History of Negotiations with UNFCCC

Siddharth Pathak

United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

• An intergovernmental treaty to address the issue of climate change

• Negotiated from Feb 1991 – May 1992 • Signed June 1992 at Rio Earth Summit • Entered into force March 1994 • Currently has 193 countries who have ratified

the convention

Annexes

• The convention divides the parties in three categories based on their status of development and how much they can contribute towards reducing climate change

• Annex 1 – Parties who were in the OECD category in 1992 + Economies in Transition (Russia + other eastern bloc countries)

• Annex 2 - They are a sub group of parties who have financial obligations

• Non Annex 1 – These are mostly developing countries.

Timelines

Organization

• Annual Meeting of signatories of the convention , conference of parties (COP) since 1995, Berlin

• Annual meeting of parties (CMP) to Kyoto Protocol since 2005, Montreal

• Two technical subsidiary bodies – the subsidiary body for scientific and technological advice (SBSTA) and subsidiary body of implementation (SBI)

Kyoto Protocol

• In COP 1, at Berlin, Countries decided that strengthened commitments need to be made and agreed on ‘Berlin Mandate’

• After 2.5 years at COP 3 in Kyoto, Kyoto Protocol was agreed to.

• Reduction of 5% from 1990 levels by 2012 • Now in the 2nd commitment period till 2020

Marrakesh Accord• November 2001, COP 7 – agreement was reached on Marrakesh

Accord

• Accords consisted of a package of draft decisions on many of the details of the Kyoto Protocol, including the flexible mechanisms, reporting and methodologies, land use, land-use change and forestry (LULUCF), and compliance. They also addressed issues such as capacity building, technology transfer, responding to the adverse effects of climate change, and the establishment of three funds: the Least Developed Countries (LDC) Fund, Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF), and Adaptation Fund.

Montreal Conference (COP11), 2005

• Took decisions on the outstanding operational details of the Kyoto Protocol, and formally adopted the Marrakesh Accords.

• Addressed possible processes to discuss post-2012 commitments and decided to establish a new subsidiary body, the Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I parties under the Kyoto Protocol

• Vague mandate towards Bali (COP 13)

Bali (COP 13), 2007

• The main focus in Bali was on long-term cooperation and the post-2012 period, when the Kyoto Protocol’s first commitment period expires.

• Bali roadmap” – to finalize a post-2012 regime by December 2009.

• Bali Action Plan

Since Bali 2007

COP 17 – Durban, 2011

• The Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (ADP) is a subsidiary body that was established by in December 2011. The mandate of the ADP is to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties, which is to be completed no later than 2015 in order for it to be adopted at the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and for it to come into effect and be implemented from 2020.

Institutions

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