UNFCCC secretariat (UN Climate Change) was established in 1992 when countries adopted the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). With subsequent adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 and the Paris Agreement in 2015, Parties to these agreements have progressively developed the secretariat’s role as the UN entity tasked with supporting the global response to climate change.
The secretariat organises and supports between two and four negotiating sessions each year. The largest and most important is the Conference of the Parties (COPs) held annually and hosted in different locations around the globe. It is the largest annual United Nations conference, attended by around 25,000.
The UNFCCC 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 ‘non-state’ 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.