Science

COP Climate Summit Timeline: Pledges vs Emissions

COP is the annual Conference of the Parties to the UN climate treaty, running since 1995. It produced the binding Kyoto Protocol (1997), the near-universal Par…

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COP1 BERLIN

The first COP meets in Berlin and launches the Berlin Mandate

Delegates at the first Conference of the Parties concluded existing UNFCCC commitments were inadequate and launched negotiations toward stronger, binding obligations for…

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COP3 KYOTO

The Kyoto Protocol sets the first binding emissions targets

The Kyoto Protocol set the first internationally binding targets, applying only to industrialised economies, averaging roughly 5% below 1990 levels. The US signed but ne…

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COP15 COPENHAGEN

High expectations meet a political accord, not a treaty

Negotiations for a comprehensive post-Kyoto treaty collapsed into gridlock. The Copenhagen Accord was only 'noted,' not adopted - but it introduced the below-2C goal and…

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COP21 PARIS

Nearly 200 nations adopt the Paris Agreement

The Paris Agreement set a goal of holding warming well below 2C while pursuing 1.5C, built on Nationally Determined Contributions each country updates on a five-year rat…

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COP26 GLASGOW

First COP text to name coal - and soften the wording

The Glasgow Climate Pact became the first COP cover decision to explicitly address coal, calling for a 'phase-down' of unabated coal power - changed from 'phase out' in…

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COP27 SHARM EL-SHEIKH

The Loss and Damage Fund is agreed

After decades of pressure from vulnerable nations, governments agreed to establish new funding arrangements including a dedicated Loss and Damage Fund - the first COP fi…

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COP28 DUBAI

First Global Stocktake calls for transitioning away from fossil fuels

Parties completed the Paris Agreement's first Global Stocktake and found progress too slow. The closing text called for 'transitioning away from fossil fuels in energy s…

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COP29 BAKU

A new $300 billion-a-year climate-finance goal

Developed countries agreed to take the lead in mobilising at least $300 billion a year for developing countries by 2035, within a broader $1.3 trillion-a-year ambition f…

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COP30 BELEM

A Just Transition framework meets a sobering numbers test

Parties adopted a new Just Transition framework and the Belem Adaptation Indicators, calling for tripling adaptation finance by 2035. Days later, an updated UNFCCC synth…

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COP31 ANTALYA

The next summit is scheduled for Turkiye

COP31 is scheduled for November 2026 in Antalya. With Paris now a decade old, its focus is expected to continue shifting from target-setting toward tracking whether Baku…

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