Almost 200 countries, two weeks, no votes. Here is how a topic goes from the June talks in Bonn to a decision on the last night of the COP, or to next year.
sit at the table: 197 countries and the European Union. Every one of them has a say.
A decision passes only when no country formally objects. That is why deals are slow and single words matter.
Prepared in Bonn each June. At the COP, diplomats write drafts in week one; ministers settle what is still stuck in week two.
Nothing is official until the President bangs the gavel in the closing , often after the scheduled end.
Every June, diplomats meet for two weeks in Bonn, Germany, where the UN climate secretariat is based. They do the technical groundwork, so most topics arrive at the COP already half-written, or already stuck.SBSTA and SBI meet every June in Bonn. They advance technical items and forward draft conclusions or texts to the November session; what they cannot agree is carried over. SB64 ran from 8 to 18 June 2026.
Countries agree the list of topics they will negotiate. Fights over the agenda itself are common and can delay the start by hours.The COP, CMP and CMA adopt their agendas and refer items to the Subsidiary Bodies (SBSTA, SBI) or to their own contact groups.
Each topic goes to a working group, usually chaired by two diplomats: one from a richer country, one from a poorer one. Most of the real talking happens here, often behind closed doors.Co-facilitators run open contact groups and closed informal consultations ("informals" and "informal informals"). Observers can attend only some of them.
The two chairs write a draft deal. Every word countries still disagree on goes in []. A first draft can have dozens of them.Co-facilitators issue informal notes, then draft conclusions or draft decisions. Bracketed text and numbered options show what is unresolved.
The technical groups have to hand over what they managed. Whatever is settled moves on; whatever is not is either postponed or passed up.The Subsidiary Bodies adopt conclusions and forward draft decisions to the COP or CMA. Items not concluded fall under rule 16 and move to the next session.
Ministers take over the hardest questions. The host pairs two ministers to broker each one, and leaders of country groups meet late into the night.The Presidency appoints pairs of ministers to consult on outstanding issues and may issue Presidency texts. At COP31 Türkiye holds the Presidency and Australia leads the negotiations.
All countries meet in one big room. If no one objects, the President bangs the gavel and it is official. It nearly always happens after the scheduled end.Decisions are adopted by consensus, meaning no formal objection, as the rules of procedure on voting were never adopted. Adoption is marked by the gavel.