What is COP15?

COP15 is a United Nations Climate Change Conference. It will be held at the Bella Center in Copenhagen, Denmark from Dec. 7-18, 2009.  The agenda includes the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 5th Meeting of the Parties (COP/MOP 5) to the Kyoto Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on Dec. 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and entered into force Feb. 16 2005. The Protocol sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012. For more information, please review the fact sheet about the Kyoto Protocol prepared by the UNFCCC, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

It is hoped that a framework for climate change mitigation beyond 2012 can be agreed to at COP15. However, even if a full treaty is not achieved, UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-Moon said the UN conference in Copenhagen will still be crucial as it will set emission-reduction targets and specify the amounts and types of aid for developing countries.

It is important to note that the convention encourages countries to stabilize emissions while the protocol commits them to do so.

In addition to the official negotiations, there will be many side events and exhibits at the conference. In fact, there are expected to be 2,500 meetings during the two-week period. For more information, please visit the Danish host country website.

• Visit the website of the conference secretariat »