Speaking today at a forum of heads of state and government of small island developing countries, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said that while the world continues to focus on fighting the COVID-19 pandemic – the biggest test the world has faced since World War II – we must not lose sight of climate change. Other countries have ratified the agreement, which entered into force in 2005. However, the original emissions targets were only extended until 2012, and when it came time to negotiate a second round by 2020, several other developed countries refused to join. The Kyoto Protocol remains technically in force, but its targets cover only a small fraction of global emissions, and future targets are not expected. One element of the protocol that can be pursued is the Clean Development Mechanism, which makes emission reductions in developing countries certifiable as tradable emission offsets. The UNFCCC has set itself the long-term goal of avoiding dangerous human interference in the climate system. To this end, the agreement is as follows: governments have an important role to play in the fight against climate change, but the private sector must be a strong partner in the implementation of climate action. Many businesses, financial organizations and insurance companies are stepping up their efforts to reduce emissions and increase investment in cleaner, greener technologies and energy. Building on the dynamics of climate protection, the Secretary-General will be appointed on 27 September. Launch its Youth Advisory Group on Climate Change to strengthen the voice of young people and engage young people in an open and transparent dialogue as the United Nations prepares to raise its ambitions and accelerate action to address the climate crisis. 2008 – COP 14/CMP 4 took place in Poznan, Poland.
Countries have begun negotiations on the financing mechanism to help poor countries adapt to the effects of climate change. Negotiations on the successor to the Kyoto Protocol continued. There is uncertainty about how GHG concentrations and global temperatures will change in response to anthropogenic emissions (see Climate Change Feedback and Climate Sensitivity). [45] The graph opposite shows global temperature changes in 2100 for a number of emission scenarios, including uncertainty estimates. The COVID-19 pandemic has destroyed lives, livelihoods and economies. But this has not slowed down climate change, which is an ever-increasing threat to people`s health, jobs and security. The stakes couldn`t be higher: science shows that temperatures are reaching record levels, greenhouse gas levels are rising, sea levels are rising, and natural disasters are worsening. To save lives and livelihoods, urgent action is needed to address both the pandemic and the climate emergency. At COP 17 in Durban, South Africa, the parties adopted the durban Enhanced Programme of Action and began talks to reach a new comprehensive agreement from 2020. They left open the legal nature of the agreement and how it would address the differentiation between developed and developing countries. The United Nations is at the forefront of assessing the science of climate change, showing that this is due to human activities. We are currently on a path that will result in accelerated impacts that will negatively affect people`s lives, livelihoods and health.
The Paris Agreement is the culmination of a quarter century of international climate diplomacy launched with the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. Here is a brief summary of the evolution of global climate efforts and the role the United States plays. 2005 – COP 11/CMP 1 took place in Montreal, Canada. This conference was the first to take place after the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol. The annual meeting of the Parties (COP) was complemented by the first annual meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP). Countries that ratified the UNFCCC but did not accept the Kyoto Protocol had observer status at the latter conference. Parties addressed issues such as „capacity-building, technology development and transfer, the adverse effects of climate change on developing and least developed countries, and several financial and budgetary issues, including guidelines for the Global Environment Facility (GEF)“. (UNFCCC) The Paris Agreement allows any delegation and group of countries to return home with their heads held high. Our collective effort is worth more than the sum of our individual efforts. Our responsibility to history is immense,“ said Laurent Fabius, President of the United Nations Climate Change Conference COP 21 and French Foreign Minister.
December – COP 15 took place in Copenhagen, Denmark. After the end of the Commitment Period of the Kyoto Protocol in 2012, it was unable to reach agreement on binding commitments. In the final hours of the summit, the leaders of the United States, Brazil, China, Indonesia, India and South Africa agreed on what should be called the Copenhagen Accord, which recognized the need to limit the rise in global temperature to 2°C based on the science of climate change. Although the agreement did not require legally binding commitments, countries were asked to promise voluntary GHG reduction targets. $100 billion in climate aid to developing countries has been pledged. Thousands of announcements on climate change were presented at the Paris conference, showing how civil society and the private sector are making progress in the fight against climate change. Climate Change Mitigation Scenarios: Projections of Global Greenhouse Gas Emissions, Years 2000 to 2100 The overall framework and processes of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol adopted have been criticized by some for failing to meet their stated carbon dioxide emission reduction targets (the main culprit blamed for rising global temperatures in the 21st century). [7] In a speech at his alma mater, Todd Stern – the US envoy for climate change – expressed the challenges of the UNFCCC process as follows: „Climate change is not a conventional environmental problem. It involves virtually every aspect of a state`s economy, so it makes countries nervous when it comes to growth and development. It is an economic problem, just like an ecological problem.
He further explained that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is a multilateral body that addresses climate change and can be an inefficient system for implementing international policies. .