The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is a treaty that “establishes a global framework for intergovernmental efforts to face the challenge posed by climate change.”(1) According to the Framework Convention, governments must collect and make available information on greenhouse gases (GHGs) and on the best policies to adopt in order to cooperate in facilitating adaptation to climate change.

The Framework Convention was adopted in 1992 at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and came into effect in 1994. Progress in implementing it is measured at a Conference of the Parties (COP) where all the member states have met annually since 1995. Today, 195 states plus the European Union are parties to the Framework Convention.

The Paris Conference is the 21st COP of the UNFCCC and the 11th Conference of the parties participating in the Kyoto Protocol (CMP(2)), whence the abbreviation COP21/CMP11.(3)

Notes
1. United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, La Convention, 2015.
2. The acronym CMP refers to the Conference of the parties serving as the meeting of the parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
3. Paris 2015, What Is COP21/CMP11? 2015.

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