United Nations Audiovisual Library of International Law

UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE

By Laurence Boisson de Chazournes

Professor and Head of the Department of public international law and international
organization, Faculty of Law, University of Geneva

The Human Impact on Climate Change

Global warming, which is the increase in global average temperature in the course
of the twentieth century, is mostly due to the increase of atmospheric greenhouse gas
(GHG) concentrations caused by human activity; these anthropogenic emissions have
increased by 70 per cent between 1970 and 2004 (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change (IPCC) 4th Assessment Report). The greenhouse gas effect in the atmosphere
regulates overall temperature on the Earth’s surface. It is, in principle, a naturally
occurring phenomenon by which certain gases present in the atmosphere (e.g., carbon
dioxide, water vapour, methane, nitrous oxide, and chlorofluorocarbons) re-radiate heat
back to the Earth’s surface; without it our planet would be considerably colder and most
likely uninhabitable.

By the mid-1980s, scientists warned that global warming beyond natural

variability was occurring and that this was in large part due to human activity and the
increase of anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). Advancements in
computing technology had permitted the development of complex and more realistic
models on cause-and-effect relationships and on the risks of climate change to humans and
the ecosystem. In a 1985 conference, the International Conference on Assessment of the
Role of Carbon Dioxide and of Other Greenhouse Gases in Climate Variations and
Associated Impacts, held in Villach, Austria, scientists called on politicians to collaborate
in the exploration of policies to mitigate human-induced climate change. The discovery of
the ozone hole and a heat wave in 1988 created an additional sense of increased urgency
for action.

Negotiating a Universal Legal Framework

International consensus soon developed that States should also consider the
elaboration of a legally-binding convention on climate change, which would address
emissions of greenhouse gases not covered under the Ozone Layer protection regime, i.e.,
the 1985 Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer and the 1987 Montreal
Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer. A first step was the establishment of
the IPCC by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations
Environment Program (UNEP) in 1988 as a scientific intergovernmental body to provide
decision makers with an assessment of the latest scientific research and its policy
implications for mitigation and adaptation. In 1990, at the Second World Climate
Conference in Geneva, it became clear that there was a “North-South” divide on how
developed and developing countries viewed climate change. While for the former it was, at
that time, primarily a scientific and environmental issue, the latter emphasized the
implications for poverty and development of any future regime. These seemingly joint
positions of the “North” and “South” were based on different and often diverging
underlying interests with respect to obligations. In the first group, the majority of

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Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development countries favoured the adoption
of an agreement that would reduce global GHG emissions, though there was no agreement
by how much these should be reduced. In contrast, the United States, agreeing in principle
to the need for an environmental agreement, did not want to be subject to any obligation to
reduce emissions. The second group was united in the argument that the new legal
instrument must not obstruct their economic development. Apart from this position,
interests were divided: while the oil exporting countries feared for their revenue streams
under a new instrument that might restrict the use of fossil fuels, and charcoal consuming
countries were concerned about the future use of their primary source of energy, the Small
Island States and States with low-lying coastal areas created an alliance to protect
themselves from the threat of rising oceans.

Developing countries felt that their concerns were not properly addressed by the
scientifically focused IPCC process and rejected the proposal of a negotiating committee
that would work under the auspices of WMO and UNEP. Thus, an International
Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change (INC) was
established under the auspices of the United Nations General Assembly (resolution 45/212
of 21 December 1990). The INC was open to all Member States of the United Nations and
its specialized agencies. Its mandate was “to negotiate a framework convention, containing
appropriate commitments, and any related legal instruments as might be agreed upon” in
time to be opened for signature at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment
and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro.

In an enormous negotiation effort which involved more than 140 States and took
less than seventeen months, the Committee fulfilled its mandate and the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change was open for signature at UNCED from 4 to
14 June 1992, and thereafter at United Nations Headquarters in New York until 19 June
1993. By that date, the Convention had 165 signatories. It entered into force on 21 March
1994. With 192 instruments of ratification deposited, the United Nations Framework
Convention on Climate Change has near universal membership (status as of 26 August
2008).

The United Nations Framework Convention and its Objectives

The long-term objective of the Convention and its related legal instruments is “to
achieve […] the stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level
that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” (article
2). Climate change is defined by the Convention as “change of climate which is attributed
directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere
and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time
periods” (article 1 (2)).

Noting that the largest share of emissions has originated in the developed world and
taking into account the developing countries’ concern for development, the Convention
espouses the principles of equity and sustainable development and calls on States to
cooperate as widely as possible in accordance with the principle of common but
differentiated responsibilities and in accordance with their respective capabilities. In the
implementation of commitments, parties to the Convention shall consider the specific
needs and concerns of particularly affected country groups, such as low-lying coastal,
transit and landlocked countries, Small Island States, fossil fuel dependent countries and

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countries with semi-arid areas, areas liable to drought and desertification, forested areas,
areas prone to natural disaster, areas of high urban atmospheric pollution and areas with
fragile ecosystems, as well as least developed countries and countries that may be
economically harmed by climate change response measures (article 4 (8) to (10)).

The Convention outlines a set of general commitments applicable to all parties,

while specific commitments apply only to developed countries listed in annexes I and II.
The Convention recognizes the existence of other international agreements regulating
GHG emissions; in particular, it provides that commitments under the Convention do not
apply to GHGs already controlled by the Montreal Protocol. The principle of common but
differentiated responsibilities is also the governing principle for the implementation of
general commitments listed in article 4, paragraph 1. The preparation and regular update of
national inventories of GHGs emissions provides a scientific basis for future planning and
achievement of the long-term objective of the Convention. Further general commitments
include long-term national planning, the diffusion of technologies and processes to control
emissions, the conservation of sinks, cooperative adaptation planning, and adjustment of
environmental policies, systematic observation and development of data archives,
exchange of information, as well as promotion of education, training and public awareness.
Developed countries listed in annex I commit themselves to the objective to limit
anthropogenic emissions of GHGs with the aim of returning individually or jointly to their
1990 levels of emissions. They are subjected to more stringent reporting requirements than
developing countries and must coordinate relevant economic and administrative
instruments that contribute to increased GHG emissions (for example, subsidies and
energy pricing) as well as review their policies regularly (article 4 (2)). Annex II countries,
which represent a smaller set of annex I countries, are under the obligation to provide new
and additional financial resources to developing countries for their compliance with
national reporting requirements specified under article 12, paragraph 1. They further
provide resources to cover full incremental costs of implementation of general
commitments by developing countries and assist the particularly vulnerable States in
meeting costs of adaptation (article 4 (3) and (4)). Annex II countries are also responsible
to promote the transfer of and access to environmentally sound technologies to other
parties, in particular to developing countries, and support capacity enhancement of the
latter (article 4 (5)).

Institutional and Financial Mechanisms

The Conference of Parties (COP) is the supreme body of the Convention. The COP
takes decisions to promote the implementation and reviews the effectiveness of the
Convention regularly. To this end, it is authorized to examine national reports, parties’
obligations and institutional arrangements under the Convention, review the adequacy of
the commitments in article 4, paragraph 2, facilitate, upon request, the coordination of
national measures, and make recommendations on any matters necessary to realize the
goals of the Convention. Observers are admitted to the annual meetings of the Conference
(article 7).

Further to the COP, the Convention established four additional bodies; a Secretariat
(article 8), which is now permanently located in Bonn, Germany; two subsidiary bodies,
one for scientific and technological advice (article 9) and the other for implementation
(article 10); and a financial mechanism (article 11). The subsidiary bodies are both open to
all parties in their membership and are composed of Government representatives with the

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relevant expertise. They assess the state of scientific knowledge and the aggregate progress
and effect of measures taken by the parties to implement the Convention. They report only
to the COP, which is authorized to establish further subsidiary bodies as needed.

A financial mechanism is established to provide financial resources on grant or

concessional basis, including for the transfer of technology. It functions under the guidance
of the COP and one or more existing international entities may be entrusted with its
operation. The Convention provides that the financial mechanism shall have an equitable
and balanced representation of all parties with a transparent system of governance (article
11 (2)). The Global Environmental Facility, which was initially entrusted with an interim
mandate (article 12 (3)), was restructured accordingly and by Decision 3/CP.4 (1998)
recognized as the financial mechanism of the Convention.

Compliance Mechanism and Dispute Settlement

Two complementary mechanisms are established for the resolution of questions

regarding implementation of the Convention and dispute settlement (articles 13 and 14). A
multilateral consultative process is envisaged to help parties overcome difficulties
encountered in implementation and aims at promoting the understanding of the Convention
as well as at preventing disputes from arising. The decisions on the functioning of the
process and the establishment of a standing Multilateral Consultative Committee are left to
the COP. The Ad Hoc Group on Article 13 completed its work in 1998, without being able
to agree on the number of members of the Consultative Committee, the length of their term
or their geographical distribution. The report of the Ad Hoc Group, which was adopted at
the fourth COP meeting in 1998, outlines the procedures for the consultative process. It is
guided by the premise to be facilitative, cooperative, and non-adversarial as well as non-
judicial. Parties have the possibility to address concerns about their own implementation
difficulties, as well as about those of other parties to the Committee. In case a dispute
cannot be avoided by the consultative process, article 14 envisages possibilities for its
resolution by the more traditional bilateral dispute settlement procedures of negotiation,
the establishment of a conciliation commission upon request, or, if accepted by the States
concerned, submission to the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice or
international arbitration.

Towards Tighter Commitments

Already in the establishment of the INC, the General Assembly called on the
Committee to take into account the scientific contributions of the IPCC. Cooperation with
the IPCC continues under the Convention, notably through the COP and the Subsidiary
Body on Scientific and Technological Advice. If the first assessment report on global
climate change of the IPCC contributed a lot to the successful negotiation of the
Convention, a similar conclusion can be drawn with respect to the second assessment
report of 1995 and its contribution to the Kyoto Protocol. When the Governments adopted
the Convention, they already knew that its general and special commitments would not
suffice to seriously tackle climate change. Accordingly, the COP, already at its first
meeting, adopted a decision to launch a new round of talks in order to strengthen the
special commitments of annex I countries, under article 4, paragraph 2 (a) and (b), by the
adoption of a protocol or another legal instrument. Negotiations resulted in the adoption of
the Kyoto Protocol at the third meeting of the COP in 1997, and its implementation

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procedures in the 2001 Marrakesh Accords (composed of thirty-nine COP decisions). The
Kyoto Protocol entered into force on 16 February 2005.

Subsequent IPCC assessment reports and scientific evidence from other resources
confirmed that commitments established under the Convention and its Protocol are likely
not to be sufficient to effectively mitigate anthropogenic impact on climate change. In
December 2005, a dialogue on long-term cooperative action to address climate change by
enhancing the implementation for the Convention was launched, and a new round of
negotiations to step up international efforts to combat climate change was launched by the
Bali Action Plan adopted by the COP at its thirteenth meeting in December 2007. An Ad
Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-
LCA) was established to negotiate a long-term climate change pact addressing adaptation,
mitigation, technology development and transfer, finances and a shared vision for long-
term cooperative action. The result of the Working Group’s negotiations will be presented
at the fifteenth meeting of the COP scheduled to be held in Copenhagen from 30
November to 11 December 2009.

Related Materials

A. Legal Instruments

Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer, Vienna, 22 March 1985, United
Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1513, p. 293.

Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, Montreal, 16 September
1987, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 1522, p. 3.

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, Kyoto,
11 December 1997, United Nations, Treaty Series, vol. 2303, p. 162.

B. Documents

Report of the Conference of the Parties on its thirteenth session, held in Bali from 3 to 15
December 2007. Addendum. Part Two: Action taken by the Conference of the Parties at its
thirteenth session (Bali Action Plan) (FCCC/CP/2007/6/Add.1).

IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Synthesis Report. Contribution of Working Groups I,
II and III to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change [Core Writing Team, Pachauri, R. K and Reisinger, A. (eds.)]. IPCC, Geneva,
Switzerland, 104 pp.

IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: The Physical Science Basis. Contribution of Working
Group I to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change [Solomon, S., D. Qin, M. Manning, Z. Chen, M. Marquis, K.B. Averyt, M. Tignor
and H.L. Miller (eds.)]. Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom and
New York, NY, USA, 996 pp.

IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Impacts, Adaptation and Vulnerability. Contribution of
Working Group II to the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on

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Climate Change, [M. L. Parry, O. F. Canziani, J. P. Palutikof, P. J. van der Linden and C.
E. Hanson, eds.], Cambridge University Press, Cambridge, United Kingdom, 976 pp.

IPCC, 2007: Climate Change 2007: Mitigation. Contribution of Working Group III to the
Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change [B. Metz, O.
R. Davidson, P. R. Bosch, R. Dave, L. A. Meyer (eds)], Cambridge University Press,
Cambridge, United Kingdom and New York, NY, USA., XXX pp.

Report of the Conference of the Parties on its seventh session, held at Marrakesh from 29
October to 10 November 2001. Addendum. Part two: Action taken by the Conference of
the Parties at its seventh session (Marrakech Accords) (FCCC/CP/2001/13/Add.1).

Report of the Conference of the Parties on its fourth session, held at Buenos Aires from 2
to 14 November 1998. Addendum. Part two: Action taken by the Conference of the Parties
at its fourth session: Decision 3/CP.4: “Review of the financial mechanism”
(FCCC/CP/1998/16/Add.1).

Report of the Ad Hoc Group on Article 13 on its sixth session, held at Bonn, from 5 to 11
June 1998 (FCCC/AG13/1998/2).

Report of the Conference of the Parties on its first session, held at Berlin from 28 March to
7 April 1995. Addendum. Part two: Action taken by the Conference of the Parties at its
first session: Decision 1/CP.1: “The Berlin Mandate: Review of the adequacy of Article 4,
paragraph 2 (a) and (b), of the Convention, including proposals related to a protocol and
decisions on follow-up” (FCCC/CP/1995/7/Add.1).

IPCC Second Assessment Synthesis of Scientific-Technical Information Relevant to

Interpreting Article 2 of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
http://www.ipcc.ch/pdf/climate-changes-1995/ipcc-2nd-assessment/2nd-assessment-en.pdf

IPCC First Assessment Report.1990:

- Scientific Assessment of Climate change – Report of Working Group I [J. T. Houghton,
G. J. Jenkins and J. J. Ephraums (eds)], Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, United
Kingdom, pp 365. (Summary for Policymakers IPCC/WMO/UNEP, UK Meteorological
Office, Bracknell, pp. 26.)
- Impacts Assessment of Climate Change – Report of Working Group II [W. J. McG.
Tegart, G. W. Sheldon and D. C. Griffiths (eds)], Australian Government Publishing
Service, Australia. (Summary for Policymakers IPCC/WMO/UNEP, Australian
Government Publishing Service, pp. 32.)
- The IPCC Response Strategies – Report of Working Group III, Island Press, USA, pp.
270.

C. Doctrine

K. A. Baumert, “Participation of Developing Countries in the International Climate

Change Regime: Lessons for the Future”, The George Washington International Law
Review, vol. 38 (2006), pp. 365-407.

D. Bodanksy, “The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: A

Commentary”, Yale Journal of International Law, vol. 18 (1993), pp. 451-558.

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L. Boisson de Chazournes, R. Desgagne, M. Mbengue and C. Romano, Protection

internationale de l’environnement, Paris, Pedone, 2005, pp. 341-434.

L. Boisson de Chazournes, “De Kyoto à La Haye, en passant par Buenos Aires et Bonn: La
régulation de l'effet de serre aux forceps”, Annuaire français de relations internationales,
vol. 1 (2000), pp. 709-718.

L. Boisson de Chazournes, “The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate

Change: On the Road towards Sustainable Development”, in R. Wolfrum (ed.), Enforcing
Environmental Standards – Economic Mechanisms as Viable Means?, Berlin, Beiträge
zum Ausländischen Őffentlichen Recht und Völkerrecht, Springer Verlag, 1996, pp. 285-
300.

M. Bothe, “The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change – an

Unprecedented Multilevel Regulatory Challenge”, Zeitschrift für ausländisches
öffentliches Recht und Völkerrecht, vol. 63 (2003), pp. 239-254.

P. Cullet, Differential Treatment in International Environmental Law and its Contribution

to the Evolution of International Law, Aldershot, Ashgate, 2003.

J. Depledge, “A Breakthrough for the Climate Regime?”, Environmental Policy and Law,
vol. 36 (2006), pp. 14-19.

A. Gillespie, Climate Change, Ozone Depletion and Air Pollution: Legal Commentaries
within the Context of Science and Policy, Leiden, Nijhoff, 2006.

P. Sands, Principles of International Environmental Law, 2nd Edition, Cambridge,

Cambridge University Press, 2003, pp. 317-390.

I. H. Rowlands, “Atmosphere and Outer Space”, in D. Bodansky, J. Brunée and E. Hey,

(eds.), The Oxford Handbook of International Environmental Law, New York, Oxford
University Press, 2007, pp. 315-336.

R. Verheyen, “The Climate Change Regime after Montreal: Article 2 of the UN

Framework Convention on Climate Change Revisited”, Yearbook of European
Environmental Law, vol. 7 (2007), pp. 234-256.

X. Wang and G. Wiser, “The Implementation and Compliance Regimes under the Climate
Change Convention and its Kyoto Protocol”, Review of European Community and
International Environmental Law, vol. 11, No. 2 (2002), pp. 181-198.

F. Yamin and J. Depledge, The International Climate Change Regime – A Guide to Rules,
Institutions and Procedures, Cambridge, Cambridge University Press, 2004.

E. Zedillo, Global Warming – Looking Beyond Kyoto, Washington, Brookings Institution

Press, 2008.

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