Climate-Related International Conferences

Below are checklists of Climate-related international conference postal items (stamps, souvenir sheets, aerogrammes, postal cards, etc.). Catalog numbers, years of issue, and notes on the items featured are given when available. If readers know of additional information or images, please contact the authors using the e-mail addresses at the bottom of this page.

Postal items with specific mention of climate change or global warming or other related text are highlighted in yellow in the table below. Other such items without a conference theme are found in the anthropogenic climate change page.

The following conferences are presented in chronological order.

In this early conference were discussed issues of interest to the nations of WMO Region V (southwestern Pacific), including meteorological observations, tropical cyclones, weather and climate services, and information management.

Hydrology was implicitly a part of the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) since the WMO Commission for Hydrometeorology was established in 1958. However, by the late 1960s there was a move to clarify and strengthen the role of hydrology within the WMO. The Commission's name was changed to the Commission for Hydrology in 1970 (it has also been referred to as the Technical Commission for Hydrology). In Buenos Aires in 1972 the 4th Meeting of the WMO Commission for Hydrology laid the groundwork for a comprehensive and independent program for operational hydrology within the WMO. This program was named the WMO Operational Hydrology Program (OHP). Furthermore, the meeting proposed that hydrological advisers be appointed to assist the permanent representatives of the WMO members and the presidents of the six WMO regional associations. Three years later the OHP was officially established and the hydrological advisers were appointed. Indeed, with WMO's adoption of the slogan "Weather, Climate, Water", the importance of hydrology within the WMO is perfectly encapsulated.

1972 (June 5 - 16)
UN Conference on the Human Environment (Stockholm Conference) (including the creation of UNEP - the UN Environmental Program - by the Conference)
Stockholm, Sweden

This was the first major international conference on environmental issues. Sponsored by the UN, it marked the beginning of public concern for and political awareness of global environmental problems. A wide range of environmental issues was considered. The most important atmospheric issue discussed was the use of CFCs (chlorofluorocarbons) and their suspected link to the depletion of upper atmospheric ozone. Worries about global warming were in their infancy at the time; possible manmade global warming was not a principal concern of the Conference. However it did make it indirectly into Principle 6 of the Conference Declaration: "The discharge of toxic substances or of other substances and the release of heat, in such quantities or concentrations as to exceed the capacity of the environment to render them harmless, must be halted in order to ensure that serious or irreversible damage is not inflicted upon ecosystems." Principle 2 referred to, among other things, the atmospheric portion of the human environment: "The natural resources of the Earth, including the air, water, land, flora and fauna and especially representative samples of natural ecosystems, must be safeguarded for the benefit of present and future generations through careful planning or management, as appropriate".

One of the most important results of the UN Conference on the Human Environment was the creation of the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). It came into being in 1972, shortly after the Conference. UNEP is the lead programme for the co-ordination of the UN's environmental activities. It works on a wide range of issues related to the atmosphere, marine and terrestrial ecosystems, environmental governance and the green economy.

Since the two events are so closely related, the following table contains philatelic items commemorating both the Conference itself and the establishment of the UNEP. This includes items issued at the time of the Conference as well as in subsequent years (e.g. 1982 for the 10th anniversary) if those subsequent year items specifically refer to anniversaries of the Conference or the establishment of the UNEP, on the stamps themselves or on one of their derivative items, such as FDCs.

Items highlighted in light blue in the table below refer to an anniversary of the establishment of the UNEP (as noted above, the creation of the UNEP was a significant accomplishment of the Conference). All other items (white background, no highlighting) refer to the Conference itself.

In this meeting were discussed a wide variety of meteorological and climatological subjects of interest to WMO Regional Association III (South America). Details are found here in the meeting summary report.

This conference discussed freshwater issues in the context of sustainable development. It was recognized that:

• global climate change could affect freshwater resources and the hydrological cycle through higher temperatures and decreased precipitation leading to decreased water supplies and increased demand for water;
• increases in climate extremes, such as floods or droughts, could further stress water resources;
• a sea level rise would put low-lying countries at risk; and
• atmospheric pollutants could affect freshwater resources.

The conference recommended that the international community "develop and apply techniques and methodologies for assessing the potential adverse effects of climate change, through changes in temperature, precipitation and sea level rise, on freshwater resources and flood risk." Prevention and control measures for floods and the for the long range transport of atmospheric pollutants were also advocated.

This was the first international conference at which the issue of desertification on a global scale was addressed. It produced the Plan of Action to Combat Desertification, which consisted of guidelines and recommendations to help individual countries develop their own action plans and to coordinate assistance from the international community.

This conference probably treated general questions related to climate science and the environment.

The committee members discussed ongoing work to implement the WMO Tropical Cylone Progam for the southwest Indian Ocean. The five main elements of the program were meteorology, hydrology, disaster prevention and preparedness, training and research.

This meeting continued the WMO's hydrological work under the framework of the WMO Operational Hydrology Program that had been established in 1972 at the 4th Meeting of the WMO Commission for Hydrology. By the time of the 5th Meeting in Ottawa in 1976, the hydrological community had become interested in hydrological forecasting. In 1980 in the Madrid meeting, this interest became more concrete, in the form of a Working Group on Hydrological Modelling and Simulation.

Human biometeorology, a part of the more general science of biometeorology, is the study of the effects of weather on human health. It is also known as medical meteorology.

At this meeting greenhouse gases, global warming and climate change were discussed, and the IPCC First Assessment Report was adopted. This report would serve as the basis for the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international environmental treaty established at the 1992 Rio Summit.

This conference was sponsored by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the UN Environment Programme (UNEP). It extended the work started at the 1st WCC in 1979, in which climate variability was the main issue, to broader consideration of climate change, which was recognized internationally as a common concern for mankind. The 2nd WCC reviewed the scientific findings in the First Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), which had completed its 4th Session in August 1990. It was agreed that some of the main impacts of climate change would likely be in the area of hydrology and water resources. Other topics discussed included the special needs of developing countries, emissions scenarios, limitation strategies and public attitudes to climate change. The final declaration of the conference committed individual countries along with the UN and its various agencies to a range of actions and policies that (it was hoped) would eventually lead to a global framework convention on climate change. Later that year, during its 45th Conference held 11 December 1990, the UN set up the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change to coordinate the efforts of various nations to address climate change issues. The Committee met several times in 1991 and early 1992. These meetings led to the creation of the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) in May 1992. With the backing of some 50 nations, it entered into force 21 March 1994. The first full meeting of the UNFCCC, generally referred to as its 1st Session, took place in Berlin in 1995.

Meteorology, Tropical Meteorology Research Program (TMRP) (including tropical meteorology and climate research, forecast services and disaster reduction), climate change.

This major conference treated a wide variety of environmental issues. In the atmospheric arena, one major achievement was the establishment of an international environmental treaty known as the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It had no mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions but provided for updates ("protocols") that would set such limits. The Kyoto Protocol is the most well known of these updates. The UNFCCC entered into international force 21 March 1994 after its ratification by 50 countries. Since then the parties to the agreement have met in an annual Conference of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change and to establish goals and create agreements for future action in this area.

Two later conferences followed up on the work of this one. The Rio + 5 Conference in 1997 reviewed the status of the agreements reached in 1992. Then with the advantage of 20 years of accumulated knowledge, the UN Conference on Sustainable Development (Rio + 20) of 2012 examined a wide range of factors involved in sustainable development and the environment, including climate change.

This was the first major international conference on natural disaster reduction. There are many types of natural disasters of course, including those related to weather and climate. The progress toward the goals of the International Decade for Natural Disaster Reduction was discussed (this conference took place about half way through that decade). The Yokohama Strategy for a Safer World: Guidelines for Natural Disaster Prevention, Preparedness and Mitigation and its Plan of Action was adopted. In it was noted that "developing countries affected by desertification, drought and other types of natural disasters are also equally vulnerable and insufficiently equipped to mitigate natural disasters". It also recommended that "cost effective technologies in reduction programs, including forecasting and warning systems" be developed or taken advantage of. One implicit reference here was to the early-warning capacities within the UN system, and particularly within the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environment Program.

Meteorology and climate of Africa

This was the first session (i.e. meeting) of the UNFCCC Conference of the Parties. Concern was expressed about the ability for various countries to meet commitments under the Convention. It was agreed that a plan containing a "comprehensive menu of actions" should be negotiated, with the idea that each country could choose from that menu the options for addressing climate change that made the best economic and environmental sense for its particular circumstances.

Scientific issues in Arctic climatology were discussed.

At this meeting it was agreed that sustainable development cannot be achieved by governments acting alone: the private sector also has a crucial role in providing the required investments. Various associated financial implications and imperatives were discussed. Environmental topics considered included ozone, global warming and climate change.

This conference took place in a Special Session of the UN General Assembly and reviewed the progress made in implementing the agreements and plans reached at the 1992 Rio Conference (UN Conference on Environment and Development). Those agreements and plans could all be related to the general goal of sustainable development. Progress was noted to be slow at best. In the area of climate (only one of many factors important in sustainable development), it was noted that the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), established at the Rio Conference, did come into international effect in 1994, but an associated Protocol to limit greenhouse gas emissions was not yet in place. It was hoped and expected that the forthcoming Kyoto Conference, to be held at the end of 1997, would provide such a Protocol.

After difficult negotiations, the Kyoto Protocol for greenhouse gases was adopted at this seminal conference, at which most industrialized nations agreed to legally binding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of 6-8% below 1990 levels by the years 2008 - 2012. However, for the agreement to come into force, at least 55 countries accounting for at least 55% of the CO₂ emissions from Annex 1 (industrialized) nations would have to ratify the Protocol. In 2002 the 55th nation ratified the Protocol, and in late 2004, with Russia's ratification, the 55% threshold was also passed. As of January 2009, 183 countries and one regional economic integration organization (the EEC) have ratified the Protocol, representing a total of 63.7% of the Annex 1 nations' emissions. However, the US has not ratified it.

The Global Environmental Facility (GEF) is a global partnership among a large number of countries, international institutions, non-governmental organizations and the private sector. It was founded in 1991. Its mission is to address global environmental issues while supporting national sustainable development initiatives and international projects in the areas of biodiversity, climate change, international waters, land degradation, the ozone layer and persistent organic pollutants. The First Assembly Meeting specified that GEF supports international environmental conventions and protocols such as the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol, the Vienna Convention and the Montréal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. In fact, the UNFCCC (UN Framework Convention on Climate Change) and the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) have formally designated GEF as the financial mechanism for the implementation of their programs.

In this conference various aspects of desertification were discussed, including:

• global climate change and desertification;
• the effects of wind and water on soil erosion and sand creep;
• using remote sensing and geographic information systems in desertification studies;
• groundwater resources in desert areas; and
• combating land degradation and desertification.

At this meeting it was noted that the number of countries that had ratified the Montréal Protocol had risen to 180. Discussion on various technical issues related to ozone took place. Financing mechanisms for ozone-related programs were also considered.

Work toward ratifying the Kyoto Protocol internationally continued in this conference despite the fact that the US had rejected it. The target date for bringing the Protocol into force was set as the date of the Johannesburg World Summit on Sustainable Development which was planned to for the end of August 2002.

Held 10 years after the Rio Summit, this meeting was also referred to as "Rio_and_10". It attempted to build on the work of previous conferences through discussions designed to commit the nations of the world to a program of sustainable development. A variety of social, environmental and political topics was considered, but little was achieved. One climate-related result was that during the summit Russia announced that it would ratify the Kyoto Protocol. This action meant that enough big greenhouse gas-producing countries would finally have ratified the Protocol to bring it into effect internationally. Russia's ratification came into effect in November 2004. This success was overshadowed, though, by the continued refusal of the US and some other industrialized countries to ratify the treaty.

At this meeting it was agreed that the GEF could provide new funding in the area of "land degradation, primarily desertification and deforestation". This was in addition to its previously-defined role as a financial mechanism for the implementation of the programs of the UNFCCC and the CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity). This new role was confirmed in 2003 at the UNCCD - COP-6 (6th Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification) when the GEF was formally established as one of the financial mechanisms of the UNCCD.

Global warming and greenhouse gas emissions were discussed at this meeting. At the time of the meeting some 96 nations had ratified the Kyoto Protocol, but this was still not enough to bring it into effect internationally. Russia's agreement to ratify the Protocol, announced two months earlier at the Johannesburg Summit, would allow it to come into effect, finally, in late 2004. However, with the US refusing Kyoto and with many countries increasing their carbon emissions, there was no real progress in the climate negotiations at this meeting.

The main decision of this meeting was to establish the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as the financial mechanism of the UNCCD. Also, a review of the implementation of the Convention by countries affected by desertification, particularly in Africa, was initiated. However, trade and economic issues of developing countries tended to overshadow significant dialogue on the international importance and impacts of desertification.

This conference was convened by the Russian Federation under Vladimir Putin. It was a special conference, not to be confused with the yearly UNFCCC conferences. It endorsed the IPCC TAR (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change 3rd Assessment Report) conclusion that climate change is occurring primarily because of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases and aerosols, and that this changing climate represents a threat to people and ecosystems. However some controversial dissenting voices and interpretations were also heard at this conference.

At this meeting, in addition to scientific and technical discussions on ozone and on the financing of international work in the area of ozone layer protection, it was decided that the year 2007 would be declared the "International Year of the Ozone Layer". It was agreed that although the Montréal Protocol was a clear success, its objectives would finally be achieved only through continued stringent controls, financing and enforcement. The science symposium that immediately preceded the 16th MOP (on November 19th) was chaired by Mario Molina. Its theme was "Challenges and Perspectives in Ozone Layer Protection".

In this conference the Hyogo Framework for Action 2005-2015: Building the Resilience of Nations and Communities to Disasters was adopted. It states that "events of hydrometeorological origin constitute the large majority of disasters". Environmental degradation, climate variability and climate change were only some of the wide variety of disasters considered at the conference. The Framework promotes "the application of in situ and space-based Earth observations, space technologies, remote sensing, geographic information systems, hazard modelling and prediction, weather and climate modelling and forecasting, communication tools and studies of the costs and benefits of risk assessment and early warning". Through research it expects to "strengthen the technical and scientific capacity to develop and apply methodologies, studies and models to assess vulnerabilities to and the impact of geological, weather, water and climate-related hazards, including the improvement of regional monitoring capacities and assessments". It aims to reduce the risk factors related to "changing social, economic, environmental conditions and land use, and the impact of hazards associated with geological events, weather, water, climate variability and climate change". The conference did acknowledge that it has not yet been scientifically established whether the numbers of extreme weather events leading to disasters have increased in the recent past.

Discussions designed to lay the groundwork for a successor to the Kyoto Protocol in the post-2012 time period took place at this meeting and an agreement that came to be called the "Bali roadmap" was negotiated. Though some delegates termed this agreement a "breakthrough" for creating a sustainable future and tackling climate change; in fact, it was no more than a plan to negotiate long-term international co-operative action in the area of climate change. It was hoped that the roadmap would lead to a firm international plan of action on greenhouse gas emissions for 2013 and beyond and the idea was that details would be finalized at the COP-15 meeting in Copenhagen in December 2009. The US added a ray of hope to the proceedings by agreeing to the Bali roadmap.

More than 100 environment ministers from countries around the world along with representatives of UN agencies and other international organizations, industry, academia and non-governmental organizagtions attended this UNEP/GMEF meeting. The two principal themes were mobilizing finance to meet the challenge of climate change, and global environmental governance. Resolutions adopted included one on the International Decade for Combating Climate Change.

The Forum on Climate Change and Science and Technology Innovation was jointly hosted by the Ministry of Science and Technology (MOST), the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA), the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC), the Ministry of Environmental Protection (MEP), the China Meteorological Administration (CMA), the Chinese Academy of Sciences (CAS), the UN Development Programme (UNDP), the UN Environment Programme (UNEP), the UN Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UNESCAP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). The theme of the Forum was to address climate change through science and technology innovation. More than 600 participants from about 30 countries and 10 international organizations attended the Forum. Discussions were held on the following key issues: climate change science; strategies and policies for mitigating the impacts of climate change; adaptation to climate change; key technologies and international scientific and technological cooperation in climate change; and financial and market mechanisms relevant to climate change issues. The Forum agreed that climate change presents one of the greatest challenges to global sustainable development, and that it demands an urgent global response and emphasized that science and technology play an essential role in both assessing climate change and addressing the risks that it poses. The Forum recognized the following high priority items in addressing climate change:

1. Enhanced observational studies and modeling research on the prediction of climate change, and better understanding of the causes, trends and impacts of climate change; and improved global and regional projections of future climate change;
2. Strengthened low carbon technologies innovation in terms of energy efficiency and conservation, clean energy, renewable energy, advanced nuclear energy, clean vehicles, carbon capture and storage (CCS), and enhanced action on mitigation of climate change through science and technology innovation;
3. Enhanced development and deployment of technology on adaptation in the fields of agriculture, water resources, forestry, coastal zone management, infrastructure, and public health, and enhanced action on adaptation to climate change through science and technology innovation;
4. Enhanced diffusion and deployment of scientific and technological achievements, enhanced public awareness of responses to climate change, and enhanced global response through science and technology innovation;
5. Strengthened capacity-building of institutions and individuals, strengthened research on climate friendly policies and the future climate change regime, and enhanced the capability of climate change policy decision-making by governments.
6. A strengthened international regime for technology transfer, to transfer environmentally sound climate change technologies to developing countries on favourable terms

This conference considered the various aspects of water related disasters, including the effects of floods, droughts and cyclones. The relationship between climate change and water-related disasters was considered. It was recognized that the risks of water related disasters increase with climate change and increasing climate variability. A special area of interest was the drying of the Aral Sea. In this context were discussed the influence of climate change and its possible effect on hydrometeorological phenomena in the Aral Sea area as well as land degradation and desertification in the area.

This meeting of the world's eight largest economies treated various issues including climate change. The members attempted to come to some agreement on targets for reducing greenhouse gases. The G-8 agreed to "consider" cutting greenhouse gas emission by at least half by 2050. However, the baseline from which such cuts would be made was not specified. The European Union wanted to continue with the Kyoto baseline of 1990 emissions levels while others preferred baseline years closer to the present if they suggested any year at all. Significant in this regard also was that the five biggest greenhouse gas emitters of the developing countries (India, China/PRC, Brazil, Mexico and South Africa) refused to make any firm commitments for cutting greenhouse gas emissions. The meeting did support capacity building for water-related initiatives, including data collection and use and adapation to climate change.

Delegates from 193 countries who are Parties to the UNCCD (UN Convention to Combat Desertification) came together at this conference to continue to develop the international process to combat desertification and land degradation and to mitigate the effects of drought (DLDD (Drought, Land Degradation and Desertification) process). The S+T committee examined scientific and technological problems in the process. The Review Committee agreed on reporting principles to measure the progress of implementation of the Convention. It is expected that these principles will give greater credibility to the Convention, make its implementation more efficient, and provide a framework for accountability within the Convention.

This conference picked up from where COP-13 in Bali left off. Discussions focused on a post-Kyoto international climate change agreement to take effect in 2013. No clear results emerged from these discussions. However principles were established for funding the efforts of the poorest nations in coping with climate change, and there was progress on the mechanisms for transferring environment-friendly technology to the developing countries.

The theme of this conference was how to bridge the gap between the water and climate agendas, particularly with reference to climate change and climate-related natural disasters. Adaptation and mitigation strategies with respect to climate change were considered, and discussions took place on how to manage droughts and floods to prevent the loss of life, including the possible establishment of a network of national climate services to improve management of reservoirs and food production. The need to develop a framework for action on adaptation, include the financing of adaptation strategies, at UNFCCC - COP-15 in Copenhagen in December 2009 was also noted. The Southeastern Anatolia Project in Turkey was recognized as a model of sustainable development providing both livelihood opportunities and flood protection, though it was agreed that the situation could be improved with better climate data and modeling products to provide better seasonal predictions of rain.

In recent years the G-8 summits have paid increasing attention to issues related to the environment and climate change. The general goal is to bring political will to bear in the fight against global warming and climate change, though these summits also discuss many other matters of international importance and are by no means a forum dedicated solely to climate change issues. At the Aquila Summit, the leaders agreed on a goal that rich nations should cut emissions by 80% by 2050 while the rest of the world should reduce them 50%, in the hope that such action might limit global warming to a temperature increase of 2°C above pre-industrial levels (at the 2008 G-8 Summit the leaders had agreed to a 50% reduction by 2050, though the baseline from which such cuts would be made was not specified). The 2009 meeting did not suggest a clear baseline either. These goals were immediately criticized as not responding to the urgency of the issue because they are for a time too far into the future. Ban Ki-moon, Secretary General of the UN, stated that ambitious mid-term targets for 2020 must also be established, and that in the absence of such targets the G-8 nations were essentially "failing to shoulder their historical responsibilities". He also stated that the G-8 leaders had to come up with financial incentives for poorer countries to reduce pollution and aid to help them mitigate the effects of climate change. The weak consensus obtained at this G-8 meeting did not augur well for the negotiations planned for December in Copenhagen at the 2009 UN Climate Change Conference.

Nearly 100 world leaders attended the one-day UN Summit on Climate Change. They had been invited by UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, who stated that the objective was to "mobilize the political will and vision needed to reach an ambitious agreed outcome based on science at the UN climate talks in Copenhagen". No obvious progress was made. In his summary statement after the meeting, Ki-moon said to the leaders: "Your words have been heard around the world. Let your actions now be seen. There is little time left. The opportunity and responsibility to avoid catastrophic climate change is in your hands."

The goal of this meeting was to establish a successor to the Kyoto Protocol: a global climate agreement that would come into effect in 2013 after the expiry of the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol. However, after intense negotiations only a weak nonbinding agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, with no legal status, was achieved. US President Obama fought for a more substantive deal, but in a stunning display of realpolitik, China/PRC refused. The next international climate conference, COP-16, will take place in Mexico City in December 2010.

This activist conference considered that climate change is a threat to humanity and Mother Earth and affirmed the need for "climate justice". It criticized the failure of the Copenhagen Conference to come to an agreement on greenhouse gases and climate change. More specifically, the goals of the conference were to:

1. analyze the structural and systemic causes that drive climate change and to propose radical measures to ensure the well-being of all humanity in harmony with nature;
2. discuss and agree on the project of a Universal Declaration of the Rights of Mother Earth;
3. agree on proposals for new commitments to the Kyoto Protocol and projects for a COP Decision under the UN Framework for Climate Change that will guide future actions in those countries that are engaged with life during climate change negotiations and in all UN scenarios, related to climate debt, climate change migrants and refugees, emissions reductions, adaptations, technology transfer, finance, forests and climate change, indigenous peoples, and a shared vision;
4. work on the organization of the Peoples' World Referendum on climate change;
5. analyze and develop an action plan to advance the establishment of a Climate Justice Tribunal; and
6. define strategies for action and mobilization to defend life from climate change and to defend the rights of Mother Earth.

The goal of this meeting was to continue the negotiations started in the Copenhagen Conference on a replacement for the Kyoto Protocol. Some progress was made and summarized in the "Cancun Accord", which describes actions to limit greenhouse gas emissions and help developing nations to build sustainable futures and to protect themselves from the impacts of climate change.

The meeting continued international work on desertification, land degradation and drought with the goal of building tools to be used in the implementation of the UNCCD's 10 year strategic plan (2010 - 2019).

Climate change: the meeting sought international agreement on reducing greenhouse gas emissions, but different nations had different agendas and no substantive progress was made.

This conference took place 20 years after the original UN Conference on Environment and Development (the Rio Earth Summit) in 1992. For this reason it is also referred to as "Rio+20". The broad goal of this conference was to reinvigorate the global partnership for sustainable development that was launched 20 years ago at the Rio Earth Summit. A wide range of factors related to sustainable development was discussed. With respect to climate, the conference stated that "climate change is one of the greatest challenges of our time" and that "combating climate change requires urgent and ambitious action, in accordance with the principles and provisions of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change" (UNFCC). To this end, the conference urged all parties to fully implement their commitments under the UNFCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity and the UN Convention to Combat Desertification. (More details are found in paragraphs 190, 191 and 192 of the conference report).

The goal of this conference was to continue the work of the last few COP meetings and continue to create building blocks that will be part of an eventual successor to the Kyoto Protocol. The aim is now for the successor to come into existence by 2015. The main accomplishment of this 2012 Doha conference was to formalize a new structure for climate negotiations and agreements: the old structure, in which only developed countries had the legal obligation to reduce emissions, was replaced in favour of a structure in which all countries, developed or developing, will have that obligation. In the future there will be a single negotiation forum, known as the Durban Platform, under which all countries will work together. This is a major step: until recently the developed and developing countries were on separate negotiation tracks.

In this conference, the Hyogo Framework for Action, 2005-2015, which was adopted by the 2nd WCDR in 2005, was reviewed and evaluated, and served as the basis for defining a program of seven global targets for reducing disaster risk in the coming years after 2015. Natural disasters have various causes, one of which is climate change. The conference recognized that "addressing climate change as one of the drivers of disaster risk, while respecting the mandate of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, represents an opportunity to reduce disaster risk in a meaningful and coherent manner throughout the interrelated intergovernmental processes". The Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was recognized as one important international partner in the pursuit of goal related to disaster risk reduction.

Following extensive preparatory work, and taking advantage of an increasing international social conscience about man-made global warming (e.g. following the May 2015 encyclical of Pope Francis) and also of recent international announcements (e.g. the US-China November 2014 agreement on climate change), in COP-21 around 195 countries signed an agreement that lays the foundation for international cooperation to fight global warming, including a goal of no more than a 2ºC global temperature increase, mechanisms for mobilizing climate finance and embedding international climate legislation into national action, and differentiation between the responsibilities of developed and developing countries.

Climate change (technical negotiations to begin the implementation of the COP-21 Paris Accord)

In the context of a sensitive international political environment, this conference worked to establish the foundations of a Paris "rulebook" (the set of technical rules and processes needed to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate). In the first partnership of its kind, Fiji presided over the Conference while Germany provided the meeting facilities.

The conference agreed on a general set of rules and procedures (the "Katowice Rulebook") for implementing the COP-21 Paris Accord. However, several contentious questions were postponed to the next conference, including: 1. ways to scale up existing commitments on cutting emissions; 2. ways to provide financial help for poor countries; 3. wording to eliminate the possibility of double counting; 4. whether or not countries are doing enough to cut their emissions.

The goal of the conference was to attempt to begin implementing some of the actions outlined in the Paris Climate Accord, but results were scarce. For example, the meeting failed again to adopt rules for international carbon trading, the last major remaining piece of the "rulebook" for implementing the Paris Agreement. The disagreements were left for the next meeting, which because of the COVID-19 pandemic took place only two years later, in Glasgow, Scotland.

The COP-26 summit brought the world together to attempt to accelerate action toward the goals of the COP-21 Paris Agreement within the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change. There were no breakthroughs but incremental progress was made, and the participating 197 countries agreed to a new deal known as the Glasgow Climate Pact. It aims at staving off dangerous climate change and is the first climate agreement that explicitly refers to reducing coal usage through what is termed "phasing down" the use of coal.

The COP-27 summit worked to mobilize financial support to help developing countries fight the impacts of climate change. The focus was on implementation - creating mechanisms to strengthen action by countries both to cut greenhouse gas emissions and to adapt to the inevitable climate change impacts. The summit closed with a breakthrough agreement to provide loss and damage funding for vulnerable countries hit hard by floods, droughts and other climate disasters.

The COP-28 summit agreement called on countries to accelerate a global "transition away from fossil fuels" in a "just, orderly and equitable manner", to quit adding carbon dioxide to the atmosphere entirely by mid-century, to triple the amount of renewable energy installed around the world by 2030, and to slash emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas that is more potent than carbon dioxide in the short term.

¹COP-28 logo/patch

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