360What is a COP climate conference?
A COP, or Conference of the Parties, is the yearly United Nations climate summit, where almost every country meets to negotiate how to tackle climate change. COP21 produced the Paris Agreement in 2015. COP31 takes place in Antalya, Türkiye, from 9 to 20 November 2026. Decisions need the agreement of all countries, so talks often run late.
In 1992, countries agreed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The countries that signed it are called the 'parties', and since 1995 they have met every year at a Conference of the Parties, or COP.
Each COP is hosted by a different country, which holds the presidency and guides the talks. Delegates from nearly 200 countries attend, along with scientists, businesses, campaign groups and journalists, often tens of thousands of people.
The most important COP so far was COP21 in Paris in 2015, which produced the Paris Agreement: a goal to keep global warming well below 2°C and to try to limit it to 1.5°C, with every country setting its own plan.
Later COPs have worked on rules for the agreement, money to help poorer countries adapt and cut emissions, and a fund for countries hit by climate disasters.
Decisions are made by consensus, so a single country can block a deal. That is why COPs often run past their scheduled closing day.
COP31 meets at the Antalya Expo Center in Türkiye from 9 to 20 November 2026, with world leaders gathering on 11 and 12 November.
Sources: UN Climate Change (UNFCCC) · United Nations · Britannica.