The International Process

Oh, climate change. Being the climate geeks we are, we could write pages on the subject. However, considering you’re visiting this page, you are probably just interested in the basics. So in our best ode to Reader’s Digest Magazine, here we go...

During the 1950s/1960s the scientific community became concerned about the possibility of climate change. But considering how sociable scientists are, it took a while before it hit the mainstream (ok make that the policy mainstream). In 1988 the World Meteorological Organization and the UN Environmental Programme (UNEP), established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The IPCC is an amalgamation of the leading experts on climate change from around the world. In 1990 they published their first assessment report. The policy world (i.e. governments) decided that something needed to be done to address climate change, so negotiations on an international convention began in earnest in 1991.

At the Earth Summit in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed. The ultimate objection of this Convention is to prevent dangerous climate change (Article 2). Industrialized countries agreed to stabilize their greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by 2000; however this wasn’t a binding target. Thus as in the case when your teacher gives you an assignment but no deadline, it didn’t happen.

By 1995 it was obvious that more needed to be done to adequately address climate change. So countries agreed to start negotiations on a Protocol (note the trend to agree to talk about agreeing on something – we will come back to this). These talks culminated in the Kyoto Protocol agreed in Kyoto, Japan in 1997. As part of the checks and balances of international negotiations, any agreements signed by a country at the international level must be ratified by that nation’s government at home. Enough countries, representing enough of the industrialized country emissions, ratified the Kyoto Protocol so that it finally came into force (i.e. became legally binding) on February 16, 2005 (yeah!).

The Kyoto Protocol stipulates that industrialized countries must, on the whole, reduce their emissions by 5.2% below 1990 levels (though countries may have different individual targets – Canada’s is 6%). These reductions must be achieved during 2008 to 2012 (of course, we need to be acting now to ensure we reach that target).

The meeting in Montreal is crucial as under the Kyoto Protocol countries are required to ‘initiate consideration’ of the post-Kyoto period now (Article 3.9). What this means is that governments could agree to start talking about a future agreement (remember our trend). Kyoto is the first small step to action on climate change at the international level. The longer we wait to take meaningful action (emissions reductions of 60-80%), the harder it will be to avoid dangerous climate change.

COP – stands for the Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change. This is the decision-making body that decides on matters related to the Framework Convention. It meets once a year and is comprised of countries that have signed and ratified the Convention. This body is meeting for the eleventh time this December in Montreal – hence the abbreviation COP11.

COP/MOP – stands for the Conference of the Parties serving as the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. This is the decision-making body that decides on matters related to the Kyoto Protocol. It is meeting for the first time in Montreal (COP/MOP1) and will meet in parallel to COP11.

UN Conference on Climate Change, Montreal 2005 – This is the official name the Government of Canada has given these meetings and it refers to both COP11 and COP/MOP1.