Scope and Limits of Decisions by the Conference of the Parties

The document clarifies that while COPs are often mandated to take 'any action necessary' to achieve treaty objectives, their power to act via decisions is limited. Decisions are typically suitable for guidance, budgeting, and coordination, but cannot fundamentally alter Party rights or obligations. Modifying obligations, creating new ones, or changing annexes generally requires formal amendments, which are subject to higher voting thresholds and lengthy ratification processes. The brief argues that relying on a general framework to be strengthened later via COP decisions is often ineffective, urging negotiators to secure strong provisions during the initial treaty adoption.

• The Conference of the Parties (COP) can typically use decisions for administrative and supportive functions, such as adopting implementation guidance, commissioning studies, coordinating with other multilateral environmental agreements, managing budgets, and establishing subsidiary bodies.
• COP decisions generally cannot be used to fundamentally change the legal rights or obligations of Parties; such changes typically require treaty amendments, which often need a two-thirds or three-fourths majority and subsequent ratification by individual Parties to enter into force.
• Adding or removing states or items from a treaty annex, or creating new annexes for procedural or technical issues, usually requires an annex amendment rather than a simple decision, allowing Parties to opt out if they do not wish to be bound.
• Historical examples show that attempting to use COP decisions for substantive bans or obligations can lead to legal challenges and delays; for instance, a ban on hazardous waste exports under the Basel Convention was adopted by decision at COP2 but required a formal amendment at COP3 to resolve authority disputes, taking 24 years to enter into force.
• The brief concludes that the strategy of adopting a weak general framework with the intent to strengthen it later through COP decisions is rarely effective because public pressure and negotiation leverage decrease after the initial treaty is set.

APA

Sky, M. B. (2024). Scope and Limits of Decisions by the Conference of the Parties. Center for International Environmental Law. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Scope-and-Limits-of-the-Decisions-by-the-Conference-of-the-Parties.pdf

Chicago

Sky, Melissa Blue. Scope and Limits of Decisions by the Conference of the Parties. Center for International Environmental Law, 2024. https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Scope-and-Limits-of-the-Decisions-by-the-Conference-of-the-Parties.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |last1=Sky |first1=Melissa Blue |title=Scope and Limits of Decisions by the Conference of the Parties |publisher=Center for International Environmental Law |date=October 2024 |url=https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Scope-and-Limits-of-the-Decisions-by-the-Conference-of-the-Parties.pdf |access-date=17 August 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{sky2024scope, author = {Sky, Melissa Blue}, title = {{Scope and Limits of Decisions by the Conference of the Parties}}, institution = {Center for International Environmental Law}, year = {2024}, month = oct, url = {https://www.ciel.org/wp-content/uploads/2024/10/Scope-and-Limits-of-the-Decisions-by-the-Conference-of-the-Parties.pdf}, urldate = {2026-08-17}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }