The timeline shows the main advances since the first COP in Berlin in 1995. The United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP30), the largest event on combating and adapting to climate change, begins this Monday (10/11) in Belem.
The event in Belem is the 30th in a series of annual conferences that began in 1995 in Berlin, Germany.
Some progress has been made since then. The main one is the Paris Agreement, signed at COP21 in 2015, which includes commitments by each country to limit global warming to below 2°C, and ideally to 1.5°C, above pre-industrial levels by the end of this century.
However, the UN’s own estimates show that the 1.5°C target needs to be exceeded over the next decade, given that greenhouse gas emissions, the main cause of global warming, are increasing rather than decreasing as fast as they should.
Even if countries fulfill their commitments, the United Nations predicts that global temperatures will rise by 2.3 to 2.5 degrees Celsius by the end of this century. However, if the world continues to rely on fossil fuels, the scenario could get even worse, with devastating consequences for life on Earth.
Below is a timeline showing the major climate milestones during the 30 years of COP.
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