The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which entered into force on 21 March 1994, sets an overall framework for global efforts to tackle the challenge posed by climate change. It recognises that the climate system is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by industrial and other emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases.
Under the Convention, governments: (i) gather and share information on greenhouse gas emissions, national policies and best practices; (ii) launch national strategies for addressing greenhouse gas emissions and adapting to expected impacts, including the provision of financial and technological support to developing countries; and (iii) cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change.
Currently, there are 195 Parties (194 States and 1 regional economic integration organisation) to the Convention.
Download the Convention here.
The Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change which sets binding targets for 37 industrialised countries and the European Union for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. These reductions amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 emissions levels over the five-year period 2008-2012. The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialised countries to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005.
By the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, a new international framework needs to have been negotiated and ratified that can deliver the stringent emission reductions as recommended by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
Download the Kyoto Protocol here.
The Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988 by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) to provide the world with a clear scientific view on the current state of knowledge in climate change and its potential environmental and socio-economic impacts. The IPCC was endorsed by the UN General Assembly in December, 1988. As an intergovernmental body the IPCC is open to all member countries of the United Nations and WMO. Currently 194 countries are members of the IPCC.
Climate Change 2007, the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC, stated in its summary that “warming of the climate system is unequivocal.” According to the report, most of the observed increases in globally averaged temperatures since the mid 20th century is very likely due to the build up of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere resulting from human activities. The Fifth Assessment Report to be completed in 2013/2014 is currently underway.
Download the Fourth Assessment Report of the IPCC here.
The Bali Action Plan
The Bali Action Plan was agreed at the 13th Conference of Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) held in December, in Bali, Indonesia. It seeks to enable the full, effective and sustained implementation of the Convention through long-term cooperative action, now, up to and beyond 2012 by addressing the pillars or building blocks: (i) A shared vision for long-term cooperative action, including a long-term global goal for emission reductions; (ii) Enhanced national/international action on mitigation of climate change (iii) Enhanced action on adaptation; (iv) Enhanced action on technology development and transfer to support action on mitigation and adaptation; and (v) Enhanced action on the provision of financial resources and investment to support action on mitigation and adaptation and technology cooperation.
Download the Bali Action Plan here.
The Copenhagen Accord
Delegates attending the 15th session of the Conference of Parties (COP 15) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change agreed to "take note of" the Copenhagen Accord at the final plenary on 18 December 2009. The Accord is not legally binding and does not commit countries to agree to a binding successor to the Kyoto Protocol.
Download the Copenhagen Accord here.
The Cancun Agreements
The 16th Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention in Climate Change, held in Cancún, Mexico, resulted in the adoption of the Cancun Agreements. These are a set of significant decisions by the international community to address the long-term challenge of climate change collectively and comprehensively over time and to take concrete action now to speed up the global response. The agreements represent key steps forward in capturing plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to help developing nations protect themselves from climate impacts and build their own sustainable futures.
Download the Cancun Agreements here.