United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change [UNFCCC]

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United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change UNFCCC

• Peter E. Farrell
• Honors Seminar Energy, Society Climate Change
• Basic Presentation

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A Brief History of the Climate Change Process

• In 1979 the first World Climate Change Conference
  recognized climate change as a serious problem
  called on all governments to address it.
• Between 1980-1990 a number of intergovernmental
  conferences focusing on climate change were held.

• In 1990 the IPCC, estab. in 1988 by the UNEP
  WMO, issued its First Assessment Report in which
  it confirmed the existing scientific evidence for
  global climate change.
• In Dec. 1990, the UN General Assembly approved
  the start of treaty negotiations on the UNFCCC
  a deadline was set for the June 1992 Rio Earth
  Summit.

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History (Continued)

• The UNFCCC was signed by 154 states at the Rio de
  Janeiro Earth Summit.
• More importantly, the convention entered into
  force on March 21st 1994

• In February 1995, the Conference of the Parties
  (COP) became the Conventions ultimate
  authority/governing body.

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What is the UNFCCC?

• In general terms, the UN Framework Convention
  provides an overall framework for
  intergovernmental efforts to address climate
  change. More specifically, it establishes an
  objective principles, commitments for different
  groups of countries, a set of institutions all
  of which work to enable continued talks as well
  as future action to address global climate change.

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The Basic Science Accepted by the UNFCCC

• First foremost, the Convention recognizes that
  ever increasing amounts of anthropogenic (I.e.
  human produced) Greenhouse gas emissions are
  increasing the atmospheres ability to absorb
  infra-red radiation. As a result, a lot of energy
  that would normally be reflected back into space
  is being trapped within Earths atmosphere, which
  in turn increases the Earths surface
  temperature, keeping it warmer than it would
  otherwise be.
• More specifically, the IPCC projects that global
  mean surface temperatures to increase by 1.4-5.8
  degrees Celsius by 2100, which is the fastest
  rate of change since the end of the last ice age
  (10,000 years ago).
• In addition, the IPCC expects global mean sea
  levels to rise by 9 88cm by 2100.
• So what?

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Major Problems Associated with Global Climate
Change

• Predicted changes in rainfall patterns will
  increase the threat of drought floods in many
  regions.
• Melting glaciers thermal expansion of sea water
  may raise sea levels, threatening low-lying
  coastal areas worst of all small islands!

• Climate agricultural zones may shirt towards
  the poles, which would result in reduced crop
  yields for mid-latitude countries such as the
  U.S.
• Ultimately, the Convention recognizes that
  climate change has the potential to produce
  dramatic negative impacts on human health, food
  security, economic activity, water resources
  physical infrastructure.1

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UNFCCC Ultimate Objective

• According to Article 2, the ultimate objective of
  the Convention is to achieve stabilization of
  atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases at
  levels that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic
  interference with the climate system.2
• The Convention further stipulates 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, to enable economic
  development to proceed in a sustainable manner.3

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UNFCCC Principles

• First, the UNFCCC principle of common but
  differentiated responsibilities responds to the
  fundamental issue of fairness, or lack thereof,
  in terms of addressing the climate change
  problem.
• Historically, industrialized countries have
  contributed the most to the climate change
  problem (mainly by way of ghg emissions).
  Moreover, industrialized countries have more
  resources to address the deleterious effects of
  climate change.

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1. Principle of Common but Differentiated
Responsibilities

• Conversely, developing countries are both, more
  vulnerable to the predicted adverse effects of
  climate change and significantly less able to
  respond to them (relative to countries like the
  U.S., Japan, Western Europe, etc.).
• Given this, the Convention responds in three ways

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1. Principle of Common but Differentiated
Responsibilities (Cont.)

• 1 The convention puts the majority of the
  responsibility for battling climate change, as
  well as the majority of the bill, on the wealthy,
  industrialized countries.
• 2. The Convention recognizes that poorer nations
  have a right to economic development.
• 3.The convention also allows for the full
  consideration4 of the specific needs
  circumstances of developing countries in any
  actions taken by the COP.

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2. Precautionary Principle

• The Conventions precautionary principle implies
  that activities that threaten serious or
  irreversible damage can be restricted or even
  prohibited before there is absolute certainty
  about their effects5.
• Indeed, under Article 3, the Convention calls for
  precautionary measures6 to combat climate
  change even if there is a lack of full
  scientific certainty7 regarding a cause effect
  relationship.

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3. Principle of Cost-Effectiveness

• In response to the concern, among industrialized
  countries, that the economic costs of mitigating
  climate change should be minimized, the
  Convention calls for all policies measures that
  deal with climate change to be cost-effective.

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4. Principle of Sustainable Development

• In response to the justified concerns of poorer
  developed countries regarding the significant
  expense of implementing UNFCCC objectives the
  Convention, under Article 4, recognizes that
  The parties have a right to, and should,
  promote sustainable development8

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Groups of Countries Their Differentiated
Commitments Annex II (cont.)

• In addition, Annex II countries must take all
  practicable steps9 to promote the development
  transfer of environmentally friendly technologies
  to both EITs developing countries.

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Groups of Countries Their Differentiated
Commitments

• The Framework Convention divides countries into
  three main groups each assigned its own set of
  commitments.
• 1. Annex I countries
• 2. Annex II countries
• 3. Non-Annex I countries

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Groups of Countries Their Differentiated
Commitments Annex I

• Whos in it?
• Annex I is composed of 41 industrialized
  countries, which includes all the 1992 members of
  OECD. In addition, 12 countries with EIT have
  been added to the list.

• What are their commitments?
• Annex I parties are subject to a specific
  commitment to adopt climate change policies
  measures with the non-legally binding aim to
  return their GHG emissions to 1990 levels by the
  year 2000.

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Groups of Countries Their Differentiated
Commitments Annex II

• Whos in it?
• Only the OECD members of Annex I not the EITs
  are listed in Annex II of the Convention.

• What are their commitments?
• Annex II Parties are required to provide
  financial resources to enable developing
  countries to meet their obligations under the
  Convention.

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Groups of Countries Their Differentiated
Commitments Non-Annex I

• Whos in it?
• All other countries not listed in Annex I
  mostly developing countries are known as
  non-Annex I countries.

• Whos in it(cont.)
• Within this group of developing countries there
  is a subgroup of 48 countries known as Least
  Developed Countries (LCDs).

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Groups of Countries Their Differentiated
Commitments All Parties to the Convention

• What are their commitments?
• All parties meaning those signatores that have
  ratified the treaty are subject to a set of
  general commitments.
• Under these commitments, all Parties must
• 1. Prepare regularly update national climate
  change mitigation adaptation programs.

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Groups of Countries Their Differentiated
Commitments All Parties to the Convention
(cont.)

• 2. All Parties must participate in climate
  research, systematic observation information
  exchange, as well as promote education, training
  public awareness relating to climate change.10
• 3. Lastly, all parties must compile an inventory
  of their greenhouse gas emissions, and submit
  reports known as national communications on
  the action(s) they are taking to implement the
  Convention.11

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Framework Convention Institutions/Mechanisms

• 1. Conference of the Parties (COP)
• 2. Subsidiary Body for Scientific and
  Technological Advice (SBSTA).
• 3. Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI).
• 4. Convention Secretariat
• 5. Global Environment Facility (GEF)
• 6. Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
  (IPCC)

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Framework Convention Institutions/Mechanisms
(cont.)

• 1. COP
• Serves as the supreme decision-making body of the
  Convention.
• Is composed of all Parties to the Convention who
  have ratified the treaty as well as non-voting
  observers as are deemed appropriate.
• Meets yearly to review Convention implementation
  to adopt amendments, protocols etc.

• 2. SBSTA
• Is responsible for providing advice to the COP on
  scientific, technological methodological
  issues.
• Helps individual countries prepare their national
  communications accurately on time.

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Framework Convention Institutions/Mechanisms
(cont.)

• 3. SBI
• Helps with the assessment review of of the
  Conventions implementation.
• Analyses the national communications submitted by
  the Parties.

• 4. Secretariat
• Prepares background documents.
• Organizes negotiating sessions.
• Compiles emissions data.

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Framework Convention Institutions/Mechanisms
(cont.)

• 5. GEF
• Is the Conventions financial mechanism, which
  channels funds from Annex II countries, as well
  as other (private) sources, to developing
  countries on a grant basis.

• 6. IPCC
• Submits regular comprehensive assessments on the
  state of climate change science every 5 years.
• Prepare shorter Special Reports Technical
  Papers in response to COP requests.
• Plays an important role in the development of
  common guidelines for Parties to compile their
  inventories of GHG.

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The UN Framework Convention on Climate ChangeThe
Key to Understanding the Kyoto Protocol.

• UNFCCC Article 17, Paragraph 4 Only Parties to
  the Convention may be Parties to a protocol12.

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The End