climate change in a responsible and collaborative way. From this document was born the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which basically has the responsibility of ensuring that the Rio-92 discussions did not stop at that point.
Besides establishing obligations for all signatory countries (called Parties to the Convention), the treaty also made clear the importance of considering the different realities of the countries when formulating agreements, a detail that makes all the difference when trying to make the negotiations fairer for underdeveloped countries.
Brazil has never hosted the event
Despite being the stage for the creation of the COP, the tupiniquim country has never hosted the conference. In 2019, Brazil had the opportunity to be the host, but the acting government declined and the edition ended up being held in Madrid, Spain. The United States, even though it has a strategic role in signing agreements, has also never hosted.
Coronavirus pandemic - Since its first edition, in 1995 in Berlin (Germany), the event has been held annually, without fail, except for one fateful year: 2020. Due to the coronavirus pandemic, the event was postponed to 2021, when in fact the 26th edition was held in Glasgow (Scotland).
More than half of the host cities are from Europe
Fourteen of the 27 host cities in the history of the COP are from Europe. The German city Bonn was the one that most assumed the position of host, with three editions, being one jointly with The Hague (Netherlands).
Next in representation of continents is Africa, with five editions, and Asia, with four. In South America, only three editions were held - two of which in Buenos Aires. North America has had two editions, and Oceania has never hosted the event.
