WHY IN THE NEWS?

During COP26 conference in Glasgow, it was decided that Egypt will host COP27 United Nations Climate Change Conference in 2022.

About:

• Egypt will host the conference in the Red Sea resort of Sharm El-Sheikh.
• This decision was taken after Egypt’s President Abdel Fattah al-Sisi showed in September Egypt’s interest in hosting COP27 on behalf of the African continent.
• Apart from that, the United Arab Emirates (UAE) was selected to host COP28 international climate conference in the year 2023.

United Nations Climate Change Conferences

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed at the United Nations Conference on Environment & Development in 1992.
• United Nations Conference on Environment & Development is also known as Rio Summit, Rio Conference or Earth Summit.
• India is among few countries to have hosted the COP of all three Rio conventions on climate change, biodiversity and land.
• UNFCCC was enforced on March 21, 1994.
• Till date, it has been ratified by 197 countries.
• UNFCCC is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement as well as 1997 Kyoto Protocol.
• UNFCCC secretariat is a United Nations entity that has been tasked with supporting global response to the threat of climate change.
• It is headquartered in Bonn, Germany.

Conference of the Parties (COP)

COP is the apex decision-making authority of UNFCCC. It meets every year. The first COP meeting was held in March 1995 in Berlin, Germany. COP meets in Bonn, seat if the secretariat. The office of the COP President rotates among five United Nations regional groups namely, Asia, Africa, Central & Eastern Europe, Latin America & the Caribbean, and Western Europe & Others. President of COP is usually the environment minister of home country, who is elected by acclamation after opening of COP session.