Un Framework Convention on Climate Change:
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: Conference of the Parties in 2011
United States views on international law (based on the document “Digest of U.S. Practice in International Law”): The United States participated in the Seventeenth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (“UNFCCC”) in Durban, South Africa, November 28-December 9, 2011. Among other outcomes, the Conference launched a process to develop, by 2015, an agreement that will apply from 2020. The decision by the Conference is available at (internet link) unfccc.int/files/meetings/durban_nov_2011/decisions/application/pdf/cop17_durbanplatform.pdf. Among the notable features of the decision was the agreement to:
launch a process to develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties, through a subsidiary body under the Convention hereby established and to be known as the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change in 2013
United States views on international law [1] in relation to UN Framework Convention on Climate Change: A U.S. delegation participated in the 19th Conference of the Parties (“COP-19”) of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (“FCCC”) in Warsaw, Poland, November 11 to 22, 2013. The primary objective at COP-19 was to lay the groundwork for negotiating a new agreement on climate change that would be applicable to all parties and would be concluded by 2015, as agreed at the COP in Durban in 2011. The work of the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (“ADP”) in Warsaw, November 12-23, 2013 is reflected in the agenda, reports, submissions (including the U.S. submission), and other documents available at (link resource) unfccc.int/meetings/warsaw_nov_2013/session/7730.php. The U.S. Submission to the ADP includes the following summary description of the type of agreement envisioned by the United States:
Some Aspects of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Structurally, we see the agreement as being part of a larger package:
The agreement itself will contain core provisions that are designed to stand the test of time. The agreement should, all things being equal, be concise. The more concise the agreement is, the easier it will be to negotiate and complete, and the more understandable it will be for domestic decision makers and constituencies.
We would see somewhat more detail on mitigation and transparency, given their specific nature.
Like the FCCC, the agreement is likely to contain a mix of provisions that are legally binding and non-legally binding.
We should not need to revisit the basic structure of the agreement to account for changing circumstances, or when Parties make new mitigation commitments in the future. Therefore, the structure will need to be sufficiently flexible to account for changing circumstances. Parties’ specific mitigation commitments, contained in a side document (such as a “schedule”), would also be part of the package. Such commitments would be nationally determined by Parties and would have gone through the consultative process that we have outlined (and which we further elaborate below).
Developments
The package will also include various COP decisions that either implement elements of the agreement in greater detail, or address issues more appropriately dealt with through decisions.
Details
COP-19 resulted in the creation of the Warsaw international mechanism for loss and damage associated with climate change impacts. U.N. Doc. FCCC/CP/2013/L.15. The Warsaw international mechanism was established under the Cancun Adaptation Framework and is intended to address loss and damage associated with impacts of climate change in developing countries that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. Establishing the Warsaw international mechanism on loss and damage under the Cancun Adaptation framework is consistent with the United States view that as a legal and technical matter, loss and damage is a part of adaptation efforts under the Convention, rather than a standalone pillar.
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See Also
- Environment
- Transnational Scientific Issues
- Land Pollution
- Air Pollution
- Climate Change
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Notes
- Un Framework Convention on Climate Change in the Digest of United States Practice in International Law
Hierarchical Display of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
International Relations > International affairs > International instrument > International convention > UN convention
International Relations > International affairs > International instrument > Climate change policy > Reduction of gas emissions
International Relations > International affairs > International instrument > Degradation of the environment > Climate change
UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
Concept of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
See the dictionary definition of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Characteristics of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
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Translation of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Spanish: Convención Marco de las Naciones Unidas sobre el Cambio Climático)
- French: Convention-cadre des Nations unies sur les changements climatiques
- German: Rahmenübereinkommen der Vereinten Nationen über Klimaänderungen
- Italian: Convenzione quadro delle Nazioni Unite sui cambiamenti climatici
- Portuguese: Convenção-Quadro das Nações Unidas sobre as Alterações Climáticas
- Polish: Ramowa konwencja Narodów Zjednoczonych w sprawie zmian klimatu
Thesaurus of UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
International Relations > International affairs > International instrument > International convention > UN convention > UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
International Relations > International affairs > International instrument > Climate change policy > Reduction of gas emissions > UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
International Relations > International affairs > International instrument > Degradation of the environment > Climate change > UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
See also
- Convention on Climate Change
- United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
- Unfccc
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