UNFCC COP 27

Why is in news? COP27: 27th annual UN meeting on climate to take place in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt from November 6

The 27th annual UN meeting on climate, COP27 (Conference of Parties) will take place in Sharm-el-Sheikh, Egypt from 6th to 18th November.

This will be the fifth time a Climate Conference is being hosted in Africa. Governments of more than 200 countries have been invited to participate.

The region's governments hope the meet will draw attention to the severe impacts of climate change on the continent.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC says Africa is one of the most vulnerable regions in the world.

The key focus areas will be the promise of innovation and clean technologies as well as the centrality of water and agriculture to the climate crisis. The role of science will also be highlighted in addition to biodiversity loss, energy transition, decarbonization efforts and finance.”

COP27 will focus on three main areas - (i) reducing emissions, (ii) helping countries to prepare and deal with climate change and (iii) securing technical support and funding for developing countries for climate activities.

Some of the issues that were not fully resolved or taken up at the COP26 will also be taken up at this edition of the conference.

The issues included providing money to help countries recover from the effects of climate change, establishing a global carbon market to price the effects of emissions into products and services globally, and strengthening the commitments to reduce coal use.

There will also be days with specialized themes for focused talks and announcements on issues including gender, agriculture and biodiversity.

The COP 26 United Nations Climate Change Conference will be hosted by the UK from at Glasgow.

According to the United Nations Climate Change Framework Convention (UNFCCC), COP26 will work towards four goals: (i) Net Zero by 2050, (ii) Adapt to Protect Communities and Natural Habitats, (iii) Mobilise Finance, (iv) Work Together to Deliver.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), signed in 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development also known as the Earth Summit, the Rio Summit or the Rio Conference.

India is among the select few countries to have hosted the COP of all three Rio conventions on climate change (UNFCCC), biodiversity (Convention on Biological Diversity) and land (United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification).

The UNFCCC entered into force on 21st March 1994, and has been ratified by 197 countries.

It is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement. It is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol.

The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. It is located in Bonn, Germany.

Conference of the Parties (COP):

COP is the apex decision-making authority of UNFCCC.

The COP meets every year, unless the Parties decide otherwise. The first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany in March, 1995.

The COP meets in Bonn, the seat of the secretariat, unless a Party offers to host the session.

The office of the COP President normally rotates among the five United Nations regional groups which are - Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, Central and Eastern Europe and Western Europe and Others.

The President is usually the environment minister of his or her home country. S/he is elected by acclamation immediately after the opening of a COP session.