Governments from around the world will soon descend upon Belém, Brazil for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), and with them, many actors from industry and business, civil society, research institutions, youth organisations and Indigenous Peoples’ groups, to name but a few. Since the adoption of the Paris agreement on climate change in 2015, COP participation numbers have ballooned. COP28 in Dubai was attended by 83,884 participants – a record – and while numbers fell to 54,148 at COP29 in Baku last year, they remained well above those at COP21 in Paris.
These events, which have been described as “mega-COPs”, have come under criticism for the enormous carbon footprint they generate. Research I conducted with Lisanne Groen of Open Universiteit on the participation of non-state actors identifies two further problems. First, the quantity of participants is undermining the quality of participation, as large numbers of non-state actors have to compete for a limited number of meeting rooms, side event slots, opportunities to speak publicly, and chances to engage in dialogue with decision makers. Second, the “mega-COP” trend is driving a widening gap between these actors’ expectations of participation and the realities of the process.
