UNITED NATIONS
FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE
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The United Nations Framework Convention on
Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) is
an international environmental treaty
negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from
June 3 to 14, 1992.
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The objective of the treaty is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in
the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic
interference with the climate system."
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The treaty itself set no binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual
countries and contains no enforcement
mechanisms. In that sense, the treaty is considered legally non-binding.
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Instead, the treaty provides a framework for negotiating specific
international treaties (called "protocols") that may set binding
limits on greenhouse gases.
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The UNFCCC was opened for signature on May 9,
1992. It entered into force on March 21,
1994. As of May 2011, UNFCCC has 194 parties.
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The
parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the
Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change.
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In 1997,
the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally binding
obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
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One of the first tasks set by the UNFCCC was for
signatory nations to establish national greenhouse gas inventories of
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, which were used to create the 1990 benchmark levels for
accession of Annex I countries to the Kyoto Protocol and for the commitment
of those countries to GHG reductions. Updated inventories must be regularly
submitted by Annex I countries.
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Since the UNFCCC entered into force, the parties
have been meeting annually in
Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate
change, and beginning in the mid-1990s, to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol to
establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their
greenhouse gas emissions.
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From 2005
the Conferences have met in conjunction with Meetings of Parties of the Kyoto
Protocol (MOP), and parties to the Convention that are not parties to the
Protocol can participate in Protocol-related meetings as observers.
1995: COP 1, The Berlin Mandate
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The first UNFCCC Conference of Parties took
place in 1995 in Berlin, Germany.
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It voiced concerns
about the adequacy of countries' abilities to meet commitments under the
Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body
for Implementation (SBI).
1996: COP 2, Geneva, Switzerland
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Its Ministerial Declaration was noted (but not
adopted) July 18, 1996.
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It accepted
the scientific findings on climate change proffered by the Intergovernmental
Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its second assessment (1995);
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It rejected uniform "harmonized
policies" in favor of flexibility;
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It called for "legally binding mid-term targets".
1997: COP 3, The Kyoto Protocol on
Climate Change
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After intensive negotiations at Kyoto, Japan, it
adopted the Kyoto Protocol, which outlined the greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligation for Annex I countries,
along with what came to be known as Kyoto
mechanisms such as emissions trading, clean development mechanism and joint
implementation.
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Most industrialized countries and some central
European economies in transition (all defined as Annex B countries) agreed to
legally binding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of an average of 6 to 8%
below 1990 levels between the years 2008–2012,
defined as the first emissions budget period.
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The
United States would be required to reduce its total emissions an average of 7%
below 1990 levels; however Congress did not ratify the treaty after Clinton
signed it. The Bush administration explicitly rejected the protocol in 2001.
1998: COP 4, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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It had been expected
that the remaining issues unresolved in Kyoto would be finalized at this
meeting.
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However, the complexity and difficulty of
finding agreement on these issues proved insurmountable, and instead the parties adopted a 2-year "Plan of
Action" to advance efforts and to devise mechanisms for implementing the
Kyoto Protocol, to be completed by 2000.
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During COP4, Argentina and Kazakhstan expressed their commitment to take on the
greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligation, the first two non-Annex
countries to do so.
1999: COP 5, Bonn, Germany
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It was primarily a technical meeting, and did
not reach major conclusions.
2000: COP 6, The Hague, Netherlands
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The discussions evolved rapidly into a
high-level negotiation over the major political issues.
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These included major controversy over the United States' proposal to allow credit for
carbon "sinks" in forests and agricultural lands, satisfying a major
proportion of the U.S. emissions reductions in this way; disagreements over consequences for
non-compliance by countries that did not meet their emission reduction targets;
and difficulties in resolving how developing countries could obtain financial
assistance to deal with adverse effects of climate change and meet their
obligations to plan for measuring and possibly reducing greenhouse gas
emissions.
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In the final hours of COP 6, despite some compromises agreed between the United
States and some EU countries, notably the United Kingdom, the EU countries
as a whole, led by Denmark and Germany, rejected
the compromise positions, and the talks
in The Hague collapsed.
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Jan Pronk, the President of COP 6, suspended
COP-6 without agreement, with the expectation that negotiations would later
resume.
2001:
COP 6, Bonn, Germany
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United States delegation to this meeting
declined to participate in the negotiations related to the Protocol and chose
to take the role of observer at the meeting.
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As the other parties negotiated the key issues,
agreement was reached on most of the major political issues, to the surprise of
most observers, given the low expectations that preceded the meeting.
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The agreements included:
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Flexible
Mechanisms:
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The "flexibility" mechanisms which the
United States had strongly favored when the Protocol was initially put
together, including emissions trading;
Joint Implementation (JI); and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which
allow industrialized countries to fund emissions reduction activities in
developing countries as an alternative to domestic emission reductions. One of
the key elements of this agreement was that there would be no quantitative limit on the credit a country could claim from use of
these mechanisms provided domestic action constituted a significant element
of the efforts of each Annex B country to meet their targets.
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Carbon
sinks:
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It was agreed that credit would be granted for broad activities that absorb carbon from the
atmosphere or store it, including forest and cropland management, and
re-vegetation, with no over-all cap on the amount of credit that a country
could claim for sinks activities.
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In the case of forest management, an Appendix Z
establishes country-specific caps for each Annex I country.
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For
cropland management, countries could receive credit only for carbon
sequestration increases above 1990 levels.
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Compliance:
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Final action on compliance procedures and
mechanisms that would address non-compliance with Protocol provisions was
deferred to COP 7, but included broad
outlines of consequences for failing to meet emissions targets that would
include a requirement to "make up" shortfalls at 1.3 tons to 1,
suspension of the right to sell credits for surplus emissions reductions, and a
required compliance action plan for those not meeting their targets.
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Financing:
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There was agreement on the establishment of three new funds to provide assistance for needs
associated with climate change:
(1) a fund for climate change that supports a series of climate measures;
(2) a least-developed-country fund to support National Adaptation
Programs of Action; and
(3) a Kyoto
Protocol adaptation fund supported by a CDM levy and voluntary
contributions.
2001: COP 7, Marrakech, Morocco
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Negotiators
wrapped up the work on the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, finalizing most of the
operational details and setting the stage for nations to ratify the Kyoto
Protocol.
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The completed package of decisions is known as
the Marrakech Accords.
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The United States delegation maintained its
observer role, declining to participate actively in the negotiations.
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The date of the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (August–September 2002) was put forward as a target to bring the
Kyoto Protocol into force. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD)
was to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.
2002:
COP 8, New Delhi, India
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Taking place from October 23 to November 1,
2002, in New Delhi COP 8 adopted the Delhi
Ministerial Declaration that, amongst others, called for efforts by developed countries to transfer technology
and minimize the impact of climate change on developing countries.
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The COP8 was marked by Russia's hesitation,
stating that the government needs more time to think it over.
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The Kyoto Protocol's fine print says it can come
into force only once it is ratified by 55 countries, including wealthy nations
responsible for 55 per cent of the developed world's 1990 carbon dioxide
emissions.
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With the United
States (and its 36.1 per cent slice of developed-world carbon dioxide) out
of the picture and Australia also refusing
ratification, Russia was required to make up the difference; hence, it
could delay the process.
2003: COP 9, Milan, Italy
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The parties agreed to use the Adaptation Fund
established at COP7 in 2001 primarily in supporting developing countries better
adapt to climate change. The fund would also be used for capacity-building
through technology transfer.
2004: COP 10, Buenos Aires, Argentina
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To promote developing countries better adapt to
climate change, the Buenos Aires Plan of Action was adopted.
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The parties also began discussing the post-Kyoto
mechanism, on how to allocate emission reduction obligation following 2012,
when the first commitment period ends.
2005: COP 11/MOP 1, Montreal, Canada
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It was the first
Meeting of the Parties (MOP-1) to the Kyoto Protocol since their initial
meeting in Kyoto in 1997.
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The event marked the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol.
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The Montreal Action Plan is an agreement
hammered out at the end of the conference to "extend the life of the Kyoto
Protocol beyond its 2012 expiration date and negotiate deeper cuts in greenhouse-gas
emissions".
2006: COP 12/MOP 2, Nairobi, Kenya
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The parties adopted a five-year plan of work to
support climate change adaptation by developing countries, and agreed on the
procedures and modalities for the Adaptation Fund.
2007:
COP 13/MOP 3, Bali, Indonesia
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Agreement
on a timeline and structured negotiation on the post-2012 framework (the end of
the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol) was achieved with the
adoption of the Bali Action Plan.
2008:
COP 14/MOP 4, Poznań, Poland
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Delegates agreed on principles for the financing
of a fund to help the poorest nations cope with the effects of climate change
and they approved a mechanism to incorporate forest protection into the efforts
of the international community to combat climate change.
2009:
COP 15/MOP 5, Copenhagen, Denmark
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The overall goal for the COP 15/MOP 5 United
Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark was to establish an ambitious
global climate agreement for the period from 2012 when the first commitment
period under the Kyoto Protocol expires.
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The conference did not achieve a binding
agreement for long-term action. A 13-paragraph 'political accord' was
negotiated by approximately 25 parties including US and China, but it was only
'noted' by the COP as it is considered an external document, not negotiated
within the UNFCCC process.
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The accord was notable in that it referred to a
collective commitment by developed countries for new and additional resources,
including forestry and investments through international institutions, that will
approach USD 30 billion for the period 2010–2012.
2010:
COP 16/MOP 6, Cancún, Mexico
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The 2010 Cancún agreements state that future global warming should be limited to
below 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) relative to the pre-industrial level, recognizing the
IPCC Fourth Assessment Report goal.
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It
was concluded that the base year shall be 1990 and the global warming
potentials shall be those provided by the IPCC.
2011: COP 17/MOP 7, Durban, South Africa
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The conference agreed to a legally binding deal
comprising all countries, which will be prepared by 2015, and to take effect in
2020.
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There was also progress regarding the creation of a Green Climate Fund
(GCF) for which a management framework was adopted. The fund is to distribute US$100 billion per year to help
poor countries adapt to climate impacts.
2012: COP 18/MOP 8, Doha, Qatar
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The Conference produced a package of documents
collectively titled The Doha Climate
Gateway over objections from Russia and other countries at the session.
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The documents collectively contained:
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An eight
year extension of the Kyoto Protocol until 2020 limited in scope to only 15% of
the global carbon dioxide emissions due to the lack of participation of Canada,
Japan, Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, New Zealand nor the United States and due
to the fact that developing countries
like China (the world's largest emitter), India and Brazil are not subject to
any emissions reductions under the Kyoto Protocol.
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Language on loss and damage, formalized for the
first time in the conference documents.
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The conference made little progress towards the funding of the Green Climate Fund.
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Russia, Belarus and Ukraine objected at the end
of the session, as they have a right to, under the session's rules.
