UN Climate Change - UNFCCC

Links to UN Climate Change and UNFCCC

Visit the main UN Climate Change website here

Providing Information on the most recent COP, Processes and Meetings, Official Documents, links to specific Climate Action and Climate Change Topics

Learn about why the Global Stocktake is so important for Climate Action this decade here

Explore the Global Climate Action Platform here

Explore the Local Communities and Indigenous Peoples Platform here

Watch videos about UN Climate Change on their official youtube channel here

Gain an overview on: Adaptation and Resilience - Loss and Damage here

The Adaptation Knowledge Portal is an online resource of the UNFCCC Knowledge-to-Action Hub for Climate Adaptation and Resilience (also called as the Nairobi work programme (NWP)). The Adaptation Knowledge Portal provides free and open access to adaptation knowledge resources - Access the Adaptation Knowledge Hub here

Find information on Countries National Adaptation Plans (NAPs) here

View the Best Practices and Lessons Learnt in addressing adaptation in Least developed countries (LDCs)  Report here

 

General Information on the UNFCCC Secretariat

What is its purpose?

The UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) is the United Nations entity tasked with supporting the global response to the threat of climate change. UNFCCC stands for United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Convention has near universal membership (197 Parties) and is the parent treaty of the 2015 Paris Agreement. The main aim of the Paris Agreement is to keep the global average temperature rise this century as close as possible to 1.5 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. The UNFCCC is also the parent treaty of the 1997 Kyoto Protocol. The ultimate objective of all three agreements under the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system, in a time frame which allows ecosystems to adapt naturally and enables sustainable development.

 When was the secretariat created?

The secretariat was established in 1992 when countries adopted the UNFCCC. The original secretariat was in Geneva. Since 1995, the secretariat has been located in Bonn, Germany.

 Who works at the secretariat?

Around 450 staff are employed at UN Climate Change. Secretariat staff come from over 100 countries and represent a blend of diverse cultures, gender and professional backgrounds.

At the head of the secretariat is the Executive Secretary, a position held by Mr. Simon Stiell of Grenada since August 2022.

 What does the secretariat do?

Focussing in its early years largely on facilitating the intergovernmental climate change negotiations, the secretariat today supports a complex architecture of bodies that serve to advance the implementation of the Convention, the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement.

 The secretariat provides technical expertise and assists in the analysis and review of climate change information reported by Parties and in the implementation of the Kyoto mechanisms. It also maintains the registry for Nationally Determined Contributions (NDC) established under the Paris Agreement, a key aspect of implementation of the Paris Agreement.

 The secretariat organizes and supports between two and four negotiating sessions each year. The largest and most important is the Conference of the Parties (COP), held annually and hosted in different locations around the globe. It is the largest annual United Nations conference, attended on average by around 25,000 participants. The most recent UN Climate Change Conference (COP 28) took place from 30 November to 13 December in Dubai, the United Arab Emirates and marked the conclusion of the first ‘global stocktake’ of the world’s efforts to address climate change under the Paris Agreement.

In addition to these major conferences, the secretariat organizes annual sessions of the so-called subsidiary bodies as well as a large number of meetings and workshops throughout the year.

 In recent years, the secretariat also supports the Marrakech Partnership for Global Climate Action, agreed by governments to signal that successful climate action requires strong support from a wide range of actors, including regions, cities, business, investors and all parts of civil society.

At UN Climate Change Conferences, a large number of events demonstrate how non-Party stakeholders are working with governments and the UN system to implement the Paris Agreement. In addition, the secretariat co-organizes regional Climate Weeks. The important events aim to drive forward Paris Agreement implementation at the regional level and to build new climate action partnerships.

Throughout the year, the secretariat strives to keep all stakeholders informed of on the negotiating process and climate action through a variety of communications products, including the website and social media. Around one million people visit the UN Climate Change website every year, and the secretariat’s social media accounts, including on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, and LinkedIn have a combined following of around 1.8 million people.