It seems that 2024 is a year full of environmental high level negotiations, as it witnessed three crucial meeting for all the UN conventions known as the Rio Conventions, starting with COP 16 Cali in Colombia last October, followed by COP 29 Baku in Azerbaijan three weeks later, and finally COP 16 Riyadh, which Saudi Arabia will host early next December.
The UN has a busy climate agenda that aims at putting the environmental situation of the blue planet in order at a critical time after announcing 2023 as the hottest year ever. Data indicates that the current year might exceed its precedent.
In the light of what the world witnesses from disasters and climate events, the issue of the environment and climate had to be brought on the table of everyone and not only scientists or followers or even interested ones. It is logical for some to ask about the difference between the three conferences that bear the name “COP”, especially with the successive holding of these UN summits this year.
The difference between the three conferences
Green in Arabic provides you with the answer to this question, but let us tell you the story from the beginning and go back to the summer of 1992, when the UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), known as the “Earth Summit,” was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, which enjoyed great importance because it laid the foundation stone for ensuring that environmental and development issues are on the agenda of the twenty-first century.
Desertification, climate change and biodiversity loss were identified as the greatest challenges facing sustainable development in the world. Therefore, the most important achievements of the Earth Summit are embodied in three major international environmental agreements, called the Rio Agreements:
First: United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Second: Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
Third: United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD)
The governments of the countries have ratified these three agreements, and the countries that recognize each agreement are now known as “countries parties,” with the agreement to hold a “Conference of the Parties” for each agreement periodically, known as the Conference of the Parties, abbreviated as “COP,” which is the highest decision-making body within each of the three agreements, and is responsible for supervising the implementation of the provisions of each agreement.
Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD)
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is the international legal instrument for the conservation of biological diversity. The three objectives of the Convention are to conserve biological diversity, to sustainably use its components, and to equitably share the benefits arising from the exploitation of ecosystems, ensuring sustainable development and maintaining a healthy world for future generations.
Parties to the agreement
The Convention has been ratified by 196 Parties, including 195 countries + the European Union that entered into force in 1993. One year later, the first session of the Conference of the Parties was held in the Bahamas, with the member states of the Convention meeting every two years.
The Egyptian city of Sharm El-Sheikh hosted COP14 in 2018, and the summit concluded with an international agreement on effective implementation of the ecosystem-based approach to climate change, and reducing the risks of climate disasters that threaten all forms of life.
COP 16
The last version of the UN Biodiversity Conference was held in Cali, southwest Colombia, and lasted from October 21 to November 1, 2024. Among its most important decisions: Announcing the establishment of a permanent body for indigenous peoples to consult on UN resolutions related to biodiversity, which is an important step in recognizing the role of indigenous peoples in protecting nature.
United
Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC
The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change entered into force in 1994, with the aim of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the global climate system, accelerating the transition to renewable energy, and calling on the international community to address the worsening climate crisis.
Parties to the agreement
The number of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change has reached 198 parties including 197 countries in addition to the EU.
The member countries of the Convention meet annually to assess and negotiate progress on climate change, with the first session of the Conference of the Parties on Climate Change (Cop 1) being held in Germany in 1995.
Arab countries have hosted five sessions in the history of global climate conferences; Morocco hosted two versions in 2001 and 2016, while the other three Arab versions were, respectively: the “Doha Conference” 2012, the “Sharm El-Sheikh Conference” 2022, and the “Dubai Conference” 2023.
COP 29
The latest edition of the Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP29), hosted by Baku, Azerbaijan, from November 11 to 22, 2024, was dubbed the “financial COP” because the agenda focused on scaling up climate finance to help low-income countries and the most vulnerable communities adapt to the impacts of climate change.
United
Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
(UNCCD)
The UN Convention to Combat Desertification was established in 1994. It is the only legally binding international commitment that links environment and development on the one hand and sustainable land management on the other. The Convention aims to address desertification, maintain land productivity, and reduce the effects of drought in arid and semi-arid areas, especially in Africa.
Parties to the agreement
The number of parties to the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification is 197 parties, including 196 countries in addition to the EU.
The Conference of the Parties is held every two years, and the first edition of the Summit to Combat Desertification began in Rome in 1997, while the latest edition, “Cop15,” was in Côte d’Ivoire in 2022.
COP 16
For the first time in the Arab world, Riyadh will host the Conference of the Parties to the UN Convention to Combat Desertification (COP16), from December 2 to 13, which brings together all parties to the Convention (197 members) in addition to experts and delegates from global civil society.
The Riyadh Summit aims at building a new phase of international cooperation to accelerate and expand efforts to combat desertification, restore degraded lands and address the effects of drought, as the parties to the agreement are expected to move from the stage of pledges to actual implementation.
According to the UN report, despite the significant and multiple impacts of land degradation and biodiversity loss, the desertification and biodiversity conventions have not received the same global momentum as the climate change convention, perhaps due to the periodicity of the three conferences, as the climate summit is held annually, while the biodiversity and desertification summits meet only every two years.
We can say that this year seems different, as we have seen interest in the “Cup of Kali” for biodiversity, and the Riyadh Summit is expected to attract great international and media attention, especially after the United Nations described it on its website as a “historic event” for the largest global summit that sheds light on the issues of land degradation and combating drought.
In the same context, the Executive Secretaries of the three Rio Conventions confirmed, via the UN website, that the existential risks facing humanity must be addressed jointly and not individually, while recognizing that climate change, biodiversity loss and land degradation are different forms of a single crisis facing planet Earth.
That is why the UN summits on biodiversity, climate and land are being held between October and December, in Colombia, Azerbaijan and Saudi Arabia respectively, as these summits emphasize the urgent need for increased ambition, investment and coordinated action to protect our planet and respond to the growing demand for food, water and resources.
