Permanent Group on the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The Permanent Group on the Conference of the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (PG on COP), previously Ad Hoc Group, was created in February 2022 to foster the EESC’s strategic and inclusive participation in the annual climate COP meetings. 

However, given the urgency of jointly tackling the climate and biodiversity crisis, and the need to increase synergies between the Rio Conventions, and in particular the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the UN Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD), the group's scope has been extended to include work related to the CBD process. This reflects the EESC’s long-standing commitment to promoting systemic approaches to address the triple planetary crisis, by integrating climate and biodiversity actions and mainstreaming these issues across its legislative work.

The group aims to ensure continuity and strategic input from civil society in international processes on climate and biodiversity governance,and promote cross-cutting collaboration and engagement across all relevant EESC bodies in the context of the COPs.

The PG on COP is composed of six EESC members, including two from the Employers’ Group, two from the Workers’ Group and two from the Civil Society Organisations’ Group, as well as a youth delegate and has been mandated with the following tasks:

• Acquire knowledge of the climate and biodiversity COPs processes and keep up to date with the central aspects of the negotiations. This may include specific trainings for the PG on COP members (and for the EESC delegation to the COPs).
• Promote strategic cross-sectoral cooperation with other EESC bodies, disseminate COPs decisions into the work of the EESC, and bring the EESC's positions to relevant stakeholders within the framework of the COPs processes.
• Coordinate the preparation of relevant EESC's contributions, resolutions or opinions, in line with the next COPs' priorities and negotiation trends, to be adopted at least two months before the COPs meetings.
• Develop a comprehensive annual work programme focusing primarily on the priorities of the next COPs' meetings, key milestones (contributions, opinions, events, etc.), a network of relevant stakeholders and partners, and a communication strategy.
• Contribute to the preparatory work of the EESC's delegation to COPs, working closely with the EESC delegation and the EESC youth delegate to COP, and provide a convening space for civil society organisations and EU institutions to contribute to the preparation of the EU and Member States' positions ahead of COPs.