“Climate action begins and ends with people” – a key message from Belém last year when the COP30 Presidency announced its efforts to revitalize the Global Climate Action Agenda. Together with the Climate High-Level Champions and Marrakesh Partnership, they developed a unified Action Agenda to inspire and foster meaningful engagement and collaboration within the entire ecosystem. The aim has been to unite governments, businesses, investors, civil society, and others to accelerate climate solutions by connecting, supporting, and scaling existing global initiatives.
What is the Conference of Parties?
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was established in 1992 when countries around the world joined an international treaty to combat climate change by limiting average global temperature increases. The Conference of Parties (COP), the governing body of the Convention and today registering 198 (197 countries plus the European Union), has met annually since 1995 to implement the decisions agreed upon each year during official negotiations. This includes milestone agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol in 2005 and the Paris Agreement in 2015.
COP milestones:
- COP21 Paris / 2015: Announcement of the legally binding Paris Agreement, whose overarching goal is to hold “the increase in the global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels” and pursue efforts “to limit the temperature increase to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels.” The Paris Agreement tasked countries to prepare their national climate action plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). These are submitted in five-year cycles of increasingly ambitious action.
- COP26 Glasgow / 2021: The Glasgow Climate Pact was announced to advance the Paris Agreement, reaffirming the effort to limit global warming to 1.5°C. The Zero Emission Vehicles Declaration was announced, with 100+ signatories signing the pledge towards 100% electric car and van sales by 2040 globally.
- COP28 Dubai / 2023: For the first time ever, an agreement to “transition away from fossil fuels in energy systems in a just, orderly and equitable manner” was signed by nearly 200 countries
The 31st Conference of the Parties is being hosted by Türkiye in November 2026 under the theme “COP of the future” with a defined framework for dialogue, consensus, and action. This year’s conference is unique, with Türkiye serving as the physical host and holding the main Presidency, while Australia acts as the President of Negotiations.
Action Agendas are a bridge between political ambition and real-world execution
The Global Climate Action Agenda is the pillar of the COP process that mobilizes voluntary climate action from civil society, businesses, investors, cities, regions, and countries to implement the Paris Agreement. It unites hundreds of climate initiatives each with their own timelines, investments, and measurable outcomes.
Last year the COP30 Presidency, held by Brazil, changed the direction of the Action Agenda by shifting away from new commitments and towards a renewed framework that accelerates action to unite the world. The Presidency established six axes under the Action Agenda to support delivery of the Global Stocktake (GST), a five-year inventory process that measures collective progress on combatting climate change. This year, the COP31 Presidency has identified ten priority themes, categorized under the six axes, for increased focus. This includes a “clean energy transition and electrification” under Axis 1: Transitioning energy, industry, and transport.
Efforts to advance these priority themes are coordinated through Plans to Accelerate Solutions, which are published by groups of initiatives working together to drive tangible, impactful climate action. The Accelerating to Zero Coalition, host of the ZEV Declaration, is one such initiative supporting implementation under Axis 1.
“From Dialogue to Consensus, From Consensus to Action”
Continuity and consistency have remained fundamental to COP mechanisms over the years. Each COP is responsible for advancing and assessing the previous meeting’s decisions and building upon the outcomes for the following year’s agenda. The COP31 Presidency’s motto, “from dialogue to consensus, from consensus to action,” highlights this trajectory and the establishment of key 2035 implementation targets.
Key amongst them is an electrification target, commonly referred to as “35 by 35” – raising the share of electricity in final energy consumption to 35% by 2035. Signatories to the ZEV Declaration play a critical role in achieving this target as they continue to meet important milestones in zero-emission vehicle adoption.
This year’s conference will once again play a crucial role in uniting governments, private sector, civil society, industry, and individuals toward a common goal. This in turn makes the upcoming COP meeting one of the most significant international mechanisms to debate, strengthen, and act collectively to mitigate the global climate crisis.
