The UN Climate Change Conferences serve as the annual meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP), bringing together the 197 countries that have ratified the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The COP reviews the implementation of the Convention and any other legal instruments that the COP adopts, and takes decisions necessary to promote the effective implementation of the Convention, including institutional and administrative arrangements. The Conferences also include the meetings of the Conference of the Parties Serving as the Meeting of Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP) and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA). The COP Presidency rotates among the five recognised UN regions, Africa, Asia, Latin America and the Caribbean, central and Eastern Europe, and Western Europe and Others, with a tendency for the venue of the Climate Change Conferences to also shift among these groups.

In 2019, the UN Climate Change Conference (COP 25) will take place from 2 to 13 December in Madrid, Spain. It will include the 25th session of the COP, the 15th session of the CMP, and the 2nd session of the CMA. In addition, the 51st sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) will take place during the conference. The COP 25 will be presided over by Chile’s Environment Minister Carolina Schmidt, the first woman to take this position.  

Known as the COP for ambition, the COP 25 is the last one before the new round of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in 2020. The conference will not only serve to raise ambition and climate action by all stakeholders, it will also address issues related to the sustainable development mechanism, market mechanisms and non-market approaches in the implementation of the Paris Agreement. In addition, the incoming COP 25 Presidency announced seven additional topics to be highlighted at the conference: Oceans, Antarctica, Electromobility, Renewable Energies, Circular Economy, Ecosystems and Forests, and Biodiversity. 

As with previous years, Regions4 and its members will attend the COP 25 to share experiences, positions and achievements through a number of events, including side events and the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action events. 

Regions4 and the Government of Basque Country will host the side-event “Regional Leadership in the Climate Emergency: Nature-based solutions in adaptation & the water challenge” on 8 December at 15:30 in Hotel Pullman Madrid Airport & Feria.