FAIRR at COP

Why FAIRR takes part in COP

The Conference of the Parties (COP) presents FAIRR with the opportunity to meet with global policymakers, experts, and key stakeholders as they convene to address environmental and climate challenges. By participating, FAIRR gains access to valuable insights, trends, and developments in sustainable investing and ESG practices. Attending COP enables networking opportunities, collaboration with other stakeholders, and engagement with policymakers, facilitating informed decision-making.

This year’s annual Conference of the Parties (COP29) of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change will be held in Baku, Azerbaijan from 11-22 November.  The UN summit remains the world’s biggest collective effort to tackle the impacts of climate change and achieve a net-zero transition in line with Paris Agreement targets.   

This year’s Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) COP16 will be held in Cali, Colombia from 21 October to 1 November 2024. Unlike the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) COP, which focuses on climate change, the CBD COP specifically addresses biodiversity conservation, the sustainable use of biological resources, and the fair and equitable sharing of benefits from genetic resources.

CBD COPs are pivotal for shaping global policy on biodiversity conservation. COP15 was held two years ago in Montreal, where the Montreal-Kunming Global Biodiversity Framework (GBF) was agreed by nearly 200 countries. This CBD COP will reconvene parties to discuss National Biodiversity Strategies and Action Plans (NBSAPs) – which lay out how each country will aim to achieve the targets of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework.

FAIRR at COP28

This year’s annual UN Climate Change Conference (COP28) will be held in Dubai from 30 Nov – 12 Dec 2023. While there is some debate regarding the effectiveness of the conference, it remains the world’s biggest collective effort to tackle the impacts of climate change and achieve net zero emissions across the economy in line with Paris Agreement targets.  

Last year saw the first ever Agriculture Day hosted by the COP Presidency and ended with Food and Agriculture featured in the final COP27 cover text. In a further sign of the growing importance of the agrifood sector in the COP negotiations, COP28 will feature a dedicated Food Day, when several significant announcements are expected. 

FAIRR at COP27

The FAIRR Initiative has been delighted to participate in many insightful discussions related to sustainable food systems at the 2022 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP27), which took place in Sharm El-Sheikh between 6 November and 18 November 2022. The FAIRR delegation was led by Jeremy Coller, Chair, Maria Lettini, Executive Director, and Dr Helena Wright, Policy Director, among other members of the team.

Please visit the events section to see the full list of events that FAIRR participated in. Additionally, you can view a summary of the main announcements from COP27 related to food and finance below.

FAIRR at COP15

COP 15 was the 2022 UN Biodiversity Conference held in Montreal, Canada. FAIRR was delighted to attend and participate in a conference that ultimately led to the adoption of the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, an international agreement to protect 30% of land and oceans by 2030, especially in light of our new data showing the world’s biggest meat and dairy producers are currently unprepared to meet these targets. The industry will need to adapt urgently, and FAIRR showed strong support for the target on companies disclosing their nature-related risks and impacts.

FAIRR at COP26

The FAIRR Initiative was delighted to have hosted and participated in several events at COP26, which took place in Glasgow between 31 October and 12 November 2021. Please visit the highlights page to see a full list and summary of events that FAIRR participated in.