COP is an annual "Conference of Parties" held by the UN's special climate change division in different international cities. The purpose of the event is to assess the progress of previous year's goals and commitments, and facilitate negotiations for new and future global climate agreements. Every November/December the UNFCCC brings nearly 200 national reps along with over 20,000 others to talk climate on the world's biggest stage - kind of like an annual climate change world cup.
COP initially began back in 1995 and has since been the birthplace of significant climate policies that you may or may not have heard of, like - The Kyoto Protocol, The Montreal Action Plan, and The Paris Climate Accords, just to name a few. Much of the focus for the past decade has been on advancing the goals set out in the latter, a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted by 196 countries. But each COP has its own theme to it, determined by the UNFCCC and its associated representatives.
How it's Set Up
The COP layout is split up by zones, and for the sake of understanding, let's talk about it in terms of a World Cup match -
The world is like the pitch.
Unfolding before our eyes, you can see it in person and on tv, its the game we're playing with our climate. Companies arguing with refs and trying to sidestep regulations, nations scoring goals and taking penalties, faking injuries, and arguing with teammates. All the while, the clock is ticking, and unfortunately for us, this match doesn't have any additional minutes when time runs out.
The Blue Zone is kind of like the suites.
The big-shots aka reps of the assembled nations, are up sitting above everyone in the stands. They're conducting negotiations, talking progress (or lack thereof), striking deals, and rubbing shoulders with other celebrities, CEOs, and dignitaries that have been granted (or paid for) VIP credentials as well. They'll check in on the game here and there, but mostly attend to make moves you won't hear about until it becomes official news.
Just outside the Blue Zone, you'll often have Demonstrators
Think of your streakers, protestors, and un-ironically your climate-activists looking to make a statement. I guess some things stay the same, whether we're talking about soccer or politics.
Next is the Green Zone, aka the general public.
This is where you'll find an expo like layout with mostly NGOs and companies hosting speakers, events, activities and more. It's like buying a ticket to be on the stadium grounds, you get to take in all of the cool structures and atmosphere, maybe spot a celebrity or two, and take a few selfies to stick on your Linkedin. Best of all, many are traveling from halfway across the world just to attend- think of all those emissions, oh the irony.
Finally, we have our official side events
Generally taking place at nearby hotels and conference centers, here is where you'll see the likes of the World Climate Summit, WBCSD, and WEF among others like The New York Times, Bloomberg, and The Economist hosting 1-2 day events. And of course you can't forget about the host country - they're always putting on a show or two, after all, this is a huge tourist attraction and economic opportunity.
Summary
The usefulness of COP is often debated due to criticisms of the conference's nature and urgency (or lack thereof), however some strong legislative results from previous year's COPs cannot be ignored. The conference stands to unite global leaders and representatives on the topic and urgency of the climate crisis while allowing for a neutral environment for negotiations to transpire. Portions of the conference are open to public attendance and overall the conference hallmark's the importance of the climate crisis and its relevance to all citizens of our planet.
