1. United Nations – Framework
Convention for Climate Change
Jada Garofalo
C2C Fellows Program Assistant
BCEP Class of 2014
2. • The Problems: Climate Change, a transboundary issue
• Global warming result of decades of industrialization activities of wealthy
developed countries
• Around 75% of global carbon emissions had been caused by the developed
countries (the “Annex 1 Countries” of the Kyoto Protocol)
• Annex 1 countries responsible to cut back carbon emissions, and to provide
assistance to non Annex 1 to sustainably develop and mitigate suffering from
the adverse impacts of climate change
• This is referred to as the historical debt of industrialized countries to the rest
of the world
• Discussions have been rife with dissent and progress has been slow
• “If not us, then who? If not now, then when? ...”
3. • Attaining Agenda Status:
• 1950’s World Meteorological Organization (WMO) was created by the UN (1951) to
establish climate as a global issue and monitor climate change
• 1960’s Keeling Curve offered striking visual demonstration of carbon emissions
• 1970’s further pursuit of environmental research motivated the formation of the National
Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration (NOAA)-study the conditions of oceans and
atmosphere
• 1972 UN Environmental Program (UNEP), which worked to create environmental policies
• 1979: First World Climate Conference formed (WCC)
• Establishing climate as a global issue
• 1988: Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change formed (IPCC)
• 1990: IPCC- first assessment report released
• IPCC and second World Climate Conference call for a global treaty on climate
change
• United Nations General Assembly negotiations on a framework convention begin
• Agenda Status Established
4. • Launched by UN General Assembly
• Negotiations began 1990
• Run by Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC)
• Negotiations lasted15 months
• 1991: Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee formed (INC)
• Adopted May 9, 1992
• Opened for signature June 1992 - UN Conference on Environment and
Development - Rio de Janeiro, Brazil
• Entered into force March 21, 1994
• Requisite 50 ratifications
5. • Member countries: called parties hold annual meetings called
Conferences of the Parties (COP)
• Since 2005 the COP are held in combination with the Meetings of Parties
(MOP) of the Kyoto Protocol
• UNFCCC parties who are not parties to the Kyoto Protocol can participate in
the MOP as observers
• Routine work: Conference of the Parties (COP)
• Parties negotiate to make decisions to advance implementation via subsidiary
bodies
• Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA)
• Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI)
6. • COP 1: 1995: Berlin, Germany
• First meeting of the COP
• COP 2: 1996: Geneva, Switzerland
• Call for “legally binding mid-term targets”
• COP 3: 1997: Kyoto
• Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change
• COP 4: 1998: Buenos Aires, Argentina
• 2-year “plan of action” to advance efforts and devise mechanisms for implementation
of Kyoto Protocol
• COP 5: 1999: Bonn, Germany
• Agreement includes a provision on Carbon sinks- credits granted for activities that
absorb carbon or store it including management of forest and agriculture land as well
as re-vegetation/re-forestation
• Agreement to establish three new funds:
• 1. Fund for Climate change supporting series of climate measures
• 2. Least developed country fund to support National Adaptation Programs of
Action
• 3. Kyoto Protocol adaptation fund supported by a Clean Development Mechanism
(CDM) levy and voluntary contributions
7. • CDM: Clean development Mechanism
• Flexibility mechanism of Kyoto Protocol provides emissions reduction projects generating
Certified Emissions Reduction units to be traded in reduction schemes
• Intended to meet two objectives:
• 1) Assist non Annex 1 Parties in achieving sustainable development and their
contribution to the UNFCCC objective- to prevent potentially dangerous Climate change
• 2) Assist Annex I Parties in achieving compliance with their quantified emission limitation
and reduction
• Annex I parties are countries listed in Annex I of the treaty, and are industrialized
• Non-Annex I parties are developing countries
• JI: Joint implementation- Article 6 in the Kyoto Protocol
• Allows a country (Non Annex 1Party) with an emission reduction/limitation commitment under
the Kyoto Protocol to earn emission reduction units (ERUs) from an emission-reduction or
emission removal project in another Non Annex 1Party, each equivalent to one tonne of
CO2, which can be counted towards meeting its Kyoto target
• Joint implementation offers Parties a flexible and cost-efficient means of
fulfilling a part of their Kyoto commitments, while the host Party benefits from
foreign investment and technology transfer
8. • COP 6: 2000: Hague, Netherlands
• Controversy over the United States’ proposal to allow credit for carbon sinks in forests
and agricultural lands
• COP 7: 2001: Marrakesh, Morocco
• Marrakesh Accords: Decisions on the operational details needed for the ratification of
the Kyoto Protocol by States, including decision on the rules for international emissions
trading
• Establishment of the Adaptation Fund
• COP 8: 2002: New Delhi, India
• Delhi Ministerial Declaration: calls for efforts by developing countries to transfer
technology and minimize the impact of climate change on developing countries
• COP 9: 2003: Milan, Italy
• Agreement to use the Adaptation Fund mainly for supporting developing countries to
better adapt to climate change and for capacity-building through technology transfer
9. • COP 10: 2004: Buenos Aires, Argentina
• Buenos Aires Plan of Action to promote better adaptation to climate change in
developing countries
• COP 11/MOP 1: 2005: Montreal, Canada
• First Meeting of the MOP; the Kyoto Protocol comes into force
• Montreal Action Plan: agreement to extend the Kyoto Protocol beyond 2012 and to
negotiate more cute in greenhouse-gas emissions
• COP 12/MOP 2: 2006: Nairobi, Kenya
• Adoption of a five-year work plan to support climate change adaptation by
developing countries, and agreement on the procedures and modalities for the
Adaptation Fund
• COP 13/MOP 3: 2007: Bali, Indonesia
• The Bali Action Plan: decision to broaden REDD to include conservation sustainable
management of forests and enhancements of forest carbon stocks
• Establishment of the Ad hoc working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the
convention
10. • COP 14/MOP 4: 2008: Ponza, Poland
• Approved a mechanism to incorporate forest protection and to broaden REDD (now
REDD+)
• COP 15/MOP 5: 2009: Copenhagen, Denmark
• Aimed but failed to achieve a biding global climate agreement beyond 2012
(expiration date of the Kyoto Protocol)
• COP 16/MOP 6: 2010: Cancun, Mexico
• Agreement to establish a large “Green Climate Fund”
• Draft decision on REDD, which recognizes the rights of and provides for the full and
effective participation of indigenous peoples in REDD
• COP 17/MOP 7: 2011: Durban, South Africa
• Creation of the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action for negotiation on a new legally
binding global agreement on climate change by 2015, which should come into effect
in 2020
• COP 18/MOP 8: 2012: Doha, Qatar –
• November 26 to December 2012
11. • Commit to the second period of the Kyoto Protocol
• Decide how to progress to a Universal Agreement in 2015
• Reform the CDM and JI mechanisms
• Develop financing procedures for REDD+
• Create regional collaboration centers to assist development of
emissions reductions projects
12. • KYOTO PROTOCOL - 8 year extension of Kyoto Protocol
• 35 industrialized countries to cut GHG emissions by at least 5.2
percent below 1990 levels from 2008-2012
• Nations pick own targets for 2020
• Kyoto supporters decline:
• Key supporters: European Union, Australia, Ukraine, Switzerland and
Norway- less than 15 percent of world greenhouse gas emitters
• Pulling out: Russia, Japan, and Canada
• Argue: Emerging economies (China and India) need to join and limit emissions
• The United States signed but never ratified Kyoto
• Argue: cost jobs, Protocol wrongly omits goals for developing nations
• Possibility for tightening targets in 2014
• European Union, for instance, has promised cuts of at least 20 percent
below 1990 levels by 2020
http://www.pointcarbon.com/news/reutersnews/1.2091941?&ref=searchlist
13. • FUTURE TALKS
• Timetable for new global deal applying to all nations Kyoto only sets
targets for industrialized nations
• Due 2015
• Entering into force 2020
• Two “work streams” negotiations
• 1. Combat climate change 2020
• 2. Step up ambition before 2020
• First session talks “Durban Platform” - April/May 2013 - Bonn, Germany
• Possibly another - September 2013
• Two more sessions 2014 and two more 2015
30. • Hesitate giving more money to the Climate
Fund because US doesn’t know what it will
fund. Hindered Finance Negotiations.
• We said we would cut emissions, but there
is no transparency. We don’t know how.
• US is worried Congress not cooperating.
31. • We have a better understanding of what will work.
• Countries agreed to have a second commitment Kyoto Protocol
period.
• All countries will be gather in 2014 and consider raising
ambitions on emission reduction targets.
32. • We need more Domestic Action!
• Communities must lead by example.
• The top down approach will never work without a strong bottom
up movement.
• Develop a work plan for 2013.
