The Paris Agreement has near universal participation and offers flexibility in implementation. It is the best, and only, way of harnessing global action and cooperation to mitigate the worst impacts of climate change. Membership in the Paris Agreement and climate action supports the economy, trade, and the sustainability credentials which underpin New Zealand’s export offerings.
How New Zealand engages in international climate change negotiations is set out in its negotiating mandate.
The annual UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties (COP) is the decision-making meeting for the Paris Agreement, Kyoto Protocol, and United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. New Zealand’s participation in these meetings is led by the Minister of Climate Change.
COP is increasingly becoming a platform for countries, NGOs, businesses, youth, and indigenous organisations to run side initiatives and events that seek to influence the global rules, and to showcase world-leading climate action, clean tech businesses, and innovative transition tools. In recent years, COPs have had 40,000-100,000 participants, with around 75% being civil society and business representatives and 25% being government negotiators.
New Zealand enables access to the COP for New Zealanders. A number of New Zealanders, including businesses, NGOs, researchers, and media, attended COP29 on Party overflow badges in 2024, including as observers. Applications for access to the next COP (COP30 in Belém, Brazil from 10-21 November 2025) are now open. Click here for more information.
Climate finance
At COP29 in 2024, countries agreed a new global climate finance goal, committing to deliver at least US$300 billion annually for developing countries climate action by 2035. Developed countries (including New Zealand) agreed to take the lead in meeting this target with countries determining their own contributions to the goal. This goal replaced the previous collective goal of US$100 billion/ annum set in 2009 and reiterated alongside the Paris Agreement in 2015. The new goal agreed at COP29 also includes a larger target, calling on all actors to work towards mobilising US$1.3 trillion in international climate finance by 2035.
In 2021 New Zealand committed to spending $1.3bn in grant-based climate finance between 2022 and 2025. Recognising the impact of climate change on the Pacific region and the desire to support efforts to build resilience, more than half of this commitment is supporting Pacific countries, and more than half is supporting countries to adapt to climate change. New Zealand also provides significant funding to support countries in South East Asia reduce emissions and adapt to climate change impacts. Information on how the Ministry is meeting this commitment can be found at Climate change support.