The UN Climate Change Conference has become a fundamental platform for states to coordinate their actions, senior lecturer of environmental law, Dr Leslie-Anne Duvic-Paoli, told Report.
Thanks to it, UN member countries come to agreements to combat climate change, she said.
“They provide an opportunity for states to meet regularly to adapt their actions in light of new scientific knowledge and discuss how they are meeting their legal commitments under treaties,” she said.
“Secondly, by becoming the focal point of the international community on climate issues that go beyond the strict mandate of climate treaties, COP sessions provide an opportunity for states to take on new international commitments in the form of political declarations in various areas, such as the protection of forests, the production of renewable energy sources or creating food systems,” she noted.
Reaching consensus among more than 190 countries at the COP session is an extremely difficult task, since everyone has their own interests, she added. However, the international community has made some progress on several fronts, including creating a Loss and Damage Fund, promoting a transition away from fossil fuels, and coordinating action under the Paris Agreement to sustain growth of global temperature not higher than 1.5 degrees Celsius.