Over a decade ago, most countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable.
Recently, a number of nations have approved an addition to the treaty: the Kyoto Protocol, which has more powerful (and legally binding) measures. The UNFCCC secretariat supports all institutions involved in the climate change process, particularly the COP, the subsidiary bodies and their Bureau.
COP meetings
The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the "supreme body" of the Convention; it is the highest decision-making authority. It is an association of all the countries that are Parties to the Convention. The COP meets every year, unless the Parties decide otherwise.
COP13 Position Paper: Ensuring a fair deal for the world's poor in Bali Tearfund is attending COP13 from 3-14th December 2007 in Bali. This joint position paper lays out recommendations for the negotiations.
For more on the COP 13 talks see Tearfund's 'COP coverage' section.
COP12 Position Paper: Climate Change and Poverty
Tearfund will be attending COP12 from 6-17th November 2006 in Nairobi. This joint position paper, with other UK development NGOs and institutions, lays out recommendations for the negotiations based on our experience of working with communities and through partners around the world.