The History of COP Explained
When did COP start?
The first COP conference took place in 1995 in Berlin, Germany. COP stands for The Conference of Parties, and the number at the end tells us how many have taken place. For example, COP26 is the 26th conference to take place.
These conferences take place because the countries of the United Nations have to get together to discuss how they plan to fight climate change, a common burden. The United Nations (UN) is a group of countries formed after World War Two to discuss global issues.
The countries were actually unable to agree on anything until COP3 in Kyoto, Japan. This stated that developed countries (who have a higher quality of life) were to take on more of a responsibility than undeveloped countries (who have a lower quality of life).
Then during COP21 in Paris, France, a more stable agreement was made. The countries agreed that they had to keep the global temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius and to limit it to 1.5 degrees Celsius. This is due to their reputations being at risk.
Now it is 2021 and COP26 is taking place right here, in Glasgow.
– Molly Owens, Christopher Govan, Maia McNeil, and Emma Ballantyne
