Saving the Planet
Action by governments and other organisations
International Legal Framework for Policy Action
The international policy response to climate change began with the negotiation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), opened for signature at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The UNFCCC's "ultimate objective" is "to achieve... stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic [human-caused] interference with the climate system."
The UNFCCC has been in force since 1994 and has been ratified by Canada, the United States and virtually the entire international community. The countries that have ratified the UNFCCC (the "Parties") meet at an annual United Nations climate conference or "Conference of the Parties" where they negotiate the ongoing implementation of the convention.
The Kyoto Protocol: a Legally Binding Treaty
The UNFCCC provides a legal framework for global action to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, but it does not legally require emission reductions except in the most general way. In 1995 the Parties to the UNFCCC therefore agreed on the need for an additional treaty to set legally binding targets and timelines for the GHG emissions of industrialized countries. (The UNFCCC had called on developed countries to take the lead, noting that developing countries have much lower per-capita emissions and overriding development needs.)
The result was the negotiation, in December 1997, of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC. The protocol sets legally binding GHG emission targets for each of 38 industrialized countries, including Canada, for the period 2008-12. Taken together, the targets add up to a reduction in industrialized countries' emissions of 5% relative to the 1990 level. The protocol had been ratified by enough countries to enter into force as international law on February 16, 2005.
Negotiating "Kyoto Phase Two"
To meet the UNFCCC's ultimate objective of stabilizing atmospheric GHG concentrations at a safe level, far deeper emission reductions will need to be achieved than those required by the first set of Kyoto Protocol targets. At the annual United Nations climate conference held in Montreal in December 2005, Parties to the protocol therefore launched a process to negotiate a second set of targets for the period beginning in 2013.
Where Does the United States Stand?
The current United States administration has refused to ratify the Kyoto Protocol and has no intention of meeting its Kyoto target. But many states are taking action. Four states have already enacted regulations to limit CO2 emissions from electricity generation and six more have announced they will do the same. California has enacted regulated limits on GHG emissions from automobiles. Eighteen states have implemented renewable electricity standards.
There is also now both in Congress and the private sector considerable interest in and support for legislation to cap GHG emissions. In June 2005, the Senate passed a non-binding resolution in favour of such legislation. Several major American GHG emitters and other companies have stated they support federal regulation of CO2 emissions.
Source: The Envirolink Network
Statement by the National science academies of Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Russia, the United Kingdom and the United States, June 2005
"The scientific understanding of climate change is now sufficiently clear to justify nations taking prompt action. ... Failure to implement significant reductions in net greenhouse gas emissions now, will make the job much harder in the future." Read full statement
Source: The Envirolink Network
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