Mastering International Climate Negotiations: All You Need to Know

Climate change negotiations at the international level can often be complex and overwhelming to understand due to the nature of the climate crisis, the scientific jargon, and the geopolitics involved. In an effort to simplify the theory behind the thematic areas of negotiations and make it more accessible, particularly to those new to the space, UN CC:Learn and UN Climate Change (UNFCCC), in collaboration with the COP28 UAE Presidency Youth Climate Champion, have created this series of video based lessons that break down the thematic areas of the UNFCCC process and the implementation of the Convention and the Paris Agreement.

A central goal of the COP28 Youth Climate Champion strategy has been to empower young people with freely available capacity-building and education opportunities so that all can meaningfully participate in the UNFCCC process on a level playing field. Through this course, with skillfully curated content provided by experts in the UNFCCC Secretariat, you can learn about the key topics, expected activities and outcomes of the COP process – all in an engaging, interactive format!

The course contains knowledge checks within each lesson to strengthen the learner’s understanding of the content.

A final assessment will be available at the end of the course. A certificate of completion is awarded to learners who complete:

All videos, interactive lessons, and activities;
Final quiz with a 70% or higher score within three attempts;

Download Syllabus

Target Audience

The course is primarily designed to build capacities of delegates, particularly youth negotiators, youth-led and youth-focused organizations in the climate negotiation space as well as anyone else interested in learning more about the thematic areas in international climate negotiations.

Learning Objectives

This course features video-based lessons that aim to provide participants with knowledge on the various thematic topics under the UNFCCC climate negotiations, with resource materials to supplement the content for additional reading.

By the end of the course, participants will be able to:

Describe the international climate negotiation process and institutional structure under the UNFCCC;
Discuss the rationale, key provisions and activities within the various thematic areas of negotiation under the UNFCCC;
Explain expected key issues and activities taking place at COP291;
Identify how to engage in climate policymaking processes at national and international levels across different thematic areas;
Navigate the UNFCCC website and find information on specific UNFCCC processes.