The international policy response to climate change started with the negotiation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which countries began to sign at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The UNFCCC's "ultimate objective" is "to achieve... stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic [human-caused] interference with the climate system."

The UNFCCC entered into force as international law in 1994 and has been ratified by Canada, the United States and virtually every other country in the world. The countries that have ratified the UNFCCC (the "Parties") meet at an annual United Nations climate conference or "Conference of the Parties" (COP) where they negotiate the ongoing implementation of the convention.

The Kyoto Protocol

The UNFCCC provides a framework for global action to cut greenhouse gas (GHG) pollution, but it does not legally require emission reductions except in the most general way. Normally, “protocols” are added to conventions like the UNFCCC to establish more specific legal requirements. In 1995, the Parties to the UNFCCC agreed on the need for a protocol to set legally binding targets and timelines for the GHG emissions of industrialized countries.

The result was the negotiation, in December 1997, of the Kyoto Protocol which sets legally binding GHG emission targets for each of 38 industrialized countries, including Canada, for the period 2008-12. Taken together, the targets add up to a reduction in industrialized countries' emissions to 5% below the 1990 level. The protocol entered into force as international law on February 16, 2005.

Negotiating "Kyoto II"

At the annual United Nations climate conference held in Montreal in December 2005, the countries in the Kyoto Protocol launched a process to negotiate a second set of targets for the years after 2012. However, countries have not yet adopted a formal negotiating mandate or a deadline for reaching agreement. A critical element of these discussions is the definition of “dangerous” climate change – because avoiding dangerous human interference with the climate is the ultimate objective of the UNFCCC.

There is now quite wide support, both in the scientific community and among governments, for defining "dangerous" climate change as a rise in the global average surface temperature of 2°C above the pre-industrial level. Staying within the 2°C limit will require that global GHG emissions fall to at least 50% below the 1990 level by 2050. Developed countries need to make proportionately larger reductions in reaching that target, because they:

• generated most of the emissions to date
• emit much more per capita than developing countries, and
• have more resources to fight climate change.

Analysis of reasonable ways to share the global effort indicates that industrialized countries must reduce their emissions to 25-30% below 1990 levels by 2020, and 85-90% below 1990 levels by 2050. Given the scale of this challenge, developed countries must start immediately down a path to deep reductions. Any delay will almost certainly result in greater costs over the long term.

Three-track Approach

The Climate Action Network (CAN) International, the umbrella group that coordinates participation of environmental NGOs in international negotiations, proposes a three-track framework for the post-2012 international regime:

• A “Kyoto” track for industrialized countries, with legally binding absolute emissions targets that are progressively reduced over time. This track will provide the driving force for the development and deployment of the technologies needed for deep GHG reductions by the richer countries.

• A “greening” or “decarbonization” track for the majority of developing countries. The decarbonization track is intended to enable developing countries to “leapfrog” polluting technologies and follow a low GHG path to development via rapid adoption of energy conservation, energy efficiency and low-impact renewable energy. In these countries, emissions growth will be slowed using instruments such as: sustainable development policies and measures; targets applying to specific economic sectors; emissions intensity targets; and, where required, assistance by industrialized countries.

• An “adaptation” track for the most vulnerable countries and regions. This track involves assistance and compensation, funded by industrialized countries, to deal with unavoidable impacts of climate change.

External Sources of Additional Information

• United Nations Secretariat to the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol
• Climate Action Network International