United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change

Whilst it may seem a “no-brainer” to cease investment in non-renewable power and transfer our effort, resources and investment into developing renewable energy sources, the reality is that we have become so reliant and dependent upon non-renewable energy – particularly fossil fuels – that we must continue to use, develop, and invest in such energy to maintain the living standards that we enjoy today. In our short to medium-term future, and in spite of our ever-increasing scientific knowledge about the environmental price that we pay in using non-renewable energy, we must continue to invest in it. Let me explain why.

The UNFCCC is an organisation created to provide and international response to challenge climate change by researching and implementing measures to limit and control the planet’s greenhouse gas emissions. Principles and framework are set out to aid the distribution of responsibilities within the countries as a means of reducing the associated greenhouse gas emissions.

The IPCC Summary for Policymakers 2014 assesses the impacts of climate change worldwide. The IPCC Summary for Policymakers provides policy makers an overview of what needs to be reviewed, further aiding them in creating policies to better manage and reduce the impact of climate change. The report provides prospective related to how changes through adaptation and mitigation can benefit the impact on climate change. Furthermore the report evaluates what needs to change, the options available to make the changes, and it provides prospects as well as restrictions and limits impeding change.

The most significant existing platform for climate change action is the UN, and UNFCCC in particular. The essay will now move on to the overall assessment of the evolution of the EU actorness in the climate change policy area during 1990-2000s, and, in the process, focus on the case study of the 2009 Copenhagen Climate Summit (also known as COP15). COP15 is a particularly interesting case to review when analysing the EU actorness in this area due to the fact that EU’s performance is mostly assessed as disappointing. Thus, it is an opportunity to take a closer look at the correlation of actorness and effectiveness, explore which actorness criteria caused these outcomes, as well as see if there were

In December of 2015, a historic agreement was made between nations all around the world – the Paris Climate Agreement. The agreement is an inspirational global accord that will trigger and legitimize more climate action around the world (Clémençon 2016). The pact calls for all included nations to adopt green energy sources, cut down on climate change emissions, and limit the rise of global temperatures while also cooperating to cope with the impact of unavoidable climate change (Domonoske 2017). It is far from perfect, but represents the best chance for us to save the one planet we have. With Syria announcing earlier this month that they would sign on, all nations in the

2. Maurice Strong (the Secretary General of the 1992 Rio Earth Summit) liked to distinguish between “success” and “real success” in international agreements. Discuss the 2015 Paris climate change agreement with regard to whether it represents success or real success.

This paper will be divided in three parts, beginning with a brief background on the global warming agenda and tackle the issues surrounding the Kyoto Protocol. The second part will look at climate change and the protocol from the respective lenses of realism and liberalism. I will argue that while none of the theories precisely covers the entirety of the issue, each provides helpful analysis falls short of clarifying the entire climate change picture. Can states cooperate effectively through the structure of the Kyoto protocol to solve an international problem of global warming?”

Bilen et al., (2008:1531) predicted that global energy consumption will account for around 85% of the increase in world primary demand over 2002– 2030. The increasing of global energy demand happens the global stock of fossil fuel resources may be adequate for short term period, thus requiring the development of renewable energy sources, which would not decrease the stock of fossil fuel resources available for future generation. There is an increasing interest in the development of renewable energies such as biofuel and wind power, which have a great potential energy to produce enough power for the world’s population demand.

As the evidence of climate change became more visible and better understood, an international movement for environmental action emerged. Greenhouse gases were blamed for causing the most damage to the Earth such as flooding, loss of wetlands and massive deaths of corals.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was opened for signature in June 1992 at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, where it was signed by 155 States and the European Union (EU), was then entered into force on 21 March 1994 having been approved by 193 States and the EU as of January 2011. This Framework Convention on Climate Change acts as an alliance to mediate disagreement involving many parties and lays the groundwork for successful agreements.

After growing concern over global climate change, the Kyoto Protocol was proposed in 1997 and ratified in 2005. The protocol was created to address the issue of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, specifically aiming to reduce these emissions globally by giving each country specific goals and percentages of reduction by 2012 relative to 1990 GHG levels1. The need for a global policy stems from the systemic type of environmental problem being dealt with2. Although GHGs are created locally, they affect the world as a whole through their spread in the atmosphere and their contribution to rising average global temperatures. Therefore, their impacts are not local and the entire world needs to come together to limit the rise of

The main barrier to meeting the challenges of climate change is political inertia. As the centres of political power, it is the responsibility of government officials to use their best judgement and make sound policy decisions on behalf of citizens. Such decisions require active engagement with other governments as well as with experts, stakeholders and the public. In the context of climate change, it also entail a careful a balance the short-and long-term effects of taking or failing to take action.

The world today, as we know it, acknowledges the impact of the carbon emission on the surrounding environment with devastating effects such as global warming, rise of the ocean levels and destruction of animal and vegetal life. Therefore, it started shifting towards more green sources of energy such as renewable energy, ones that are more sustainable and more friendly to the environment. European Union, one of the most advanced democratic models of our time, is one of the key players at the global level which understands the need for this change in perspective and constantly advocates for more elaborate policies and joined plans of action. The aim of this essay is to analyse the three main renewable energy policies operating at the level

Over the last fifty years, different institutions, international organizations, industrial professionals and federal governments have been working on addressing one of the major challenges the world has been challenged to this day which widely is known as Global Warming. The Kyoto protocol is the well-known abiding playground internationally recognized as a global treaty placing obligations on developed nations to significantly minimize their Green House Gas emissions first adopted in Kyoto, Japan in 1997. Three actions are recommended for the UN to take up on: First, the UN shall bring all the major actors onboard to commit and work towards achieving the emission reduction targets by 2050. Second, the UN should engage in awareness creation to give more focus and special attention towards climate change policies at a deeper and wider level. Third, the UN is advised to lead negotiations to reach at a fair and equitable share of climate regulation costs

The Paris climate conference was held in December and 195 countries participated in an agreement pertaining to climate change. This agreement is global and is expected to be put into plan in 2020. The main goal of this conference was to develop a plan to have countries participate in trying to bring global warming down to 2°C (European Commission, 2016). Like every other agreement that has had an impact on the world’s decisions there is both supporters and critics which results in the pros and cons of the development of the plan. There are justifiably arguments on each side and there is no right answer until the plan goes into full effect in 2020. Therefore, the issue of climate change is not going anywhere anytime soon.