Local governments have been involved in Climate Conferences of the Parties (COPs) since their beginning in 1995. At the occasion of the First Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) ICLEI organized the Second Municipal Leaders Summit on Climate Change in Berlin (27-29 March 1995).

Since then, local governments and their organizations have not only used COPs to demonstrate their own achievements; they have also interacted with national governments and international agencies in order to strengthen the local voice and to demonstrate the high potential of local governments to support the implementation of the climate agreements.

At the same time, local governments have requested framework conditions from the national and international level which allow them to unfold their full potential for climate protection, energy saving and efficiency and promotion of renewable energy.

The engagement of local governments at Climate COPs is based on strong and growing activities at local level.

The most relevant local government events at a UNFCCC COP were:

COP 13 : Local Government Climate Sessions, December 2007, Bali, Indonesia

COP 12 : Local Government involvement and presence, November 2006, Nairobi, Kenya

COP 11 : Fourth Municipal Leaders Summit on Climate Change, December 2005, Montréal, Canada

COP 10 : Side Event, December 2004, Buenos Aires, Argentina

COP 8 : Meeting of Municipal Leaders, 26-27 October 2002, New Delhi, India

Prior to COP 3 : Third Municipal Leaders Summit on Climate Change, October 1995, Saitama, Japan

COP 1 : Second Municipal Leaders Summit on Climate Change, December 1995, Berlin, Germany