Spain offers to host COP25 in Madrid following the withdrawal of the Chilean Government

The Government of Spain offers to host COP25 in Madrid in December, following the announcement by the Chilean Government that they are no longer able to host.

On Wednesday, the Government of Chile announced that they could no longer host COP25 in view of the difficult situation that the country is undergoing.

Growing unrest saw Chilean President Sebastián Piñera declare a state of emergency in Santiago on the 19th of October. This has since been extended to subsequent cities.

Patricia Espinosa, UN Climate Change Executive Secretary, published a statement on the UNFCCC website: “Earlier today, I was informed of the decision by the Government of Chile not to host COP25 in view of the difficult situation that the country is undergoing. We are currently exploring alternative hosting options.”

The Conference of the Parties (COP), organised by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), takes place each year to review the national communications and emissions inventories submitted by the Parties.

On Thursday, the UNFCCC announced that the Government of Chile received a generous offer of support from the Government of Spain to host COP25 in Madrid on the same dates as originally planned.

Patricia Espinosa commented on Spain’s announcement: “We are hopeful that the COP Bureau can consider this proposed solution as soon as possible. It is encouraging to see countries working together in the spirit of multilateralism to address climate change, the biggest challenge facing this and future generations.”

For direct updates from the UNFCCC click here.

For the latest information on the Sustainable Innovation Forum, which will run alongside COP25, please see the website.