United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNFCCC logo
Signed	9 May 1992
Location	New York City, U.S
Effective	21 March 1994
Condition	ratification by 50 states
Signatories	165
Ratifiers	195 (all United Nations members except South Sudan, as well as Niue, the Cook Islands and the European Union)
Depository	Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) is an international environmental treaty produced at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to 14, 1992. The objective of the treaty is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.^[1]

The treaty itself set no mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms. In that sense, the treaty is considered legally non-binding. Instead, the treaty provides for updates (called "protocols") that would set mandatory emission limits. The principal update is the Kyoto Protocol, which has become much better known than the UNFCCC itself.

The UNFCCC was opened for signature on May 9, 1992, after an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee produced the text of the Framework Convention as a report following its meeting in New York from April 30 to May 9, 1992. It entered into force on March 21, 1994. As of May 2011, UNFCCC has 194 parties.

One of its first tasks was to establish national greenhouse gas inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, which were used to create the 1990 benchmark levels for accession of Annex I countries to the Kyoto Protocol and for the commitment of those countries to GHG reductions. Updated inventories must be regularly submitted by Annex I countries.

The UNFCCC is also the name of the United Nations Secretariat charged with supporting the operation of the Convention, with offices in Haus Carstanjen, Bonn, Germany. From 2006 to 2010 the head of the secretariat was Yvo de Boer; on May 17, 2010 his successor, Christiana Figueres from Costa Rica has been named. The Secretariat, augmented through the parallel efforts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), aims to gain consensus through meetings and the discussion of various strategies.

The parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.^[2]

Annex I, Annex II countries and developing countries[link]

Parties to UNFCCC are classified as:

• Annex I countries: industrialized countries and economies in transition
• Annex II countries: developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries
• Non Annex I countries: Developing countries.

Annex I countries which have ratified the Protocol have committed to reduce their emission levels of greenhouse gasses to targets that are mainly set below their 1990 levels. They may do this by allocating reduced annual allowances to the major operators within their borders. These operators can only exceed their allocations if they buy emission allowances, or offset their excesses through a mechanism that is agreed by all the parties to UNFCCC.

Annex II countries are a sub-group of the Annex I countries. They comprise the OECD members, excluding those that were economies in transition in 1992.

Developing countries are not required to reduce emission levels unless developed countries supply enough funding and technology. Setting no immediate restrictions under UNFCCC serves three purposes:

• it avoids restrictions on their development, because emissions are strongly linked to industrial capacity
• they can sell emissions credits to nations whose operators have difficulty meeting their emissions targets
• they get money and technologies for low-carbon investments from Annex II countries.

Developing countries may volunteer to become Annex I countries when they are sufficiently developed.

Annex I countries[link]

There are 41 Annex I countries and the European Union is also a member. These countries are classified as industrialized countries and countries in transition:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belarus
• Belgium
• Bulgaria
• Canada
• Croatia
• Czech Republic
• Denmark
• Estonia
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Hungary
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy

• Japan
• Latvia
• Liechtenstein
• Lithuania
• Luxembourg
• Malta
• Monaco
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Poland
• Portugal
• Romania
• Russian Federation
• Slovakia
• Slovenia
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• Turkey
• Ukraine
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

Annex II countries[link]

There are 24 Annex II countries and the European Union. Turkey was removed from the Annex II list in 2001 at its request to recognize its economy as a transition economy. These countries are classified as developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries:

• Australia
• Austria
• Belgium
• Canada
• Denmark
• Finland
• France
• Germany
• Greece
• Iceland
• Ireland
• Italy
• Japan
• Luxembourg
• Netherlands
• New Zealand
• Norway
• Portugal
• Spain
• Sweden
• Switzerland
• United Kingdom
• United States of America

U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)[link]

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was opened for signature at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro (known by its popular title, the Earth Summit). On June 12, 1992, 154 nations signed the UNFCCC, that upon ratification committed signatories' governments to a voluntary "non-binding aim" to reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases with the goal of "preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with Earth's climate system". These actions were aimed primarily at industrialized countries, with the intention of stabilizing their emissions of greenhouse gases at 1990 levels by the year 2000; and other responsibilities would be incumbent upon all UNFCCC parties. The parties agreed in general that they would recognize "common but differentiated responsibilities", with greater responsibility for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in the near term on the part of developed/industrialized countries, which were listed and identified in Annex I of the UNFCCC and thereafter referred to as "Annex I" countries.

Benchmarking[link]

In the context of the UNFCCC, benchmarking is the setting of emission reduction commitments measured against a particular base year. The only quantified target set in the original FCCC (Article 4) was for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000 (Goldemberg et al., 1996, pp. 32–33).^[3] There are issues with benchmarking that can make it potentially inequitable (Goldemberg et al., 1996, pp. 32–33). For example, take two countries that have identical emission reduction commitments as measured against the 1990 base year. This might be interpreted as being equitable, but this is not necessarily the case. One country might have previously made efforts to improve energy efficiency in the years preceding the benchmark year, while the other country had not. In economic terms, the marginal cost curve for emissions reductions rises steeply beyond a certain point. Thus, to meet its emission reduction commitment, the country with initially high energy efficiency might face high costs. But for the country that had previously encouraged over-consumption of energy, e.g., through subsidies, the costs of meeting its commitment would potentially be lower.

Interpreting Article 2[link]

The ultimate objective of the Framework Convention is to prevent "dangerous" anthropogenic (i.e., human) interference of the climate system.^[1] As is stated in Article 2 of the Convention, this requires that GHG concentrations are stabilized in the atmosphere at a level where ecosystems can adapt naturally to climate change, food production is not threatened, and economic development can proceed in a sustainable fashion.

Human activities have had a number of effects on the climate system.^[4]:4 Global GHG emissions due to human activities have grown since pre-industrial times.^[5] Warming of the climate system has been observed, as indicated by increases in average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice cover, and rising global average sea level.^[6] As assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), "[most] of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHG concentrations".^[5] "Very likely" here is defined by the IPCC as having a likelihood of greater than 90%, based on expert judgement.^[7]

The future levels of GHG emissions are highly uncertain.^[8] In 2010, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published a report on the voluntary emissions reduction pledges made as part of the Copenhagen Accord. As part of their assessment, UNEP looked at possible emissions out until the end of the 21st century, and estimated associated changes in global mean temperature.^[9]:18 A range of emissions projections suggested a temperature increase of between 2.5 to 5 °C before the end of the 21st century, relative to pre-industrial temperature levels. The lower end temperature estimate is associated with fairly stringent controls on emissions after 2020, while the higher end is associated with weaker controls on emissions.

Future climate change will have a range of beneficial and adverse effects on human society and the environment. The larger the changes in climate, the more adverse effects will predominate (see effects of global warming for more details).^[11] The IPCC has informed the UNFCCC process in determining what constitutes "dangerous" human interference of the climate system. Their conclusion is that such a determination involves value judgements, and will vary among different regions of the world.^[12] The IPCC has broken down current and future impacts of climate change into a range of "key vulnerabilities", e.g., impacts affecting food supply, as well as five "reasons for concern", shown opposite.^[13]

Stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations[link]

In order to stabilize the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere, emissions would need to peak and decline thereafter.^[14] The lower the stabilization level, the more quickly this peak and decline would need to occur. The emissions associated with atmospheric stabilization varies among different GHGs. This is because of differences in the processes that remove each gas from the atmosphere.^[15] Concentrations of some GHGs decrease almost immediately in response to emission reduction, e.g., methane, while others continue to increase for centuries even with reduced emissions, e.g., carbon dioxide.

All relevant GHGs need to be considered if atmospheric GHG concentrations are to be stabilized.^[4]:9 Human activities result in the emission of four principal GHGs: carbon dioxide (chemical formula: CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and the halocarbons (a group of gases containing fluorine, chlorine and bromine).^[16] Carbon dioxide is the most important of the GHGs that human activities release into the atmosphere.^[5] At present, human activities are adding emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere far faster than they are being removed.^[15] This is analogous to a flow of water into a bathtub.^[17] So long as the tap runs water (analogous to the emission of carbon dioxide) into the tub faster than water escapes through the plughole (the natural removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere), then the level of water in the tub (analogous to the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere) will continue to rise. To stabilize the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide at a constant level, emissions would essentially need to be completely eliminated.^[15] It is estimated that reducing carbon dioxide emissions 100% below their present level (i.e., complete elimination) would lead to a slow decrease in the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ by 40 parts-per-million (ppm) over the 21st century.

The emissions reductions required to stabilize the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ can be contrasted with the reductions required for methane. Unlike CO₂, methane has a well-defined lifetime in the atmosphere of about 12 years. Lifetime is defined as the time required to reduce a given perturbation of methane in the atmosphere to 37% of its initial amount.^[15] Stabilizing emissions of methane would lead, within decades, to a stabilization in its atmospheric concentration.^[18]

The climate system would take time to respond to a stabilization in the atmospheric concentration of CO₂.^[19] Temperature stabilization would be expected within a few centuries. Sea level rise due thermal expansion would be expected to continue for centuries to millennia. Additional sea level rise due to ice melting would be expected to continue for several millennia.

Precautionary principle[link]

In decision making, the precautionary principle is considered when possibly dangerous, irreversible, or catastrophic events are identified, but scientific evaluation of the potential damage is not sufficiently certain (Toth et al., 2001, pp. 655–656).^[20] The precautionary principle implies an emphasis on the need to prevent such adverse effects.

Uncertainty is associated with each link of the causal chain of climate change. For example, future GHG emissions are uncertain, as are climate change damages. However, following the precautionary principle, uncertainty is not a reason for inaction, and this is acknowledged in Article 3.3 of the UNFCCC (Toth et al., 2001, p. 656).^[20]

Conferences of the Parties[link]

Since the UNFCCC entered into force, the parties have been meeting annually in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change, and beginning in the mid-1990s, to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.^[2] From 2005 the Conferences have met in conjunction with Meetings of Parties of the Kyoto Protocol (MOP), and parties to the Convention that are not parties to the Protocol can participate in Protocol-related meetings as observers.

1995: COP 1, The Berlin Mandate[link]

The first UNFCCC Conference of Parties took place in 28 March - 7 April 1995 in Berlin, Germany. It voiced concerns about the adequacy of countries' abilities to meet commitments under the Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI).

1996: COP 2, Geneva, Switzerland[link]

COP 2 took place in July 1996 in Geneva, Switzerland. Its Ministerial Declaration was noted (but not adopted) July 18, 1996, and reflected a U.S. position statement presented by Timothy Wirth, former Under Secretary for Global Affairs for the U.S. State Department at that meeting, which:

1. Accepted the scientific findings on climate change proffered by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in its second assessment (1995);
2. Rejected uniform "harmonized policies" in favor of flexibility;
3. Called for "legally binding mid-term targets".

1997: COP 3, The Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change[link]

COP 3 took place in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. After intensive negotiations, it adopted the Kyoto Protocol, which outlined the greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligation for Annex I countries, along with what came to be known as Kyoto mechanisms such as emissions trading, clean development mechanism and joint implementation. Most industrialized countries and some central European economies in transition (all defined as Annex B countries) agreed to legally binding reductions in greenhouse gas emissions of an average of 6 to 8% below 1990 levels between the years 2008–2012, defined as the first emissions budget period. The United States would be required to reduce its total emissions an average of 7% below 1990 levels; however Congress did not ratify the treaty after Clinton signed it. The Bush administration explicitly rejected the protocol in 2001.

1998: COP 4, Buenos Aires, Argentina[link]

COP 4 took place in November 1998 in Buenos Aires. It had been expected that the remaining issues unresolved in Kyoto would be finalized at this meeting. However, the complexity and difficulty of finding agreement on these issues proved insurmountable, and instead the parties adopted a 2-year "Plan of Action" to advance efforts and to devise mechanisms for implementing the Kyoto Protocol, to be completed by 2000. During COP4, Argentina and Kazakhstan expressed their commitment to take on the greenhouse gas emissions reduction obligation, the first two non-Annex countries to do so.

1999: COP 5, Bonn, Germany[link]

COP 5 took place between October 25 and November 5, 1999, in Bonn, Germany. It was primarily a technical meeting, and did not reach major conclusions.

2000: COP 6, The Hague, Netherlands[link]

COP 6 took place between November 13 and November 25, 2000, in The Hague, Netherlands. The discussions evolved rapidly into a high-level negotiation over the major political issues. These included major controversy over the United States' proposal to allow credit for carbon "sinks" in forests and agricultural lands, satisfying a major proportion of the U.S. emissions reductions in this way; disagreements over consequences for non-compliance by countries that did not meet their emission reduction targets; and difficulties in resolving how developing countries could obtain financial assistance to deal with adverse effects of climate change and meet their obligations to plan for measuring and possibly reducing greenhouse gas emissions. In the final hours of COP 6, despite some compromises agreed between the United States and some EU countries, notably the United Kingdom, the EU countries as a whole, led by Denmark and Germany, rejected the compromise positions, and the talks in The Hague collapsed. Jan Pronk, the President of COP 6, suspended COP-6 without agreement, with the expectation that negotiations would later resume.^[21] It was later announced that the COP 6 meetings (termed "COP 6 bis") would be resumed in Bonn, Germany, in the second half of July. The next regularly scheduled meeting of the parties to the UNFCCC, COP 7, had been set for Marrakech, Morocco, in October–November 2001.

2001: COP 6, Bonn, Germany[link]

COP 6 negotiations resumed July 17–27, 2001, in Bonn, Germany, with little progress having been made in resolving the differences that had produced an impasse in The Hague. However, this meeting took place after George W. Bush had become the President of the United States and had rejected the Kyoto Protocol in March 2001; as a result the United States delegation to this meeting declined to participate in the negotiations related to the Protocol and chose to take the role of observer at the meeting. As the other parties negotiated the key issues, agreement was reached on most of the major political issues, to the surprise of most observers, given the low expectations that preceded the meeting. The agreements included:

1. Flexible Mechanisms: The "flexibility" mechanisms which the United States had strongly favored when the Protocol was initially put together, including emissions trading; Joint Implementation (JI); and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) which allow industrialized countries to fund emissions reduction activities in developing countries as an alternative to domestic emission reductions. One of the key elements of this agreement was that there would be no quantitative limit on the credit a country could claim from use of these mechanisms provided domestic action constituted a significant element of the efforts of each Annex B country to meet their targets.
2. Carbon sinks: It was agreed that credit would be granted for broad activities that absorb carbon from the atmosphere or store it, including forest and cropland management, and re-vegetation, with no over-all cap on the amount of credit that a country could claim for sinks activities. In the case of forest management, an Appendix Z establishes country-specific caps for each Annex I country. Thus, a cap of 13 million tons could be credited to Japan (which represents about 4% of its base-year emissions). For cropland management, countries could receive credit only for carbon sequestration increases above 1990 levels.
3. Compliance: Final action on compliance procedures and mechanisms that would address non-compliance with Protocol provisions was deferred to COP 7, but included broad outlines of consequences for failing to meet emissions targets that would include a requirement to "make up" shortfalls at 1.3 tons to 1, suspension of the right to sell credits for surplus emissions reductions, and a required compliance action plan for those not meeting their targets.
4. Financing: There was agreement on the establishment of three new funds to provide assistance for needs associated with climate change: (1) a fund for climate change that supports a series of climate measures; (2) a least-developed-country fund to support National Adaptation Programs of Action; and (3) a Kyoto Protocol adaptation fund supported by a CDM levy and voluntary contributions.

A number of operational details attendant upon these decisions remained to be negotiated and agreed upon, and these were the major issues considered by the COP 7 meeting that followed.

2001: COP 7, Marrakech, Morocco[link]

At the COP 7 meeting in Marrakech, Morocco from October 29 to November 10, 2001, negotiators wrapped up the work on the Buenos Aires Plan of Action, finalizing most of the operational details and setting the stage for nations to ratify the Kyoto Protocol.deadlink^{[dead link]} deadlink^{[dead link]} The completed package of decisions is known as the Marrakech Accords. The United States delegation maintained its observer role, declining to participate actively in the negotiations. Other parties continued to express hope that the United States would re-engage in the process at some point and worked to achieve ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by the requisite number of countries to bring it into force (55 countries needed to ratify it, including those accounting for 55% of developed-country emissions of carbon dioxide in 1990). The date of the World Summit on Sustainable Development (August–September 2002) was put forward as a target to bring the Kyoto Protocol into force. The World Summit on Sustainable Development (WSSD) was to be held in Johannesburg, South Africa.

The main decisions at COP 7 included:

• Operational rules for international emissions trading among parties to the Protocol and for the CDM and joint implementation;
• A compliance regime that outlined consequences for failure to meet emissions targets but deferred to the parties to the Protocol, once it came into force, the decision on whether those consequences would be legally binding;
• Accounting procedures for the flexibility mechanisms;
• A decision to consider at COP 8 how to achieve a review of the adequacy of commitments that might lead to discussions on future commitments by developing countries.

2002: COP 8, New Delhi, India[link]

Taking place from October 23 to November 1, 2002, in New Delhi COP 8 adopted the Delhi Ministerial Declaration^[22] that, amongst others, called for efforts by developed countries to transfer technology and minimize the impact of climate change on developing countries. It is also approved the New Delhi work programme^{[23][24][25][26]} on Article 6 of the Convention.^[27] The COP8 was marked by Russia's hesitation, stating that the government needs more time to think it over. The Kyoto Protocol's fine print says it can come into force only once it is ratified by 55 countries, including wealthy nations responsible for 55 per cent of the developed world's 1990 carbon dioxide emissions. With the United States (and its 36.1 per cent slice of developed-world carbon dioxide) out of the picture and Australia also refusing ratification, Russia was required to make up the difference; hence, it could delay the process.^[28]

2003: COP 9, Milan, Italy[link]

COP 9 took place between December 1 and December 12, 2003 in Milan. The parties agreed to use the Adaptation Fund established at COP7 in 2001 primarily in supporting developing countries better adapt to climate change. The fund would also be used for capacity-building through technology transfer. At COP9, the parties also agreed to review the first national reports submitted by 110 non-Annex I countries.

2004: COP 10, Buenos Aires, Argentina[link]

COP 10 took place between December 6 and December 17, 2004.

COP10 discussed the progress made since the first Conference of the Parties 10 years ago and its future challenges, with special emphasis on climate change mitigation and adaptation. To promote developing countries better adapt to climate change, the Buenos Aires Plan of Action^[29] was adopted. The parties also began discussing the post-Kyoto mechanism, on how to allocate emission reduction obligation following 2012, when the first commitment period ends.

2005: COP 11/MOP 1, Montreal, Canada[link]

COP 11 (or COP 11/MOP 1) took place between November 28 and December 9, 2005, in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It was the first Meeting of the Parties (MOP-1) to the Kyoto Protocol since their initial meeting in Kyoto in 1997. It was therefore one of the largest intergovernmental conferences on climate change ever. The event marked the entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol. Hosting more than 10,000 delegates, it was one of Canada's largest international events ever and the largest gathering in Montreal since Expo 67. The Montreal Action Plan is an agreement hammered out at the end of the conference to "extend the life of the Kyoto Protocol beyond its 2012 expiration date and negotiate deeper cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions".^[30] Canada's environment minister, at the time, Stéphane Dion, said the agreement provides a "map for the future".^[31][32]

2006: COP 12/MOP 2, Nairobi, Kenya[link]

COP 12/MOP 2 took place between November 6 and 17, 2006 in Nairobi, Kenya. At the meeting, BBC reporter Richard Black coined the phrase "climate tourists" to describe some delegates who attended "to see Africa, take snaps of the wildlife, the poor, dying African children and women". Black also noted that due to delegates concerns over economic costs and possible losses of competitiveness, the majority of the discussions avoided any mention of reducing emissions. Black concluded that was a disconnect between the political process and the scientific imperative.^[33] Despite such criticism, certain strides were made at COP12, including in the areas of support for developing countries and clean development mechanism. The parties adopted a five-year plan of work to support climate change adaptation by developing countries, and agreed on the procedures and modalities for the Adaptation Fund. They also agreed to improve the projects for clean development mechanism.

2007: COP 13/MOP 3, Bali, Indonesia[link]

COP 13/MOP 3 took place between December 3 and December 15, 2007, at Nusa Dua, in Bali, Indonesia. Agreement on a timeline and structured negotiation on the post-2012 framework (the end of the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol) was achieved with the adoption of the Bali Action Plan (Decision 1/CP.13). The Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA) was established as a new subsidiary body to conduct the negotiations aimed at urgently enhancing the implementation of the Convention up to and beyond 2012. Decision 9/CP.13 is an Amended to the New Delhi work programme.^[34] These negotiations took place during 2008 (leading to COP 14/MOP 4 in Poznan, Poland) and 2009 (leading to COP 15/MOP 5 in Copenhagen).

2008: COP 14/MOP 4, Poznań, Poland[link]

COP 14/MOP 4 took place from December 1 to12, 2008 in Poznań, Poland.^[35] Delegates agreed on principles for the financing of a fund to help the poorest nations cope with the effects of climate change and they approved a mechanism to incorporate forest protection into the efforts of the international community to combat climate change.^[36]

Negotiations on a successor to the Kyoto Protocol were the primary focus of the conference.

2009: COP 15/MOP 5, Copenhagen, Denmark[link]

COP 15 took place in Copenhagen, Denmark, from December 7 to December 18, 2009.

The overall goal for the COP 15/MOP 5 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Denmark was to establish an ambitious global climate agreement for the period from 2012 when the first commitment period under the Kyoto Protocol expires. However, on November 14, 2009, the New York Times announced that "President Obama and other world leaders have decided to put off the difficult task of reaching a climate change agreement... agreeing instead to make it the mission of the Copenhagen conference to reach a less specific "politically binding" agreement that would punt the most difficult issues into the future".^[37] Ministers and officials from 192 countries took part in the Copenhagen meeting and in addition there were participants from a large number of civil society organizations. As many Annex 1 industrialized countries are now reluctant to fulfill commitments under the Kyoto Protocol, a large part of the diplomatic work that lays the foundation for a post-Kyoto agreement was undertaken up to the COP15.

The conference did not achieve a binding agreement for long-term action. A 13-paragraph 'political accord' was negotiated by approximately 25 parties including US and China, but it was only 'noted' by the COP as it is considered an external document, not negotiated within the UNFCCC process.^[38] The accord was notable in that it referred to a collective commitment by developed countries for new and additional resources, including forestry and investments through international institutions, that will approach USD 30 billion for the period 2010–2012. Longer-term options on climate financing mentioned in the accord are being discussed within the UN Secretary General's High Level Advisory Group on Climate Financing, which is due to report in November 2010. The negotiations on extending the Kyoto Protocol had unresolved issues as did the negotiations on a framework for long-term cooperative action. The working groups on these tracks to the negotiations are now due to report to COP 16 and MOP 6 in Mexico.

2010: COP 16/MOP 6, Cancún, Mexico[link]

COP 16 was held in Cancún, Mexico, from November 29 to December 10, 2010.^[39][40]

2011: COP 17/MOP 7, Durban, South Africa[link]

The 2011 COP 17 was held in Durban, South Africa, from November 28 to December 9, 2011.^[39][41]

2012: COP 18/MOP 8, Qatar[link]

Qatar will be the host of COP 18 which will take place from 26 November to 7 December 2012.^[42]

Subsidiary bodies[link]

A subsidiary body is a committee that assists the Conference of the Parties. Subsidiary bodies includes:^[43]

• Permanents:
  • The Subsidiary Board of Implementation (SBI) makes recommendations on policy and implementation issues to the COP and, if requested, to other bodies.
  • The Subsidiary Board of Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) serves as a link between information and assessments provided by expert sources (such as the IPCC) and the COP, which focuses on setting policy.
• Temporary:
  • AWG-LCA
  • AWG-KP

Secretariat[link]

The work under the UNFCCC is facilitated by a secretariat in Bonn, Germany, which from July 2010 is headed by Executive Secretary Christiana Figueres.

Members[link]

See also[link]

• Climate ethics
• Individual and political action on climate change
• List of international environmental agreements
• Montreal Protocol
• Post–Kyoto Protocol negotiations on greenhouse gas emissions
• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification

References[link]

External links[link]

• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
• Text of the UNFCCC
• Ratifications
• Earth Negotiations Bulletin: detailed summaries of all COPs and SBs
• Road to Doha, a project following COP18 in Qatar by Carboun

• UNFCCC on India Environment Portal
• Conference of Parties (COP)

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Christiana Figueres
(2011)
Personal details
Born	Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen (1956-08-07) August 7, 1956 (age 55) San José, Costa Rica
Spouse(s)	Konrad von Ritter
Children	Naima, Yihana
Alma mater	Swarthmore College London School of Economics
Profession	Global climate change analyst
Website	FigueresOnline.com

Karen Christiana Figueres Olsen (born August 7, 1956) was appointed Executive Secretary of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) on May 17, 2010, succeeding Yvo de Boer.^[1][2] She had been a member of the Costa Rican negotiating team since 1995, involved in both UNFCCC^[3] and Kyoto Protocol^[4] negotiations. She has contributed to the design of key climate change instruments.^[5] She is a prime promoter of Latin America’s active participation in the Convention,^[6] a frequent public speaker,^[7] and a widely published author.^[8] She won the Hero for the Planet award in 2001.^[9]

Early life[link]

Christiana Figueres was born in San José, Costa Rica, into a family dedicated to public service. Her father, José Figueres Ferrer, was President of Costa Rica three times: 1948–49, 1953–1958, and 1970–1974. José Figueres Ferrer was the leader of the 1948 Revolution and is considered the founder of modern democracy in Costa Rica. He is most well known for having abolished the army in 1948 and established a broad system of checks and balances that are at the root of Costa Rica’s stable development to this day. Active in her own right, Christiana’s mother, Karen Olsen Beck, served as Costa Rican Ambassador to Israel in 1982 and was elected to the Legislative Assembly for the 1990–1994 period. The couple had four children. Christiana’s older brother José Figueres Olsen, was also President of Costa Rica (1994–1998), and is credited with having initiated the country onto a path of sustainable development which continues to this day. Younger brother Mariano Figueres Olsen is currently active in politics and manages the family firm, together with younger sister Kirsten Figueres Olsen.

Christiana grew up in La Lucha, the farm community founded by her father in 1928. There she attended the local Cecilia Orlich grammar school, before moving to the German Humboldt Schule in the capital city and later graduating from Lincoln High School. Having graduated at a very young age, she went to England for a year of A Level studies before entering Swarthmore College in Pennsylvania, United States. As an integral part of her studies in Anthropology, she lived in Bribri, Talamanca, a remote indigenous village in the Southeastern plateau of Costa Rica for one year, designing a culturally sensitive literacy program which was used by the Ministry of Education for several years afterward.

Christiana graduated from Swarthmore in 1979 and immediately joined renowned botanist Dr. Russell Seibert in an effort to improve nutritional conditions in Western Samoa through the introduction of highly nutritious plants. She then went to the London School of Economics for a Master’s Degree in Social Anthropology and graduated in 1981. It was in London where she met her husband, Konrad von Ritter.

Professional experience[link]

Christiana Figueres initiated her life of public service as Minister Counselor at the Embassy of Costa Rica in Bonn, Germany, from 1982 to 1985. She directed the work of all departments of the Embassy, and re-negotiated the terms of technical assistance, development finance and cooperation between both countries. She was bestowed the Great Cross for the Honor of Merit by the German government for outstanding performance.

Returning to Costa Rica in 1987, Christiana Figueres was named Director of International Cooperation in the Ministry of Planning. There she designed and directed the negotiation of comprehensive financial and technical cooperation programs with eight European countries (total investment US $90 million), and supervised the evaluation of all national technical and financial assistance requests. A year later she was made Chief of Staff to the Minister of Agriculture. She supervised the execution of 22 national programs involving training, credit and marketing (credit portfolio US $200 million). She reorganized the Minister’s Bureau for greater teamwork and productivity, and designed coordination strategies among three major public institutions in the sector, eliminating duplications of services and contradictions in policy.

In 1989 she moved with her husband to Washington DC, and for several years devoted herself to the upbringing of their two daughters, Naima born in March 1988 and Yihana born in December 1989. At the same time she pursued her interest in institutional re-structuring and effectiveness building by first attaining the Certification in Organization Development from Georgetown University in 1991, and then the Certificate in Organization and Systems Design from the Gestalt Institute of Cleveland in 1993.

In 1994 she re-entered professional life and became the Director of the Technical Secretariat of the Renewable Energy in the Americas (REIA) program, today housed at the Organization of the American States (OAS). She promoted hemispheric policies to advance the use of renewable energy technologies in Latin America, identifying barriers to investment and possible solutions. She developed coordination mechanisms among various US and Latin American agencies active in the field through close working relationships with the governments and private sectors of Chile, Peru, Argentina, Mexico and Central America.

Center for Sustainable Development in the Americas (CSDA)[link]

In 1995 she founded and became the Executive Director^[10] of the Center for Sustainable Development in the Americas, a non profit organization dedicated to promoting the participation of Latin American countries^[11] in the Climate Change Convention. Figueres developed and led the four programs of the Center:^[12] capacity building, policy reform, project preparation and carbon finance. Some of her main accomplishments include:

• Conceived and established the first ever carbon finance program in the developing world: the Latin American Carbon Program (PLAC) within the Andean Development Corporation (CAF). 1999
• Successfully negotiated the first emission reduction purchase agreement between an industrialized country and a regional development bank. The agreement assigned the Andean Development Corporation (CAF) 45 million EUROs to purchase emission reductions in Latin America on behalf of the Government of the Netherlands. 2001^[13]
• Designed and performed capacity building activities on Climate Change, sustainable energy and conservation for over five hundred professionals from the public and private sectors, as well as from civil society throughout Latin America. 1995–2003^[14]
• Envisioned and helped establish national climate change programs in Guatemala, Panama, Colombia, Argentina, Ecuador, Honduras, El Salvador and the Dominican Republic.1998–2007^[15]
• Envisioned and supervised the creation of the first electronic climate change information system specializing on the Clean Development Mechanism.
• Supervised the preparation of six greenhouse gas reduction projects in the energy and industry sectors, all approved by US Initiative of Joint Implementation.^[16]
• Conceived and lead the preparation of FOCADES, an innovative fund for the promotion of biodiversity and clean energy projects in Central America, with a total capitalization of $15 million. 1995

International negotiator[link]

Representing the Government of Costa Rica,^[17][18] Christiana Figueres has been a negotiator of the United Nations Convention on Climate Change since 1995.^[19][20] In 1997 she provided critical international strategy for achieving developing country support and approval of the Kyoto Protocol and the Clean Development Mechanism. From 2007 to 2009 she was Vice President of the Bureau^[21] of the Climate Convention, in representation of Latin America and the Caribbean. Over the years she has chaired numerous international negotiations:^[22]

Chair of the Contact Group on Guidance to the CDM Executive Board: Nairobi, December 2006;^[23] Poznan, December 2008;^[24] Copenhagen, December 2009.^[25]

Chair of the Contact Group on flexibility mechanisms for the post 2012 regime, Bonn in June 2008,^[26] Accra, Ghana^[27] in August 2008, and Poznan in December 2008.^[28]

Member of the Friends of the Chair Group that negotiated the Bali Action Plan for long term cooperative action of all nations, Bali, Indonesia, December 2007.^[29]

Programmatic CDM[link]

Aware that developing countries would need an additional incentive to undertake mitigation efforts that go beyond traditional single-site CDM projects into the promotion of climate friendly policies and measures, in 2002 Figueres proposed a “Sectoral CDM” under which developing countries would be encouraged to develop regional or sectoral projects that may be the result of specific sustainable development policies. In 2005 she published a groundbreaking study proposing “programmatic CDM” whereby emission reductions are achieved not by one single site, but rather by multiple actions executed over time as the result of a government measure or a voluntary program.^[30] She conceived Programmatic CDM as a way to mobilize mitigation activities that are highly dispersed and directly benefit the user, such as distributed renewable energy and end use energy efficiency, thereby bringing the benefit of the CDM to the household and small/medium enterprise level.^[31] Programmatic CDM not only expands the sustainable development impact of the CDM, it also allows the scaling up of emission reduction activities in all sectors while reducing transaction costs, and enables the transition to more ambitious developing country emission reduction programs.

In December 2005 Figueres took the idea to the COP/MOP 1 in Montreal,^[32] and achieved support for it on behalf of the Group of 77 and China. She then took the lead of negotiating the concept with the various groups of industrialized countries, finally attaing a COP/MOP decision to allow “programs of activities”^[33] in the CDM (paragraph 20 of Decision CMP.1).^[34] Two years later, as member of the CDM Executive Board, she achieved consensus on the rules and procedures for the submission of “programs of activities” in the CDM.^[35][36] Programmatic CDM is today recognized as one of the most innovative reforms of the CDM, and one which holds the potential of promoting the adoption of climate friendly policies in developing countries.

Private sector[link]

Christiana Figueres has not only been active in the public arena and in the field of NGOs, she also collaborates actively with private sector companies that align themselves with climate friendly goals. Ms. Figueres currently serves as Senior Adviser to C-Quest Capital, a carbon finance company focusing on programmatic CDM investments.^[37] She is the Principal Climate Change Advisor to ENDESA Latinoamérica, the largest private utility in Latin America with operations in Argentina, Brazil, Chile, Colombia and Peru. She is also Vice Chair of the Rating Committee of the Carbon Rating Agency, the first entity to apply credit rating expertise to carbon assets.^[38][39]

Lectures[link]

Ms. Figueres is a frequent lecturer on climate policy^{[40][41][42][43][44]} and negotiations at academic institutions including Yale University, University of Chicago, Georgetown University, College of William and Mary, and Johns Hopkins University. She also has recurrent public speaking engagements by invitation of the World Bank, Inter American Development Bank,^[45][46] Corporación Andina de Fomento,^[47] OECD [6][7], Carbon Expo, International Energy Agency, UNIDO [8] LAC Carbon Forum [9][10], Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean [11], AVINA Foundation [12] [13] [14], Point Carbon [15], Environmental Finance [16], International Emissions Trading Association [17][18], PEW Center on Global Climate Change [19], Global Foundation for Democracy and Development [20], etc. She has been trained and authorized by Al Gore to deliver his presentation An Inconvenient Truth.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change[link]

Christiana Figueres, executive secretary of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change, gave the opening statement before delegates from 193 countries gathered in Cancun, Mexico on November 29, 2010 by invoking the ancient jaguar goddess Ixchel, noting that Ixchel was not only goddess of the moon, but also "the goddess of reason, creativity and weaving. May she inspire you – because today, you are gathered in Cancun to weave together the elements of a solid response to climate change, using both reason and creativity as your tools." She went on to say to the delegates, "Excellencies, the goddess Ixchel would probably tell you that a tapestry is the result of the skilful interlacing of many threads," said Figueres, who hails from Costa Rica and started her greetings in Spanish before switching to English. "I am convinced that 20 years from now, we will admire the policy tapestry that you have woven together and think back fondly to Cancun and the inspiration of Ixchel."^[48]

Leadership[link]

• Vice President of the Bureau of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2008–09.^[49]
• Member of the Scientific Advisory Panel of the UNEP Risoe Centre, Denmark.
• Member of the Carbon Finance Working Group of Project Catalyst, initiated by Climateworks, a new foundation endowed by the Packard, Hewlett and McKnight Foundations, and supported by McKinsey & Co. 2008
• Board of Directors of the Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), 2008.^[50][51]
• Energy Program Advisory Committee of Green Cross International, founded by Pres. Gorbachev, 2008^[52][53]
• Representative of Latin America and the Caribbean to the Executive Board of the Clean Development Mechanism, UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, 2007.^[35]
• International Member of the Academy of Sciences, Dominican Republic. 2007.^[54]
• Board of Directors and Trustee, Winrock International, a mission-driven international NGO with a budget of $50 million and an endowment of $60 million. 2005–present. Chair of the Governance Committee and Member of the Executive Committee, 2007–present.^[55]
• Advisory Senate of the ICE Organization Limited, first credit card to neutralize carbon emissions of user’s purchases. 2007–present
• Board of Trustees of the Fundación para el Desarrollo de la Cordillera Volcánica Central (FUNDECOR), Costa Rican organization with an endowment of $15 million and which received the 2001 King Bauldwin Award. 1999–present^[56]
• Board of Directors, International Institute for Energy Conservation, 2006–2008^[57]
• Member of the Development Dividend Task Force, International Institute of Sustainable Development, Canada. 2005–2008^[58]
• Invited member of the Clinton Global Initiative, 2005–2006^[59]
• Member of the Global Roundtable on Climate Change, led by Prof. Jeffrey Sachs at Columbia University. 2005–07
• Selection panel for the Yale World Fellows Program, 2003 – 2006.
• Hero for the Planet Award by the National Geographic Magazine and the Ford Motor Company, March 2001, in recognition of international leadership in sustainable energy.^[60]
• Technical Advisory Board of the Prototype Carbon Fund of the World Bank, 1999–2001^[61]
• Board of Directors of the Caribbean Conservation Corporation (CCC), 1999–2003^[62]
• Advisory Board of the Organization of Tropical Studies (OTS), Duke University 1998–2000
• Vice President, Foundation for Central American Management Education (INCAE), in association with Harvard University. 1998–2001