---
title: "Recent COP activities in UNFCCC"
subject: "Energy Environment and Society"
chapter: 2
key: "semester_7/energy_environment_and_society:cop-unfccc-activities"
source: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/energy_environment_and_society/cop-unfccc-activities
site: BCT Engineering
---

# Recent COP activities in UNFCCC

Energy Environment and Society · Chapter 2: Energy Basics

- Asked in: 2074 Asoj, 6 marks
- Video: [International Climate Agreements: Crash Course Climate & Energy #10](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z5YvjG4lTpQ) — CrashCourse
- Answer checked by Claude Opus 5.5 (high effort) on 2026-10-14
- Page: https://www.bctengineer.com/q/semester_7/energy_environment_and_society/cop-unfccc-activities
- Whole chapter: https://www.bctengineer.com/md/semester_7/energy_environment_and_society/chapter-2

## Question

Describe about the recent activities of Conference of the Parties (COP) in UNFCCC.

## Short answer

COP is the UNFCCC's annual decision-making body. Key recent outcomes: COP21 Paris Agreement, COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact phasing down coal, COP27 Loss and Damage fund, COP28 transitioning away from fossil fuels and tripling renewables, COP29 $300 billion climate finance goal and Article 6 rules, COP30 Global Mutirão with adaptation finance and just transition. Nepal submits NDCs and a net-zero 2045 strategy.

## Answer

The **Conference of the Parties (COP)** is the supreme decision-making body of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC, 1992). All parties (nearly 200 countries) meet each year to review implementation and to negotiate climate action. Nepal takes part in the Least Developed Countries (LDC) group and the mountain countries' group.

#### Key milestones
- **COP3, Kyoto (1997):** Kyoto Protocol, with binding emission targets for developed countries and flexibility mechanisms (emissions trading, JI, CDM).
- **COP15, Copenhagen (2009):** non-binding Accord; goal to limit warming to 2 °C; goal of US\$100 billion a year in climate finance by 2020.
- **COP21, Paris (2015):** Paris Agreement. Limit warming to well below 2 °C and aim for 1.5 °C; each country submits a Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC) and updates it every five years; finance, adaptation and transparency rules.
- **COP26, Glasgow (2021):** Glasgow Climate Pact, the first mention of "phasing down" coal; the Paris rulebook was finished.
- **COP27, Sharm el-Sheikh (2022):** a Loss and Damage fund was agreed.
- **COP28, Dubai (2023):** first global stocktake; call for "transitioning away from fossil fuels" and for tripling renewable capacity by 2030.
- **COP29, Baku (2024):** New Collective Quantified Goal on finance: developed countries to lead at least US\$300 billion per year by 2035, with an aim of US\$1.3 trillion from all sources; Article 6 carbon market rules agreed.
- **COP30, Belém, Brazil (2025):** the "Global Mutirão" decision; a call to at least triple adaptation finance by 2035; a just transition mechanism agreed; the Tropical Forest Forever Facility launched to protect forests. No agreed roadmap away from fossil fuels was included in the final text. New NDCs (NDC 3.0) were due around this COP.

#### Nepal's role
Nepal has submitted its NDC and a Long-Term Strategy for net-zero emissions by 2045, and it raises mountain and climate-vulnerability concerns and loss and damage at each COP.

## Check yourself

The answer's key points as multiple-choice questions, with the correct option and why.

1. What is the COP in the UNFCCC?
   A. The supreme decision-making body where all parties meet each year
   B. A scientific panel that only measures temperature
   C. A fund that pays for projects in LDCs
   D. A court that penalises countries exceeding emissions
   Answer: A. The COP is the supreme body of the UNFCCC where nearly 200 parties review implementation and negotiate climate action yearly. (Key point: Role of COP)

2. Which feature belongs to the Paris Agreement (COP21, 2015)?
   A. Binding emission targets for developed countries only
   B. A single global carbon tax
   C. Creation of emissions trading, JI and CDM
   D. Each country submits an NDC and reviews it every five years
   Answer: D. Paris asks every country for a Nationally Determined Contribution, reviewed every five years; the flexibility mechanisms belong to Kyoto. (Key point: Paris Agreement)

3. What did COP3 in Kyoto (1997) produce?
   A. The Paris rulebook
   B. A Loss and Damage fund
   C. The Kyoto Protocol with binding targets for developed countries and flexibility mechanisms
   D. A non-binding Accord with a US$100 billion finance goal
   Answer: C. COP3 produced the Kyoto Protocol with binding targets for developed countries plus emissions trading, JI and CDM. (Key point: Kyoto at COP3)

4. Which COP agreed a Loss and Damage fund?
   A. COP15, Copenhagen (2009)
   B. COP27, Sharm el-Sheikh (2022)
   C. COP26, Glasgow (2021)
   D. COP29, Baku (2024)
   Answer: B. The Loss and Damage fund was agreed at COP27; COP28 did the first global stocktake and COP29 set the new finance goal. (Key point: Recent COP outcomes)