The Conference of Parties, or ‘COP,’ is becoming well-known throughout the world as a result of climate change problems.
What is COP?
“The COP is the supreme decision-making body of the Convention. All States that are Parties to the Convention are represented at the COP, at which they review the implementation of the Convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts and take decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the Convention, including institutional and administrative arrangements” [Source].
“The Conference of Parties, known as COP, is the decision-making body responsible for monitoring and reviewing the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change implementation. It brings together the 197 nations and territories – called Parties – that have signed on to the Framework Convention” [Source].
In light of the above explanations, COP becomes a pertinent entity that addresses burning topical issues related to crises such as climate change. A lot of countries signed up for COP to partake in decision making which affects the world. For the last three decades, the United Nations has been exerting effort to bring almost every country to global climate summits.
Why Should I Care?
Since this is a body comprised of a web of leaders from most corners of the world, it is critical to care about the agreed-upon decisions that world leaders reach, especially since they have a major impact on you and your family. A huge step was taken at COP21 held in 2015 in Paris, where countries agreed to collaborate in curbing lifestyles fuelling global warming. According to the Paris Agreement, when it was rolled out, participating nations were supposed to “limit global warming to well below 2 degrees, to adapt to the impacts of a changing climate and to make money available to deliver on these aims” [Source].
Climate change affects every living thing on this earth, hence no one can ignore this issue. This is why parties in COP might have friction in the respective international relations, but when it comes to climate change, they all form a united front to save our planet earth from unbearable weather conditions. “Under the Paris Agreement, countries committed to bringing forward national plans setting out how much they would reduce their emissions – known as Nationally Determined Contribution or ‘NDCs.’
Due to COP, various studies were carried out to determine nations that are mainly polluting the atmosphere, and it was discovered that China was the biggest polluter, followed by the US. This information was used to urge these countries to implement strategies to reduce global carbon emissions, which led to the birth of the Green Industrial Revolution, which is recommended for all states. COP persuaded developed nations to prioritize the climate conditions over financial benefits, and many countries were happy to oblige. The modern trends of clean energy were primarily adopted by countries economically stable to renovate their industries. This saw electric cars battery mega-factories, power harnessing through solar or hydro and nuclear fission.
COP26to be held in Glasgow this month, promises to be so live since analysts believe all countries need to start working towards zero carbon emissions. Some argued that this goal will be a mission impossible as many states are slacking and are still stacked on burning fossils instead of upgrading to clean energy methods. The UK Prime Minister explained that if COP26 fails, the world will face food shortages in the coming years, and many people will be forced to migrate. He said, “Unless you make sure next week at Cop in Glasgow that we keep alive this prospect of restricting the growth in the temperature of the planet, then we face a real problem for humanity.”
COP is fighting a war that affects every inhabitant, from animals to people, and might decide our future at their annual summits, and one has to care about issues of this magnitude.
