United Nations Climate Change Conferences (COP)

The United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2023, also known as COP28, was hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Expo City, Dubai. The conference faced criticism since the host country is a major producer of fuel energy. In addition, Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the managing director of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company, faced criticism for being named president of COP28. ⁴

The COP29 gathering for 2024 was hosted by Azerbaijan and was also criticized over allegations that the COP29 team’s chief executive, Elnur Soltanov, had been recorded discussing “investment opportunities” with Azerbaijan’s state energy company, Socar. Soltanov was allegedly recorded discussing “fossil fuel deals” with an individual posing as the head of a fake Hong Kong investment firm. ⁵

Background

The United Nations Climate Change Conference is an annual international climate change summit attended by countries that have joined the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The annual conferences serve as official meetings of the Conference of the Parties (COP), the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP), and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA). ^{6 2 3}

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the decision-making body of the UNFCCC, a multilateral environmental treaty adopted in 1992 and utilized in 1994 to prevent “interference with the climate system.” The UNFCCC includes representatives of the 198 parties, including 197 independent states and the European Union, that agreed to the treaty. ^{7 8 9}

Non-governmental organizations (NGOs) and intergovernmental organizations (IGOs) can attend the Conference if they have been admitted by the COP as “observer organizations” to the UNFCCC process. ¹⁰

Host countries of the Conference of the Parties usually rotate among the five United Nations regional groups: the African Group, Asia-Pacific Group, Eastern Europe Group, Latin American and Caribbean Group, and the Western European and Others Group. Member countries that are a part of the regional group decide which country from said region will host the conference. Regional members also decide who will be nominated as president-designate of the COP, who is then elected at the opening of the conference. ¹¹

The 2026 United Nations Climate Change Conference, also known as COP31, will be held in Antalya, Turkey, in November 2026. ¹²

Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement

The United Nations Climate Change Conference has been involved with the implementation of international environmental treaties such as the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015. ²

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on December 11, 1997, during the COP3 gathering held in Kyoto, Japan, and was enforced starting February 2005. The Kyoto Protocol committed industrialized nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions through new legislation. By 1997, roughly 39 countries had committed to cutting emissions, with an average of 4.2 percent reduction in emissions recorded by 2012, compared to 1990. There are 192 countries that have adopted the Kyoto Protocol as of March 2026. ^{13 8} The United States is not a party to the Protocol, as it was not ratified by the U.S. Senate. ¹⁴

The United Nations Climate Change Conference in Paris, also known as COP21, adopted the Paris Agreement on December 12, 2015 which set long-term goals towards reducing greenhouse gas emissions, reducing global temperature by 1.5 degrees Celsius, and providing financial support to developing countries to “mitigate climate change.” ¹⁵ As of March 2026, 194 independent states, and the European Union, have joined the Paris Agreement. ¹⁵ The United States withdrew from the Paris Agreement in January 2026 following action by the second Trump administration. ¹⁶

Controversies

COP28 Dubai

The United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2023, also known as COP28, was hosted by the United Arab Emirates (UAE) at Expo City, Dubai. The conference received criticism as the UAE is a major producer of fuel energy. ⁴

Sultan Ahmed Al Jaber, the managing director of the state-owned Abu Dhabi National Oil Company was criticized for being named president of COP28. Environmentalist group Greenpeace called the appointment a “dangerous precedent” and claimed the conference needed an “uncompromised commitment to a just phase out of all fossil fuels.” ^{4 17}

According to a report by The Guardian, several of Al Jaber’s groups had been accused of editing Wikipedia profiles to “greenwash his image” such as including a quote from an editorial claiming Al Jaber was “precisely the kind of ally the climate movement needs.” ¹⁸

Another report claimed that the Abu Dhabi National Oil Company read messages from the COP28 office email system while allegedly sharing email servers despite reports of the former being a “standalone” system. ¹⁹

The Guardian’s report also claimed that fake social media accounts were created to defend the UAE, with posts claiming the UAE’s “commitment to being the perfect host for Cop28 is a testament to its leadership in tackling climate change,” while calling Al Jaber “the ally the climate movement needs. ²⁰

Marc Owen Jones of Hamad Bin Khalifa University in Qatar disclosed the allegations by reportedly showing roughly 100 fake accounts on X (formerly Twitter), accusing them of being “a large, multilingual astro-turfing effort,” and a network “trying to promote UAE foreign policy.” ²⁰

A spokesperson for COP28 later released a statement in response, claiming that the fake accounts were created by individuals not connected to COP28 and were “clearly designed to discredit COP28 and the climate process.” ²⁰

COP29 Azerbaijan

The United Nations Climate Change Conference of 2024, also known as COP29, was hosted by Azerbaijan. It received criticism for its named chief executive, Elnur Soltanov, also being the deputy energy minister of Azerbaijan at the time of the conference. ⁵

According to a report by the BBC, Soltanov was captured on a surreptitious recording discussing “investment opportunities” in Azerbaijan’s state energy company Socar and “fossil fuel deals” with an activist from environmental activist from Global Witness, who posed as the head of a fake Hong Kong investment firm. ⁵

During the meeting, Soltanov claimed that the aim of COP29 was “solving the climate crisis” and that oil and gas companies “could come with solutions” while further adding, “There are a lot of joint ventures that could be established…I would be happy to create a contact between your team and their team [Socar] so that they can start discussions.” ⁵

According to the BBC, an email between the fake Hong Kong investors and the COP29 team discussed a $600,000 sponsorship deal with another fake company in return for an introduction to Socar and involvement in a “sustainable oil and gas investing” event during COP29. ⁵

COP30 Brazil

The United Nations Climate Change Conference for 2025, also known as COP30, was held in Belem, Brazil and was criticized due to allegations of a lack of affordable accommodations for attendees, ²¹ and for the national government increasing its oil drilling licensing beforehand. ²²

The conference was also criticized due to the construction of the Avenida Liberdade highway through part of the Amazon rainforest causing deforestation. The government of the Brazilian federal state of Para had planned to build the highway as early as 2012, but the project had been repeatedly stalled due to environmental concerns. ²³

Para’s state infrastructure secretary, Adler Silveira, told the BBC that the highway was one of 30 projects the city had started to “modernize” it, and so the state could “have a legacy for the population and, more importantly, serve people for COP30 in the best possible way.” Silveira also claimed that the project was a “sustainable highway,” and an “important mobility intervention.” ²³

The Special Secretariat for COP30 released a statement contradicting the BBC report, claiming that the Avenida Liberdade highway was not under the responsibility of the Brazilian federal government, nor was it “part of the 33 infrastructure projects planned for COP30.” ²⁴