This weekend was COY and I had the chance to attend the Climate Change Regime Workshop. Sebastian, one of the YOUNGO’s from France was facilitating this discussion and all I can say is that now I have a much better understanding of the COP system. Hopefully this will help you understand the system a little better as well!

The Earth Summit was held in Rio de Janeiro in 1992 - this is where it all began. The UNFCCC’s (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) purpose is to prevent catastrophic change in the climate system. This is what we are here to ensure at COP15.

There are 4 main bodies under the UNFCCC:

1. COP - Conference of the Parties
2. CMP - Meeting of the Parties
3. SBI - Subsidiary bodies
4. SBTA - Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technology Advice

These different groups meet during the COP negotiations simultaneously to reach an agreement that will ensure the mitigation and adaptation of Climate Change. These political negotiations are all based on the IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change). This is composed by a group of scientists that analyze Climate Change and gives suggestions on what the effects will be. Hopefully by the end of these negotiations the world will receive a new treaty that will shift us in a direction in which to stabilize our climate and ensure the health and well being of future generations.