By middle 20th century it was becoming clear that human action has significantly increased the production of greenhouse gases and the process of global warming was accelerating, major credits for this increase goes to industrial revolution. By now nearly all scientists and nations add agree that we must stop and reverse the process. Consequently, in recent decades several initiatives and procedures have come into place to take care of the newly emerged apprehension.
UNFCCC
In the year 1992, most of the countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, (UNFCCC) as a framework for international cooperation to combat climate change by limiting average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and coping with impacts that were, by then, inevitable.
RIO CONFERENCE
In Rio de Janeiro, Brazil the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the ‘Earth Summit’, was held from 3-14 June 1992. It was held on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the first Human Environment Conference in Stockholm, Sweden, ( 1972)Political leaders, diplomats, scientists, representatives of the media, and non-governmental organizations (NGOs) from 179 countries came together for a massive effort to focus on the impact of human socio-economic activities on the environment.
Vision and mission
It had a broad agenda :
- economic development
- environmental sustainability
- social inclusion
This includes a set of “sustainable development” goals and commitments – ways to help people climb out of extreme poverty and to keep our growing population from consuming the planet’s natural resources at an unsustainable rate.
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted as the first addition to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).Its an international treatyheld and adopted at Kyoto city of Japan in 11 December 1997that aimed to reduce the emission of gases that contribute to global warming . It mainly aims GHG reduction of developed nations. In force since 16 February 2005, the protocol called for reducing the emission of six greenhouse gases in 41 countries plus the European Union to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels during the “commitment period” 2008–12. At the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18), held in Doha, Qatar, in 2012, delegates agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol until 2020. It was widely hailed as the most significant environmental treaty ever negotiated, though some critics questioned its effectiveness. Currently, there are 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
Vision and Mission
The ultimate objective of the Kyoto Protocol was to control emissions of main greenhouse gases(affect the energy balance of the global atmosphere and lead to an overall increase in global average temperature, known as global warming).
Major GHG is carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6).
The objectives of the Kyoto mechanism
- Its object is to facilitate, promote and enforce compliance with commitments under protocol
- Stimulate sustainable development through technology transfer and investment.
- Help countries with Kyoto commitments to meet their targets by reducing emissions or removing carbon from the atmosphere in other countries in a cost-effective way
- Encourage the private sector and developing countries to contribute to emission reduction efforts
PARIS AGREEMENT
History
Paris Agreement was adopted on 12 December 2015 by 196 Parties at Conference of Parties 21 (COP 21) in Paris. It came into force on 4 November 2016. The agreement comes under the framework of UNFCCC.
The Paris Agreement requires all parties to put forward their best efforts through “nationally determined contribution”(NDC ) and to strengthen these efforts in the years ahead. This includes requirements that all Parties report regularly on their emissions and on their implementation efforts.
Vision and Mission
- To hold the increase in global average temperature to well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels
- To pursue efforts to limit the temperature increase to 1.5 degrees Celsius over pre-industrial levels, recognizing that this would significantly reduce the risks and impacts of climate change
- It also talks about reaching the global peaking of emissions by the second half of the century
STRUCTURE
Rio Conference, UNFCCC
The UNFCCC is a “Rio Convention”, opened for signature at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992. The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. The 197 countries that have ratified the Convention are called Parties to the Convention. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the “Convention”) was adopted at the United Nations Headquarters, New York on 9 May 1992. By Article 20, it was open for signature at Rio de Janeiro from 4 to 14 June 1992, and thereafter at the United Nations Headquarters, from 20 June 1992 to 19 June 1993. In 1994, they have less evidence regarding climate change and the environment but still taking help from an older treaty (Montreal Protocol) they recognized the problem and that’s how UNFCCC came to effect. The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations “at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-induced) interference with the climate system.” It states that “such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.” UNFCCC compelled the countries through Kyoto Protocol.
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol, which was signed in 1997 and ran from 2005 to 2020, was the first implementation of measures under the UNFCCC. In accordance with Article 24, it was open for signature from 16 March 1998 to 15 March 1999 at United Nations Headquarters, New York. By that date, the Kyoto Protocol had received 84 signatures. Currently, there are 192 Parties (191 States and 1 regional economic integration organization) to the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. The protocol was extended until 2020 with the Doha Amendment in 2012. The United States decided not to ratify the Protocol, mainly because of its legally-binding nature. This, and distributional conflict, led to failures of subsequent international climate negotiations. The Kyoto Protocol was superseded by the Paris Agreement, which entered into force in 2016.
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015. The Paris Agreement was opened for signature on 22 April 2016 (Earth Day) at a ceremony in New York. After the European Union ratified the agreement, sufficient countries had ratified the Agreement responsible for enough of the world’s greenhouse gases for the Agreement to enter into force on 4 November 2016. As of July 2021, 191 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are parties to the agreement. Of the six UNFCCC member states which have not ratified the agreement, the only major emitters are Iran, Turkey, and Iraq. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
WORKING/FUNCTIONS
Rio Conference, UNFCCC
Industrialized nations agree under the Convention to support climate change activities in developing countries by providing financial support for action on climate change—above and beyond any financial assistance they already provide to these countries. A system of grants and loans has been set up through the Convention and is managed by the Global Environment Facility. The idea is that, as they are the source of most past and current greenhouse gas emissions, industrialized countries are expected to do the most to cut emissions on home ground. They are called Annex I countries and belong to the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). They include 12 countries with “economies in transition” from Central and Eastern Europe. Annex I countries were expected by the year 2000 to reduce emissions to 1990 levels. Many of them have taken strong action to do so, and some have already succeeded. Industrialized countries also agree to share technology with less advanced nations. Industrialized countries (Annex I) have to report regularly on their climate change policies and measures, including issues governed by the Kyoto Protocol (for countries that have ratified it). They must also submit an annual inventory of their greenhouse gas emissions, including data for their base year (1990)and all the years since. Developing countries (Non-Annex I Parties) report in more general terms on their actions both to address climate change and to adapt to its impacts – but less regularly than Annex I Parties do, and their reporting is contingent on their getting funding for the preparation of the reports, particularly in the case of the Least Developed Countries.
Kyoto Protocol
It only binds developed countries and places a heavier burden on them under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities”, because it recognizes that they are largely responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere. In Annex B, the Kyoto Protocol sets binding emission reduction targets for 37 industrialized countries and economies in transition and the European Union. Overall, these targets add up to an average 5 percent emission reduction compared to 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008–2012 (the first commitment period). The Kyoto Protocol also established a rigorous monitoring, review, and verification system, as well as a compliance system to ensure transparency and hold Parties to account. Under the Protocol, countries’ actual emissions have to be monitored and precise records have to be kept of the trades carried out.
Paris Agreement
Governments agreed to come together every 5 years to assess the collective progress towards the long-term goals and inform Parties in updating and enhancing their nationally determined contributions. They report to each other and the public on how they are implementing climate action. They also track progress towards their commitments under the Agreement through a robust transparency and accountability system. The Paris Agreement works on a five-year cycle of increasingly ambitious climate action carried out by countries. Every five years, each country is expected to submit an updated national climate action plan – known as Nationally Determined Contribution, or NDC. In their NDCs, countries communicate actions they will take to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions in order to reach the goals of the Paris Agreement. Countries also communicate in the NDCs actions they will take to build resilience to adapt to the impacts of rising temperatures. To better frame the efforts towards the long-term goal, the Paris Agreement invites countries to formulate and submit long-term strategies. Unlike NDCs, they are not mandatory. The operational details for the practical implementation of the Paris Agreement were agreed on at the UN Climate Change Conference (COP24) in Katowice, Poland, in December 2018, in what is colloquially called the Paris Rulebook, with a few unresolved issues.
Rio Conference, UNFCCC
The UNFCCC is a “Rio Convention”, opened for signature at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992. The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. The 197 countries that have ratified the Convention are called Parties to the Convention. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (the “Convention”) was adopted at the United Nations Headquarters, New York on 9 May 1992. By Article 20, it was open for signature at Rio de Janeiro from 4 to 14 June 1992, and thereafter at the United Nations Headquarters, from 20 June 1992 to 19 June 1993. In 1994, they have less evidence regarding climate change and the environment but still taking help from an older treaty (Montreal Protocol) they recognized the problem and that’s how UNFCCC came to effect. The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations “at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic (human-induced) interference with the climate system.” It states that “such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened, and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner.” UNFCCC compelled the countries through Kyoto Protocol.
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol, which was signed in 1997 and ran from 2005 to 2020, was the first implementation of measures under the UNFCCC. In accordance with Article 24, it was open for signature from 16 March 1998 to 15 March 1999 at United Nations Headquarters, New York. By that date, the Kyoto Protocol had received 84 signatures. Currently, there are 192 Parties (191 States and 1 regional economic integration organization) to the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. The protocol was extended until 2020 with the Doha Amendment in 2012. The United States decided not to ratify the Protocol, mainly because of its legally-binding nature. This, and distributional conflict, led to failures of subsequent international climate negotiations. The Kyoto Protocol was superseded by the Paris Agreement, which entered into force in 2016.
Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015. The Paris Agreement was opened for signature on 22 April 2016 (Earth Day) at a ceremony in New York. After the European Union ratified the agreement, sufficient countries had ratified the Agreement responsible for enough of the world’s greenhouse gases for the Agreement to enter into force on 4 November 2016. As of July 2021, 191 members of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) are parties to the agreement. Of the six UNFCCC member states which have not ratified the agreement, the only major emitters are Iran, Turkey, and Iraq. Its goal is to limit global warming to well below 2, preferably to 1.5 degrees Celsius, compared to pre-industrial levels.
KEY OUTCOMES
Rio Conference, UNFCCC
The Rio de Janeiro conference highlighted how different social, economic, and environmental factors are interdependent and evolve together, and how success in one sector requires action in other sectors to be sustained over time. The primary objective of the Rio ‘Earth Summit’ was to produce a broad agenda and a new blueprint for international action on environmental and development issues that would help guide international cooperation and development policy in the twenty-first century. The ‘Earth Summit’ concluded that the concept of sustainable development was an attainable goal for all the people of the world, regardless of whether they were at the local, national, regional, or international level. It also recognized that integrating and balancing economic, social, and environmental concerns in meeting our needs is vital for sustaining human life on the planet and that such an integrated approach is possible. The conference also recognized that integrating and balancing economic, social, and environmental dimensions required new perceptions of the way we produce and consume, the way we live and work, and the way we make decisions. This concept was revolutionary for its time, and it sparked a lively debate within governments and between governments and their citizens on how to ensure sustainability for development.
Kyoto Protocol
The headline results tell us that between 1990 and 2012 the original Kyoto Protocol parties reduced their CO2 emissions by 12.5%, which is well beyond the 2012 target of 4.7% (CO2 only, rather than greenhouse gases, and including Canada*). The Kyoto Protocol was, therefore, a huge success. The headline figures make the Kyoto Protocol seem like a huge climate change success and a valuable contribution to environmental sustainability, but the deeper analysis makes it look like a global warming failure. The reality is that it may well be somewhere in between the two. Sadly, we will never know for sure. We can never know what the emissions of the Kyoto Protocol parties would have been without the treaty. One suspects that most countries didn’t go far enough and this is masked only by the success of a minority. However, it’s acknowledged that without the treaty the greenhouse gas emissions of these countries could have risen more rapidly – we will simply never know for sure. It, therefore, appears that for most countries the Kyoto Protocol wasn’t really a treaty of carbon footprint reduction, but instead a treaty of limitation (or perhaps a rather limited treaty?). It was a treaty merely to limit our growth of GHG emissions and a treaty to curb our increasing addiction to fossil fuels.
Paris Agreement
Here are five things the Paris Agreement has achieved-
- Political resilience
- Normalizing 1.5C
- Normalizing net zero
- Clean energy shift
- Institutional change
And five things still to work on-
- Rising emissions
- Rising temperatures
- Rising fossil fuel production
- The vulnerable suffer
- International transport gets away