UNESCO

UNESCO at COP21
‘Changing minds, not the climate’
The 21st Conference of the Parties (COP21) to the UN Framework on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was a major
event not just for the United Nations, but for the whole world. From 30 November to 12 December, leading
politicians from 196 countries came together in Paris to negotiate on action to limit climate change, and
the result was a historic deal. It should prove particularly beneficial to the poorest countries in the world,
which have done the least to bring about anthropogenic climate change, but will suffer the most from it.
Because climate change has such a
wide-ranging impact, every aspect of
UNESCO’s brief – educational, scientific and
cultural – is relevant, and every sector of
the Organization had a role to play, both in
the events leading up to COP21, and in the
Conference itself. In its home city, UNESCO
hosted a pavilion at the Conference, as well
as putting on events at its Headquarters.
Throughout 2015, UNESCO and IOC-UNESCO
worked in close collaboration with the French
authorities, as the host of COP21, to prepare
a series of pre-COP21 events through which
they aim to put their expertise at the service
of Member States, to help them identify
promising recommendations and make
informed decisions.
The Education Sector worked to
promote climate change education.
The Communication and Information
Sector worked on the enhancement of
public awareness. The Natural Science
Sector dealt with issues relating to water,
biodiversity and biosphere reserves;
disaster risk reduction; renewable energy;
science policy and traditional knowledge.
The Intergovernmental Oceanographic
Commission (IOC), a leading actor in
establishing ocean observing systems of
tremendous value for climate research,
played a major role in drawing attention
to the crucial and often overlooked role
of ocean and coastal resources in the
international climate regime. The Social and
Human Sciences Sector contributed to the
development of an agenda for sustainability.
UNESCO staff
members Peter
Dogsé, Cynthia
Guttman, Jorge
Esparza-Velásquez,
Flavia Schlegel,
Marie-Ange
Théobald, Vincent
Defourny, Kristof
Vandenberghe,
George Papagiannis
and Laetitia Kaci on
4 December 2015
at the Conference
venue in Le Bourget
(France). On this
date, UNESCO
hosted a series
of events on
the occasion of
the thematic day on
education at COP21.
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© UNESCO/Pilar Chiang-Joo