Climate Change Protocols and Conventions

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Well, this is the lockdown period and due to the lockdown the economy and human society all over the world has taken a huge hit. While this COVID-19 pandemic has curbed the human movement on the face of the Earth, the environment is recovering and getting better, making the world a better place to live in, for both, animals and, humans, in terms of the environment that existed before the lockdown.

This does makes us question our treatment and ignorance towards the environment that we live in. It also proves for a fact that human’s unchecked exploitation of the resources of the Earth is the sole reason for our mother nature to be in such a bad shape.

Since we all are now familiar with our crimes towards our environment, for the reprimand of which we are all sentenced to serve for an indefinite period of time, inside our tiny cells that we call our home.

In order to understand how throughout the evolution of the modern industry and machines, the governments all over world were forced to implement climate change protocols and conventions in order to check the exploitation of the environment of the Earth. Let’s take a look at these protocols and conventions in brief.

Why was there a need for a Climate Change Protocol?

It is very logical that one must enjoy their property without injuring or exploiting your neighbour’s. So, it is quite easy to understand that every country has the right to exploit its own resources to build industries and development to serve their population (it does harm the nature but development is directly proportional to natural exploitation hence there is no other way). But that does not give the state a right or authority to create nuisance by industrial or environmental pollution to its neighbouring countries.

But due to unchecked growth of population, better and sedentary desires of lifestyle, it has in many ways led to a lot of advancements in every sphere of human existence but has also led to an unbridled exploitation of the natural resources that has put the human existence, flora and fauna at a huge risk globally.

Hence, after the World War II when the phase of vigorous industrialization started but no substantial steps towards the preservation of the environment were taken. In 1960’s the social change in developed countries gave rise to ideas and opened up numerous issues relating to environment degradation and a need for sustainable development.

The environmental problems started taking shape. It became clear that problems like global warming and ozone layer depletion needed to be addressed to all the nations and was a global issue which could not be tackled on national level.

Hence, the United Nations started taking these situations into account and the United Nations Conference on Human Environment was held in 1972 at Stockholm. It was the beginning of the world leaders showing an organized effort towards the safeguard of the environment.

United Nations Conference on Human Environment (UNCHE), 1972

The United Nations Conference on Human Environment popularly known as the Stockholm Conference, as the name suggests, was held in Stockholm, Sweden from 5^th June, 1972 to 16^th June 1972. 

It was the first major attempt to solve global problems such as conservation and regulation of human environment through international agreements. This declaration is regarded as the foundation of modern international environment laws and also a turning point in the international environmental politics.

The main contributions of this conference were:

• The declaration on human environment.
• Action plan for human environment.
• Resolution on international financial arrangements.
• Resolution on designation of World Environment Day.
• Resolution of Nuclear Weapon Tests.

Achievements of the Stockholm Conference:

• Led to the establishment of global and regional environmental monitoring networks.
• Creation of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)
• Stimulated broader political and institutional changes.

World Charter for nature, 1982

The idea of the charter was proposed at the 12^th International Union for Conservation of Nature and Natural Resources (IUCN). The main purpose of this charter was to provide substantive protection to the global environment from the impact of industrialization. This charter received immense support from countries and was finally adopted by the UN General Assembly on 28^th October, 1982.

The Charter’s most symbolic expression was to achieve a more harmonious relationship between humanity and rest of the biosphere.

Montreal Protocol, 1987

This protocol was one of the landmark protocols that was adopted by several countries during that time which has proved to be one of the most successful protocols dealing with environment conservation. This protocol was solely based upon the control substances that harmed the ozone layer and were responsible for its depletion e.g. Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).

Earth Summit, 1992

The Earth summit was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. This conference highlighted on man’s recklessness and to devise strategies in order to combat the ecological disaster. The Brundtland Report on sustainable development played a huge role in this summit by forming the basis of a call for action to combat environment degradation.

Earth summit forced people to take a broader look towards how their activities have been affecting the environment and how they need to bring changes in their lifestyle in order to minimize risk of any environmental repercussions.

The Earth Summit adopted five specific documents:

• The Rio Declaration on environment and development which defined the rights and responsibilities of the state when dealing with environment (morally binding only).
• Agenda 21 which was a blueprint for global steps to adopt sustainable development.
• Forest Principles to support sustainable management of forests.
• Biodiversity Convention that aims to protect biological diversity.
• Climate Convention which aims to prevent climate change globally.

Kyoto Protocol, 1997

It was an international agreement which set binding obligations on industrialized nations to cut down and regulate their green house gas emissions. It recognized that the main culprit behind the increased greenhouse gas emission, which had led to a global rise in temperature resulting in melting of the polar ice caps and destruction of flora and fauna, to be none other than the unchecked emissions of these green house gases from the industries, that are primarily situated in most developed countries.

Objectives of Kyoto Protocol:

• To achieve stability of the green house gases in the atmosphere and its interference with the existing ecology of the planet.
• To ensure that food production is not threatened.
• To encourage sustainable development.

Cartegena Protocol on biosafety, 2000

It was the first international regulatory framework for biosafety, negotiated under the aegis of Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). Objective was to strengthen the regulatory framework, particularly on transboundary movement of living modified organisms (GMOs), risk assessment and management, training and human resource development and information sharing.

Aarhus Convention, 1998

The Aarhus convention dealt mainly with the public rights regarding the information access, encourage participation of public and access to judicial remedies, in governmental functioning concerning the local, national and trans-boundary environment. It focuses on interactions between the public and public participation in the negotiation and implementation of international agreements.

It is a new kind of environmental agreement as it links environmental rights and human rights. It acknowledges that we owe an obligation to future generations. It establishes that sustainable development can only be achieved when there is involvement of all the stakeholders. It links government accountability transparency and responsiveness.

United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan (1997-2006) has said,
"Although regional in scope, the significance of the Aarhus Convention
is global. It is by far the most impressive elaboration of Principle 10 of
the Rio Declaration which stresses the need for citizens' participation in
environmental issues and for access to information on the environment
held by public authorities. As such, it is the most ambitious venture in the
area of environmental democracy so far undertaken under the auspices ofthe United Nations."

Johannesburg Conference, 2002

The Johannesburg conference also known as the Earth Summit +10 was one of the most important conferences since the coordinated call to fight against poverty was discussed as poverty being one of the biggest causes of pollution. And hence in order to protect the environment steps to eradicate poverty and promote sustainable development was proposed. 

At the end of the conference a declaration was adopted named as ‘Johannesburg Declaration on Sustainable development.’

United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development (UNSCD), 2012

The UNSCD or Rio +20 held in June 2012 took place in Rio de Janerio was a historic conference as it presented an opportunity to define pathways to a safer, more equitable, cleaner, more prosperous world for all.

Objectives of UNSCD:

• Securing renewed political commitment for sustainable development.
• Addressing new emerging challenges.
• Assessing the progress made since Rio conference.

Paris Agreement, 2015

The very motto of the paris agreement was new hope for a greener future.

The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change reached a historic agreement i.e. to combat climate change and invest in a low carbon, sustainable environment that was agreed upon by 195 member states.

The Paris Agreement represents the willingness of the global community to take collective measures for achieving tangible success in fight against climate change.

Its key aspects included:

• Mitigation of greenhouse gas emission.
• Adaptation of measures which may help in combating the vulnerable changes in climate.
• Transparency in the functioning of the member states in adoption and implementation of the agreement.
• Green finance.

UN Climate Action Summit, 2019

The conference was held on 23 September 2019 at the UN headquarters, New York. The theme of the summit was 'Climate summit 2019: A race we can win. A race we must win.'

The goal of the conference was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in order to prevent global temperature from rising. Steps were taken to reduce emissions and support populations most vulnerable to the climate crisis. On 20 September, in order to increase pressure on political and economic think-tanks to achieve the aims of the summit, a global climate strike was observed around the world.

Conclusion

The most recent climate change conference United Nations Climate Change Conference, 2020 stands postponed due to this global pandemic which has already helped a lot in securing the Earth’s atmosphere which I don’t think would have been possible no matter how many summits or conventions we all might have had. 

Any convention or summit only has benefits when there is proper implementation on the grass-root level of administration but to lack of transparency among the nation’s internal governance makes these implementations very difficult and sort of utopian in nature.

But this pandemic is a great lesson for the whole of humanity if the perspective is shifted a little from only its negative aspects to a much broader outlook then maybe we can learn to live in harmony with nature more and avoid anything worse than this pandemic to occur in the future.

Written by - Max Croson

Edited by - Arnav Mehra