This story was updated on 1 November 2019

On 30 October, the President of Chile, Sebastián Piñera, announced the Government of Chile’s decision not to host the 2019 UN Climate Change Conference, “taking into consideration the difficult circumstances in the country.” The Santiago Climate Change Conference was scheduled to take place from 2-13 December 2019, in Santiago, Chile.

In addition to 25th session of the the Conference of the Parties (COP 25), the 15th session of the COP serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP 15), the second session of the COP serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA 2), and the 51st sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI 51) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA 51) were expected to convene in the Chilean capital.

The announcement came fewer than five weeks before the scheduled opening of the Conference. On 1 November, the UNFCCC announced that the Bureau of the COP had accepted the proposal from the Government of Chile, as incoming COP Presidency, to hold COP 25 in Madrid, Spain, “following the generous offer” from the Government of Spain.

The Climate Change Conference is the main climate event of the year. Momentum for COP 25 has been building throughout 2019, notably at the UN Secretary-General’s Climate Action Summit, which sought to “mobilize political and economic energy at the highest levels to advance climate action” and catalyze ambition.

In 2020, countries are expected to submit their revised Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and long-term low-emission development strategies to the UNFCCC. COP 25 is scheduled to take stock of climate action implementation and ambition before 2020. Negotiations on issues relating to Paris Agreement Article 6 (cooperative approaches), including the unresolved elements of the Paris Agreement Work Programme (PAWP) such as a market mechanism and a non-market mechanism, outstanding since COP 24, are expected to conclude in Madrid. Parties are also expected to provide guidance to financial bodies, such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF) and the Global Environment Facility (GEF) as they relate to the Paris Agreement. [UNFCCC Notification on Santiago Climate Change Conference] [UNFCCC Statement on COP 25] [UNFCCC Notification on Change of Venue to Madrid] [SDG Knowledge Hub Story on Agendas for Santiago Climate Change Conference]