The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the annual meeting of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) 's decision-making body. It brings world leaders, policymakers, scientists, businesses, and civil society together to assess progress on climate goals and negotiate new commitments.
For World Animal Protection, COP is a vital opportunity to demand systemic change, highlighting how industrial animal agriculture fuels the climate crisis and harms billions of animals yearly.
What happens at COP affects every corner of the planet. Climate decisions made there determine the future of food systems, the well-being of animals, and the health of vulnerable communities.
Despite this, factory farming continues to be overlooked. Industrial livestock production is a leading driver of greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and biodiversity loss.
We call for a just food transition that replaces factory farming with humane, sustainable systems.
COP30 is scheduled for November 2025 in Belém, Brazil, from 10 to 21 November 2025. It is the first COP to be hosted in the Amazon, a region on the frontlines of deforestation driven by industrial animal agriculture.
Following the disappointing outcomes of COP29 in Baku, which we criticised as a “great finance escape,” COP30 now carries the weight of expectation to deliver meaningful climate justice and food system reform for animals, people and the planet.
COP30 must mark a turning point. The Amazon, home to millions of species and Indigenous communities, is being devastated to grow feed crops and graze cattle, often for export by companies like JBS, one of the world’s biggest meat producers. We’re demanding accountability from agribusiness giants and pushing governments to include food system change in climate negotiations.
Baku, Azerbaijan (2024)
A finance summit that failed to fund the future
Throughout COP29, we intensified our call for urgent action through our policy brief, making it clear that governments must wake up to the undeniable role of animal agriculture in the climate crisis.
Our message is simple yet urgent: the current food systems are unsustainable, and a just transition to a sustainable alternative is not a future option - it's a critical, immediate necessity.
We hosted several key events, using these platforms to demand that decision-makers act.
COP29 was expected to be a landmark moment for climate finance. While a $300 billion commitment was announced under the New Collective Quantified Goal, however it fell far short of the $1.3 trillion economists agree is necessary to meet climate targets and protect frontline communities.
Despite this pledge, the summit was ultimately a "great finance escape," dominated by delay, weak ambition, and inaction on industrial agriculture, leaving the world’s biggest emitter unchallenged.
The influence of industrial meat lobbyists was evident, drowning out the voices of small-scale farmers and climate justice advocates. Without bold leadership and a just transition away from factory farming, the 1.5°C target remains dangerously out of reach.
Tokenism cannot stop the planet burning. Belem must deliver what Baku failed to—real ambition and accountability.
Dubai, United Arab Emirates (2023)
Food systems step into the spotlight; yet still under-addressed
Credit: World Animal Protection
For the first time, food systems featured prominently on the official agenda. World Animal Protection held major side events and co-hosted the Food4Climate Pavilion, highlighting the climate and cruelty costs of factory farming.
A major report, ‘How factory farming emissions are worsening climate disasters in the Global South.’ was launched to expose the role of meat and dairy corporations in global emissions and biodiversity loss.
However, while the Emirates Declaration promised transformation, it largely ignored the need to reduce industrial animal agriculture, a glaring omission in global climate planning.
World Animal Protection continues to call out false solutions like methane inhibitors and Big Ag's unchecked influence, advocating for a shift to agroecological, humane food systems as a true climate solution.
We won’t meet climate targets without reducing meat and dairy dependence—especially in the Global North.
Sharm El-Sheikh, Egypt (2022)
Small steps forward, but still avoiding the biggest emitter in the room
COP27 finally recognised agriculture’s link to climate change, with the inclusion of food systems in negotiations. Civil society made its voice heard, pushing hard for loss and damage funding and for sustainable food to be taken seriously.
However, COP27 failed to commit to phasing out fossil fuels or addressing emissions from factory farming, the largest source of methane and a top driver of deforestation and habitat loss.
World Animal Protection revealed that industrial farming emissions, including from companies like JBS, are being vastly underreported. Our Climate Change and Cruelty report made it clear: without tackling industrial livestock, there’s no path to 1.5°C.
We saw progress, but it was frustratingly slow. The failure to confront factory farming is a climate failure.
Glasgow, United Kingdom (2021)
Ambitious rhetoric, but critical sectors left behind
World Animal Protection joined over 100 NGOs on a joint statement calling for food and animal agriculture to be central to COP26.
The conference emphasised tracking the science, with goals like “keeping 1.5°C alive” and phasing out coal. Unfortunately, we reported “food systems were rarely mentioned by leaders" during the event, despite clear evidence linking it to deforestation, methane emissions, and biodiversity loss. This undermined the pledges made in these areas.
Global meat and dairy consumption must be greatly reduced if we are to achieve the United Nations’ Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). A move to higher-welfare, nature-friendly agriculture is also essential if we are to reduce biodiversity loss. The world is watching.
Madrid, Spain (December 2019)
Hindered by delayed processes and a fragmented agenda
Ahead of COP25 World Animal Protection along with 14 other organizations released a policy brief, urging leaders attending the 2019 United Nations' Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) to take immediate action to reduce planet-warming emissions from food and intensive animal agriculture.
COP25 concluded with unresolved negotiations on markets and finance. While World Animal Protection and allied NGOs continued to raise awareness, there were no official commitments to address the emissions or expansion pressures from factory farming.
The omission of factory farming and food systems from climate negotiations drew criticism from civil society.
Katowice, Poland (December 2018)
Technical success, but silent on farming
COP24 finalized the “rulebook” under the Paris Agreement. Although it established how countries must report emissions transparently, it neglected to include industrial animal agriculture. World Animal Protection explicitly called for agriculture’s inclusion in climate policy, warning that ignoring it left a “critical gap” in addressing greenhouse gases.
Still from our COP28 animation film. Credit: World Animal Protection / Jolt Studios
As of 2024, there have been 29 Conferences of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The first was held in 1995 in Berlin, Germany, and COP30 is scheduled for November 2025 in Belém, Brazil.
COP meetings take place annually. They are typically held towards the end of the calendar year, with participation from nearly every country in the world. The annual nature of COP reflects the urgency of the global response needed to address the climate crisis.
The first COP (COP1) was held in 1995 in Berlin. It marked the beginning of formal negotiations under the UNFCCC, which was established at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. These meetings aim to assess implementation progress and push forward global climate goals.
COP30 will take place in Belém, Brazil, in November 2025. This marks a historic moment, as it will be the first time the Amazon region hosts the summit—an ecosystem critical to climate stability and severely threatened by industrial agriculture.
Government delegates attend the COP, but it is also open to accredited observers, including NGOs, Indigenous representatives, youth groups, and scientists. Members of the public can attend side events or participate in civil society activities. The UNFCCC manages accreditation, and application timelines are announced ahead of each COP.
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change adopted at COP21 in 2015. Its main goal is to limit global temperature rise to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels, while striving to keep it under 1.5°C. Without addressing factory farming, the Paris goals cannot be met. Achieving this goal requires major cuts in greenhouse gas emissions across all sectors, including food and farming.
Discover everything that World Animal Protection is doing to tackle the climate crisis and what you can do to help.
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Working to ensure farmed animals live good lives by transforming the global food system & attitudes towards farm animal welfare.
Join us in demanding Public Development Banks stop funding unsustainable, cruel, and destructive factory farming
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