The mission of the UNFCCC Records Management Team is to manage and preserve the institutional memory of the UNFCCC secretariat and the history and legacy of the UNFCCC intergovernmental negotiation processes on climate change, specifically the Conference of the Parties (COP), the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP), the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA), and their subsidiary bodies .

The UNFCCC secretariat is mandated to: arrange for the custody and preservation of the documents of the sessions; and make and arrange for the keeping of sound recordings of the sessions of the COP, and whenever possible of the SBs in accordance with the practice of the United Nations (see Draft Rules of Procedure of the Conference of the Parties and its Subsidiary Bodies, rule 29 and 57, FCCC/CP/1996/2).

The UNFCCC Records Management Team is responsible for managing and preserving the audio and video recordings of the sessions of the COP, CMP, CMA and SB, providing access to these recordings in a timely and efficient manner in accordance with the UNFCCC Policy for Records and Archives and the UNFCCC Policy on Information Sensitivity, Classification and Handling.

The UNFCCC Audiovisual Archives contains a significant collection of audio and video recordings, in both analogue and digital format, of the meetings proceedings of the Conferences of Parties and the Subsidiary Bodies, the press conferences (at the COP and SB sessions) of COP Presidents, UN Secretary Generals, Parties, IGOs, NGOs, UNFCCC Secretariat and the special events relating to climate change issues. There are over 10,000 hours of audio recordings and over 3,000 hours of video recordings. In early 2012, the Records Management Team commenced with a digitization project  to preserve the audiovisual recordings stored on vulnerable media and in obsolete formats. As a result, there are now over 8,000 high-quality digital versions of early analogue audiovisual recordings to be made available to the public upon request. Additionally, since COP19 all audiovisual records are born-digital.

Please find here the detailed list of the video and audio recordings available at the UNFCCC Audiovisual Archives.

The UNFCCC audiovisual materials are the property of the UNFCCC secretariat. The copyright of these audiovisual materials is owned by the UNFCCC. High-resolution copies of audiovisual materials provided by the UNFCCC Records Management Team may be used to further the aims and works of the United Nations. These recordings are not in the public domain and cannot be used for commercial purposes, such as advertising or marketing. We encourage the use of UNFCCC audiovisual materials for non-commercial use, such as educational, editorial and documentary projects.

High-resolution copies of audiovisual materials held by the UNFCCC Records Management Team are predominantly recordings in audio and/or video of the COP and SB sessions. These recordings are produced for the UNFCCC by the broadcast companies hired by the host countries under the UNFCCC host country agreements or the media production companies under vendor contracts.

The UNFCCC Records Management Team is committed to making the audiovisual materials in its holdings available to UNFCCC staff, the United Nations family organizations, UN family organizations, as well as the larger international community of media companies, governmental bodies, non-governmental organizations, and researchers among others, without any unwarranted restrictions as to their use.

Requests for copies of audiovisual materials held by the UNFCCC Audiovisual Archives are handled by the Records Management Team. Requests require the completion of the “Audiovisual Materials External Request Form” and submission via email to the Records Management Team rm-team@unfccc.int prior to receiving audiovisual materials.

SECURITY RESTRICTIONS

There is a possibility that access to audiovisual materials in the UNFCCC Audiovisual Archives is restricted to internal-use only for a specific duration. The UNFCCC Records Management Team will communicate these restrictions at the time of request.

PRESERVATION OF HOLDINGS

The reproduction of audiovisual materials by UNFCCC Records Management Team will be undertaken on the condition that the activity will not damage or increase the likelihood of damage to audiovisual materials in the UNFCCC holdings. The Records Management team may prohibit reproduction or limit the types of methods of reproduction based on concerns related to the preservation of audiovisual materials in its holdings.

Click on link to download external request form. Please email completed form to the UNCCC Records Management Team at: rm-team@unfccc.int.