Download Document

Understanding Climate Change
Part 5
The Global framework for addressing climate change
In the previous article we examined some general approaches to addressing climate change –
focusing on adaptation and mitigation. The need for significant global coordination and resources
to support mitigation and adaptation efforts was discussed.
This week we examine the global framework that is in place for addressing climate change.
The Climate Change Convention
In 1992, many countries joined an international treaty – the United Nations Framework Convention
for Climate Change (UNFCCC) - to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global warming
and to cope with the effects of it.
The UNFCCC was developed as the basis for a global response to the climate change problem, and
entered into force on March 21, 1994. To date 192 countries have signed on to the Convention.
Guyana signed on to it on June 13, 1992 and ratified it on August 29, 1994. The Convention entered
into force in Guyana on November 27, 1994.
The ultimate objective of the Convention is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the
atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.
The UNFCCC sets an overall framework for international efforts to tackle the challenge of climate
change. Parties to the Convention agreed to a number of commitments to address climate change,
inter-alia:
•
To develop and periodically submit national reports containing information on the
greenhouse gas emissions of that Party and describing the steps it has taken and plans to take
to implement the Convention;
•
To put in place national programmes and measures to control emissions and to adapt to the
impacts of climate change; and
•
To promote the development and use of climate-friendly technologies and the sustainable
management of forests and other ecosystems.
The Kyoto Protocol
In light of increasing scientific evidence about the risks of climate change, it soon became evident to
policy makers that a further negotiated agreement was necessary.
1 The Convention was subsequently complemented by the Kyoto Protocol, agreed in 1997 in Kyoto,
Japan, and entered into force on February 16, 2005. The major distinction between the Protocol and
the Convention is that while the Convention encourages industrialised countries to stabilize GHG
emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so.
Under the Protocol , 37 industrialised countries and the European Community known under the
UNFCCC as Annex I parties, are legally obligated to reduce their overall emissions of six
greenhouse gases by an average of 5% below 1990 levels between 2008-2012 (the first commitment
period of the Protocol), with specific targets varying from country to country.
Currently, there are 190 Parties (189 States and 1 regional economic integration organization) to the
Kyoto Protocol. Guyana acceded to the Kyoto Protocol on August 5, 2003.
The Convention and Protocol make special provisions for the specific needs and special
circumstances of least developed and developing countries and apply the principle of “common but
differentiated responsibilities” with regard to such countries. The principle recognizes that the
developed country parties should take the lead in combating climate change and the adverse effects
thereof.
Non-Annex I countries (many developing and least developed parties) that have ratified the protocol
do not have to commit to specific targets at this stage, as they are not legally obligated to any
emission reduction target. They do however have to report their emission levels and develop
national climate change mitigation programs.
The Kyoto Protocol introduced three innovative mechanisms, which allow some flexibility in how
Annex I Parties can meet their emissions reduction commitments. As the detrimental effects of
greenhouse gases are global, irrespective of their source, reductions in emissions are equally effective
wherever they take place. These mechanisms enable countries to access cost-effective opportunities
to reduce emissions. These include:
1. The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) – Annex 1 countries can meet their
emissions reduction targets by funding sustainable development projects in non-Annex I
Parties that reduce emissions (or enhance sinks through afforestation or reforestation) of
greenhouse gases. The CDM has three main objectives. Firstly, to reduce global greenhouse
gas emissions; secondly, to allow developed countries to meet their targeted reductions at
lower cost by investing in renewable energy or emissions abatement technology where it is
cheapest; and thirdly, to encourage and enable developing countries to invest in emissions
reduction technology, thereby promoting sustainable development. It is noteworthy that the
CDM does not fund avoided deforestation projects, and thus does not encourage the
conservation of standing forest.
2. Joint Implementation (JI) – Annex 1 countries can meet their emissions reduction
requirements by investing in projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in other
developed countries. This usually involves investment by the most developed countries in
emissions abatement projects in countries that are undergoing the transition to a market
economy. This may be an efficient option as the sponsoring country can meet its
2 requirements more cheaply than in its own country, while the transition economy gains
foreign investment that it would not otherwise gain.
3. Emissions Trading – Annex 1 countries or companies that can reduce emissions relatively
cheaply can do so beyond their targeted amount and sell the excess through an open market.
As some countries or companies will be able to meet their emissions reduction
commitments more easily and at lower cost than others, emissions trading creates a market
for the right to emit greenhouse gases, thus encouraging efficiency in the implementation of
abatement technology.
The Kyoto Protocol is generally seen as an important first step towards a truly global emission
reduction regime that will stabilize GHG emissions, and provides the basic architecture for any
future international agreement on climate change (UNFCCC, 2010).
The Institutional Framework
Several institutions and bodies work within the framework of the Convention. These include those
established by the Convention – the Conference of the Parties to the Convention (COP), the
Subsidiary Bodies (SBs), the Bureau and the Secretariat. The COP is the “supreme body” of the
Convention, as it is its highest decision-making authority.
The UNFCCC secretariat supports all institutions involved in the climate change process,
particularly the COP, the Subsidiary Bodies and their Bureau.
The Climate Change negotiating process
Parties to the Convention meet regularly to take stock of progress in implementing their obligations
under the convention, and to consider further actions to address the climate change threat.
In 2007, at COP 13 in Bali, Indonesia, Parties adopted the Bali Road Map, which outlined a
comprehensive negotiating process addressing several key issues relating to climate change. Parties
agreed to jointly step up international efforts to combat climate change and aimed to reach an
international agreement on the way forward in Copenhagen in 2009. To this end, teo working
groups were established – the Ad Hoc Working Group on Long term Cooperative Actions, and the
Ad Hoc Working Group on the Kyoto Protocol.
In 2009, many negotiators and world leaders attended COP 15 in Copenhagen. The Conference
ended with the Copenhagen Accord - an agreement by countries to cap the global temperature rise
by committing to significant emission reductions and to raise finance to kick-start action in the
developing world to deal with climate change, inter-alia.
The Accord commits developed countries to provide "new and additional" financial resources of
$30 billion by 2012
for developing country actions to reduce deforestation, deploy clean
technologies, and adapt to the impacts of climate change. A commitment was also made to raise
$100 billion annually by 2020 for climate financing. The Accord further recognises the importance
3 of reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation (REDD) in combating climate
change.
The Accord calls on participating countries to pledge specific actions they will undertake to mitigate
greenhouse gas emissions. Since it was noted by the COP in Copenhagen last year, 93 parties
(including the 27-member European Union as a single party) have indicated their association with
the Accord, with 15 Annex 1 parties submitting voluntary emissions reduction targets, and 35 non
Annex 1 parties submitting voluntary mitigation actions. However, one of the weaknesses of the
Accord is that it is not legally binding, and lacks the legitimacy to ensure that countries meet their
stated targets.
In the months ahead, negotiations will continue with the aim of crafting an ambitious outcome in
December 2010, when the next annual UN Climate Change Conference of the Parties will take place
in Cancun, Mexico.
Since the establishment of the UNFCCC, many mechanisms and initiatives to address climate
change have been developed and implemented at the international, regional and local levels. Next
week’s article will examine some of these actions.
*Information used in this feature was extracted from the following reports and sources: The
International Institute for Sustainable Development (IISD), The UNFCCC (Convention) & The
UNFCCC (Web-site)
Prepared by the Office of Climate Change, April, 2010
For additional information, please contact:
Office of Climate Change, Office of the President
Shiv Chanderpaul Drive, Georgetown
Tel. 223-5205
Email: [email protected] , Web Site: www.lcds.gov.gy
4