National leaders, environmentalists, climate activists, and state and local officials from the United States are gathering in Belém, Brazil, next week for the United Nations’s annual climate change conference — better known as COP30.
Tens of thousands of international delegates, indigenous peoples, and other attendees are expected to attend the conference, which will run from Nov. 10 to 21.
But what exactly is the purpose of the conference, and why are eyes on the U.S. as the summit gets underway? Here’s everything you need to know.
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What is COP?
COP stands for the Conference of the Parties, and serves as a meeting of the U.N.’s Framework Convention on Climate Change to measure progress and coordinate global efforts to mitigate climate change among developed and developing nations.
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