Related: Climate Change Meaning
The causes of climate change are varied and scattered, but the effects of climate change are dire and deadly. Since finding global warming solutions is not easy, the UN steps in. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that was adopted in 1992 to address the issue of global warming and its potential impacts on the planet. The goal of the UNFCCC is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that will prevent dangerous human interference with the climate system.
The United Nations' SDG13 emphasises urgent action to combat climate change and its consequences. The UNFCCC is a legally binding agreement that sets out a framework for countries to take action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It has been ratified by 197 countries, making it one of the most widely accepted international agreements in history.
One of the key elements of the UNFCCC is the principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities." This principle acknowledges that in the world of today climate change has already reached a certain level and developed countries have a greater historical responsibility for the current levels of greenhouse gas emissions. They therefore have a greater obligation to take action to reduce emissions.
The UNFCCC also established the Conference of the Parties (COP), which is the governing body of the treaty. Also commonly known as the United Nations Climate Change Conference (or simply Climate Change Conference), the COP meets annually to review progress on implementing the treaty and to negotiate further action to address climate change and discuss climate change prevention. The ministries of each country responsible for climate action, such as the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (India) or the Ministry of Environment and Climate Change (UAE), work tirelessly throughout the year, and the COPs are a time to reflect on th progress and set out the course of action for the future to find climate change solutions.
In 2015, the COP 21 in Paris, countries adopted the Paris Agreement, which aims to strengthen the ability of countries to deal with the impacts of climate change and to accelerate and intensify the actions and investments needed for a sustainable low carbon future. The Paris Agreement entered into force on 4 November 2016, and the COP26 set out clearer rules to achieve net zero by mid century. The upcoming UN Climate Change Conference will be the COP28, to be held in Dubai, UAE.
SUMMARY OF COP27, EGYPT or COP 2022:
The COP27 climate summit, held in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, resulted in a historic breakthrough for vulnerable countries dealing with losses and damages caused by climate change. After nearly three decades of calls for financial support, countries finally reached consensus to establish funding arrangements, including a dedicated fund for loss and damage.
This was a major achievement on a topic that had long been neglected by UN climate talks, as it will provide much-needed financial support to countries that are facing severe damage caused by climate change, such as poor families whose houses are destroyed, farmers whose fields are ruined, and islanders forced from their ancestral homes. However, the summit also disappointed many stakeholders by not taking any significant new steps to curb emissions, which are critical to limit temperature rise to 1.5 degrees C (2.7 degrees F) and avoid a far more dangerous world.
Despite some bright spots, progress on adaptation was also less than hoped for. Developed countries did not make significant headway towards honoring the commitment made as part of the COP26 Glasgow Climate Pact to double adaptation finance from 2019 levels by 2025.
A roadmap for implementation of this goal was not agreed to as planned, leaving parties with less confidence that this goal will be met by 2025. Additionally, countries were expected to make progress on defining the Global Goal on Adaptation, the Paris Agreement’s equivalent to the 1.5-degree-C (2.7 degrees F) target for mitigation, but fell short of defining the goal and instead established a framework to guide its formulation, which will be considered and adopted at COP28 next year.
The summit also saw some noteworthy moments such as a visit from Brazilian President-elect Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, greater attention to Barbados Prime Minister Mia Mottley’s Bridgetown Agenda which calls for reforms to the global financial system and the resumption of climate discussions between China and the United States. Its critics included GretaThunberg, who chose to skip the conference.
The UNFCCC also established the Green Climate Fund, which helps developing countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and adapt to the impacts of climate change.
It is important to note that the UNFCCC is a long-term framework and it's the role of the COP to negotiate new commitments and agreements to strengthen the actions to tackle climate change. The Parties to the Convention regularly review progress in achieving its objective and the implementation of its provisions, with the aim of enhancing its effectiveness.
The UNFCCC plays a crucial role in addressing the issue of climate change and its impacts on the planet. With the participation of almost all countries in the world, the UNFCCC serves as a platform for international cooperation on this pressing issue. The convention helps countries navigate a clear path towards change, and through its works, defines the role of each country in contributing to tackle climate change.