The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) secretariat is working with the Government of Chile and the Government of Spain to make the necessary arrangements for the UN Climate Change Conference - December 2019.
Please also see the notifications page, including the Message to Parties and Observer Organizations dated 7 November 2019, regarding updates.
Additional information will be posted here as it becomes available - please check back regularly.
The Government of the Kingdom of Spain has appointed Bco Congresos as the Official Housing Bureau for the United Nations Climate Change Conference to be held in IFEMA-Madrid from 2 to 13 December 2019.
The Government further informed that as local experts, Bco Congresos has contracted well-located business standard hotels with the best rates available to accommodate participants in selecting establishments with availability over the entire conference dates.
Bco Congresos will block a large contingency of rooms in multiple categories until 29 November 2019 and will manage incoming requests on a first-come, first- served basis. After the above-mentioned deadline, all requests will be handled upon availability.
Participants requiring hotel reservations for up to 4 rooms should please visit the following link: https://accommodation.bcocongresos.com/hotels/congress/cop25
Participants who will require more than 4 rooms or have special queries regarding hotel reservations, should contact Bco Congresos using the following email: cop25madrid@bcocongresos.com
The secretariat encourages participants who will require assistance in booking their hotels to contact Bco Congresos as soon as possible.
Refunds for Santiago
Notifications on providing information regarding difficulties in procuring refunds for accommodation booked in Santiago were sent to the national focal points of Parties and observer States and to admitted observer designated contact points.
Information on banking arrangements will be provided in due course.
The following catering arrangements for the conference have been made:
Mónico will deliver catering to the North Convention Centre, meeting rooms in Hall 09 and Hall 10 (mezzanine level). The contact persons are Ms. Anabel Paredes, anabel.paredes@grupomonico.com, and Ms. Lorena Ramírez Hernández, lorena.ramirez@ifema.es. For receptions/warm plates, please contact Ms. Anabel Paredes and Ms. Lorena Ramírez Hernández.
Please register on the Mónico website to directly place your catering orders for deliveries within the COP 25 venue:
http://grupomonico.com/tienda/en
Password: MONICO
Details on the catering services can be found here. A product brochure can be found here.
Eurest will deliver catering to Hall 04, Hall 06 and Hall 08. The contact persons are Ms. Laura Berrocal Contreras, laura.berrocal@eurest.es, and Ms. Lorena Ramírez Hernández, lorena.ramirez@ifema.es. For receptions/warm plates, please contact Ms. Laura Berrocal Contreras and Ms. Lorena Ramírez Hernández.
Please register on the Eurest website to directly place your catering orders for deliveries within the COP 25 venue:
http://compraonline.eurestserviciosferiales.es/en/
Password: COP25
Details on the company and the catering services can be found here.
Details on the opening hours of the restaurants, cafeterias and food court during the pre-sessional period can be found here and during COP 25 here.
UNFCCC conferences, meetings and events should be professional, respectful and harassment-free environments for all participants. Harassment in any form, including sexual harassment, will not be tolerated. All participants are expected to conduct themselves in a professional and appropriate manner.
The Code of Conduct is available here and contains detailed information on prohibited conduct, complaint and investigation processes as well as possible consequences in case of misbehavior.
We encourage reporting of any incident directly to a badged UN Department of Safety and Security (UNDSS) officer at any time during the conference.
Further guidelines for participants
Use of the UNFCCC logo requires written authorization from the UNFCCC secretariat. Please find further information here.
The Shipping guidelines are available here.
Only one set of credentials is necessary to cover the participation of concerned Parties in the Conference of the Parties, the Kyoto Protocol and Paris Agreement.
All information on credentials is included in Annex III (page 14) of the message to Parties that was sent to all Parties and observer States on 9 October 2019.
In view of the Bureau meeting’s decision of 1 November 2019 to have the Conference hosted in Madrid on the same dates as previously decided, the credentials submitted by Parties for the Conference to be held in Santiago de Chile, Chile apply mutatis mutandis to the new venue, i.e. Madrid, Spain, and there is no need to have them updated unless the concerned delegation wishes to do so as per its internal procedure/practice.
The Daily Programme will be available each morning during the conference in electronic form on the official conference website.
Electronic versions of official and draft documents will be published on the UNFCCC website and on the session web pages as they become available.
Participants are encouraged to rely on electronic versions of documents as much as possible in order to make use of links within documents and save paper.
A tweet is sent out when a new official document or a relevant new version of a draft text is posted to the website. The Twitter account is In-session documents, with the handle @UNFCCCDocuments.
Documents are also accessible from the UN Climate Change app.
More information on how to locate documents on the UNFCCC website can be obtained from the documents counter in the venue.
Documents counter opening hours
Monday, 2 December to Friday, 13 December: 09:00 – 19:00 hrs
Disclaimer
Participants are strongly advised to obtain comprehensive international medical insurance for the duration of their stay. The United Nations and the UNFCCC secretariat disclaim all responsibility for medical, accident and travel insurance, for compensation for death or disability, for loss of or damage to personal property and for any other costs or losses that may be incurred during travel or the period of participation.
In the interests of the security and safety of all participants and the smooth running of the sessions, the UNFCCC secretariat reserves the right to deny and/or restrict access to the conference premises, or to request participants to leave the premises. The UNFCCC secretariat shall not be responsible for any expenses incurred by participants who are requested to leave the premises or refused registration or access to the sessions for which they have been nominated and/or registered as participants.
Non-smoking policy
Smoking is not allowed inside the conference premises. Designated smoking areas are available outside.
The high-level segment of COP 25/CMP 15/CMA 2 will be held in two parts.
First part
The delivery of national statements from Heads of State and Government during the high-level segment will be on Monday, 2 December 2019. A message to Parties regarding the first part of the high-level segment was communicated to all Parties on 15 November 2019.
The speakers list for the first part of the high-level segment is open for registration until Thursday, 28 November 2019 and is limited to Heads of State and Government.
The high-level segment will be open to all Parties and observer States, United Nations organizations and intergovernmental organizations and will be broadcast via live webcast and social media channels. A limited number of other observer organizations will be able to attend the event.
The opening ceremony of the high-level segment will be presided over by officials from the host country and the United Nations.
Second part
The high-level segment will resume at the ministerial level on Tuesday, 10 December 2019 and Wednesday, 11 December 2019 with ministers and heads of delegation delivering national statements for those Parties that did not deliver a statement on 2 December 2019.
The registration for the speakers list for the second part of the high-level segment closed on 15 November 2019.
Preliminary information on the high-level segment, including the registration form for Parties and observer States, can be found in Annex IV (page 15) of the message to Parties that was sent to all Parties and observer States on 9 October 2019.
Observer statements are foreseen.
Admitted IGOs: Designated Contact Points of registered IGOs have been informed of the registration procedure by email. Please note that speaking slots are for the head of organization only and cannot be delegated.
Admitted NGOs: High-level segment intervention opportunities are communicated by the secretariat to the Constituency Focal Points. NGO constituency members are encouraged to work with the Constituency Focal Points to develop statements.
If you require further information regarding the observer part of the high-level segment, please contact cool@unfccc.int.
Please also see the press release with an information update on Chile COP 25 (published on 5 November).
Meeting rooms can be booked by Parties and observer organizations free of charge and are available from 08:00 to 21:00 hrs, daily during the conference, starting on Monday, 2 December.
Meeting room requests may be submitted for a maximum duration of one hour per day per Party, regional group or observer organization (United Nations, intergovernmental organization or non-governmental organization).
Meeting rooms cannot be booked for side events. If you plan to organize a side event, please refer to the Side Events and Exhibits Online Registration System (SEORS) for further information.
MRA forms can be downloaded here and may be sent by email to meetingrequest@unfccc.int. The MRA team will track your request and issue notifications/confirmation by the last week of November.
As of 2 December 2019, (the official start of COP 25), MRA forms will no longer be accepted by email and should instead be submitted in paper format at the MRA counter. The availability and location of your meeting room will be confirmed in the evening of the day before your meeting at the MRA counter. Once confirmed, it is advisable to frequently check your email inbox for potential changes to your confirmed meeting booking.
MRA counter opening hours
Sunday, 1 December to Friday, 13 December: 08:00 - 20:00 hrs
Meeting Room Assignment (MRA) Policy
- Rooms are assigned for a maximum of one hour only per Party/ organization, free of charge;
- As meetings are booked back to back, please ensure that your meeting concludes on time;
- Meeting room reservations are made on a provisional basis and their final confirmation depends on the demands of the negotiating process, which takes priority;
- If all meeting rooms are in use for a closed daily meeting and the size and layout of the meeting room you have booked match the requirements for informal consultations, a meeting of a contact group or other negotiation meeting that urgently need to take place, the secretariat may request that you vacate the room in which you are holding your meeting at short notice. Therefore, please indicate on the request form clearly your contact details, including an email address and mobile telephone number, so that the MRA team may contact you right away and assist in finding an alternative solution;
- Food and beverages are not permitted inside the meeting rooms.
Note: It is not foreseen that the change of venue from Santiago to Madrid affects the meeting room assignment (including the requests already submitted).
Please find general information on participation and engagement of observer organizations and other non-Party stakeholders here. See also the section on registration.
Efforts are being made by the Governments of Spain and Chile and the secretariat to ensure that as many observer organization representatives as possible can take part in the conference.
Please also see the information on the participation of Spanish NGOs at COP 25.
Please see the Letter of Commitment from GL events. Organizers are advised to directly liaise with their established contacts at GL events Exhibitions Chile.
The pre-sessional period remains as planned (from 25 November to 1 December), with the preparatory meetings of regional groups from 25 November to 30 November.
Most of the pre-session and in-session events originally planned to be held in Santiago are already confirmed to be held in Madrid. If an event originally planned for Santiago cannot be held in Madrid, specific information will be communicated. Please note, that the event planned for Heads of State and Government on 1 December by the Government of Chile has been cancelled.
Change of location of the Conference to Madrid
Registration for the conference continues to be managed through the Online Registration System (ORS) as usual. Please note however, that in order to help NGOs organize their delegations, as a first step, all registration confirmations of NGOs have been cancelled in the ORS and NGOs are expected to reconfirm their delegates. Further information for NGOs is available here.
Parties and observer States do not need to reconfirm their delegations. National Focal Points and Designated Contact Points have been informed accordingly.
All formalities regarding registration, including issuance of badges to duly nominated participants to attend the sessions, are free of charge.
Who can register
Parties to the Convention, United Nations and related organizations and agencies, media and non-profit organizations with observer status may register to attend the sessions of the Convention. More information on options for participation is available here.
How to register
Registration for the conference is managed through the UNFCCC Online Registration System (ORS).
The Notification regarding COP 25 registration for Parties and observer States as well as for admitted intergovernmental organizations and non-governmental organizations has been issued on 28 June 2019. The Notifications are available here.
Multiple registration for the conference is not permitted (i.e. registration as an observer organization representative and a Party or State representative and/or press/media representative).
Please note that there is no online registration system for United Nations organizations. Procedures on how to register delegations from United Nations organizations will be included in the communication to Heads of UN Agencies regarding COP 25.
How to collect your conference badge
To be issued a conference badge, all participants must be duly registered as indicated in the section “How to register” above.
Upon arrival at the venue for the first time, you will be requested to proceed to the registration desk to collect your badge for access to the conference premises. The acknowledgement letter for the participant’s nomination, available upon confirmation in the online registration system, and a valid passport or a nationally approved identification card should be presented to the registration staff for the issuance of your badge.
For subsequent visits to the venue, once you have a badge, you may access the venue directly through security, without stopping at the registration desk.
Once the badge has been activated, the record cannot be deleted from the database.
Registration desk opening hours
From Friday, 29 November to Friday, 13 December: 08:00 – 19:00 hrs
The conference venue, including registration, will be closed on Sunday, 8 December.
Early registration, before Monday, 2 December, is highly recommended to avoid delays on the first day of the conference.
Every effort is being made to maintain the scope of exhibition spaces and events as planned. The final list of side events and exhibits will be adjusted to the available space at the venue and confirmation by organizers.
Please find further information on side events and exhibits here.
Public transit will be the main mode of transport to and from the venue. The stop Feria de Madrid on metro line 8 is steps away from the venue. Metro line 8 also goes to the Barajas airport.
Public transit can be easily accessed from most hotels in the area. The Government of Spain is exploring transport options for accommodation for which that is not the case.
Please find further information on transport here.
Discount offer for the Spanish railway network
Please find below information concerning a discount offer that may be used on the Spanish railway network.
Participants and visitors are entitled to a discount of 35% off the train fare on national routes, in line with the terms and conditions contained in the voucher.
For online sales help, Renfe can be contacted at +34 91 919 05 04.
In addition, please find here the link of the English tutorial in order to facilitate the purchase of the tickets.
Should you have any queries concerning this offer please contact www.renfe.com.
Opening hours
Friday, 29 November to Friday, 13 December: 08:00 – 19:00 hrs
The conference will be held at IFEMA - Feria de Madrid, Avda. del Partenón, 5, 28042 Madrid, Spain.
Further information on the venue is available here.
Information about virtual participation via webcast, social media and the mobile app.
All foreign delegates entering the Kingdom of Spain must have a valid passport. Participants requiring a visa are strongly encouraged to contact the appropriate consular authorities as soon as possible. The issuance of a visa for Schengen States may take up to two weeks from the date of submission of the visa application.
To facilitate the issuance of a visa, Participants who have already registered and confirmed can download the Acknowledgement of Participant's Nomination / UNFCCC visa support letter from the Online Registration System (ORS). The letter indicates the location of the Conference.
All participants with Acknowledgement of Participant's Nomination / UNFCCC visa support letter from the ORS can apply directly, without previous appointment at Spanish embassies and consulates. Please note that the letter must be attached to the application.
The list of Spanish embassies and consulates and their contact details can be obtained at:
http://www.exteriores.gob.es/Portal/en/ServiciosAlCiudadano/Paginas/EmbajadasConsulados.aspx.
For countries without Spanish embassies and consulates please see the following list with representations provided by the Government of the Kingdom of Spain.
For participants who are funded by the UNFCCC and who do not have Spanish representation in their countries, the secretariat will make the necessary arrangements for travel via countries that have a Spanish Embassy or Consulate in order to facilitate visa application. The embassy will make every effort to fast track visa issuance.
Given the short time available, the secretariat strongly encourages participants to submit their respective application immediately after they obtain the letter of confirmation.