Sessions of the COP

The climate change process revolves around the annual sessions of the COP, usually held over two weeks, and often in parallel with sessions of the SBSTA and SBI. A few thousand participants attend these sessions, including government delegates and observers. The attendance record so far was at COP 3, with some 10,000 participants, including around 2,500 Party delegates, 4,000 observer organizations, and 3,500 media representatives.

Plenary meetings of the COP, that is, formal meetings of all the Parties, take place in three-hour timeslots, from 10 a.m. to 1 p.m. and from 3 p.m. to 6 p.m. Meetings can also be held in the evening, sometimes going on all night when a deadline is looming. The timing and length of plenary meetings is restricted by the availability of interpreters.

The COP President, with advice from the Bureau and the secretariat, must decide how to structure the work of the session. Because of the formal nature of the COP, most of its work is usually referred to the SBSTA and SBI, which try to broker agreement and forward draft decisions to the COP. This frees the COP President to consult informally behind the scenes on the most controversial issues, often at ministerial level.

An alternative approach is for the COP to delegate work to a group known as a "Committee of the Whole", with its own Chairman, to conduct negotiations and report back to the COP. This approach was used at COP 1, and also at COP 3 for the final negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol.

Smaller informal working groups are often convened within this larger structure to take up specific issues. Sometimes these are open-ended contact groups that are attended by all interested delegates and, subject to the approval of Parties, observers. Sometimes they are informal consultations or drafting groups that involve a smaller but representative number of delegates and are closed to observers. These working groups can help to move talks forwards by allowing delegates to talk more freely in a more informal atmosphere. However, efforts are made to convene no more than two meetings at any one time, because of difficulties faced by small delegations in covering a multiplicity of events. These informal groups do not take decisions, but forward proposals to their convening body (the COP or subsidiary bodies).

The COP President may also invite "Friends of the Chairman", that is, delegates representing the main interest groups, to give advice on the most tricky issues under negotiation.

Thus far, sessions of the COP have included a high-level segment involving ministers. This often takes place during the last few days of the session, so that the political weight of ministers can be brought to bear on the final and most difficult decisions.

The aim of these different negotiating mechanisms is to forge agreement on decisions that reflect the consensus view of Parties. Draft text that is under discussion but not yet agreed is placed in square brackets. As agreement is reached, the brackets are said to be "lifted".

Once a draft decision is agreed in an informal working group it may then be discussed and approved by the subsidiary bodies or the Committee of the Whole. It is then forwarded for final adoption to the COP Plenary. If there are no objections, the President will bang his or her gavel on the table and declare that the decision is adopted, using the time-honoured formula "it is so decided". The decision cannot normally be reopened, though explanatory statements may be made after adoption.

The COP has adopted some 20 decisions at each of its sessions so far. These decisions make up a detailed "rule book" for the implementation of the Convention and are included in the formal COP reports. Decisions are known by their number (e.g. decision 4/CP.3 is decision number four taken at COP 3). Key decisions are sometimes given a more high-profile title, with a premium attached to the "pole position", that is, decision number one. For example, decision 1/CP.1, which launched negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol, is known as the "Berlin Mandate". The adoption of the Protocol was effected through decision 1/CP.3, while the programme of work adopted by decision 1/CP.4 is termed the "Buenos Aires Plan of Action".

In addition to decisions, the COP can produce other outcomes, such as declarations or resolutions. These are non-binding political statements intended to guide the work of the Convention or express the will of the COP. For example, the Geneva Ministerial Declaration, which was taken note of (but not adopted) at COP 2, helped to instill new momentum in the negotiations on the Kyoto Protocol. Similarly, at COP 4, Parties adopted a resolution of solidarity with Central America, following the devastating hurricane that had just hit that region.

Sessions of the subsidiary bodies

The subsidiary bodies are the main working bodies of the Convention and meet once or twice between COP sessions. The sessions of the SBSTA and the SBI held outside of the annual COP are also important events in the climate change process, but attract somewhat fewer participants (around 1,500). The organization of work of the SBSTA and SBI, and the negotiating techniques available to the presiding officers, are similar to those described for the COP.

As the "supreme body" of the Convention, however, only the COP takes decisions. The main products of the SBSTA and SBI are therefore recommendations for draft decisions, which are forwarded to the COP for consideration and adoption. In addition, the subsidiary bodies adopt conclusions, which are included in their reports. The subsidiary bodies often invite Parties to submit views or proposals on particular issues in between sessions, in order to move talks forward when they are in session. These are circulated by the secretariat in "Misc" (miscellaneous) documents.