United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change:
The world has gathered at the city of Belem in the Brazilian state of Para for the 30th Conference of the Parties (COP30) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).
- UNFCCC is the principal global treaty for coordinating international responses to climate change.
- It provides the foundation for subsequent legal instruments, including the Kyoto Protocol and the landmark Paris Agreement.
- The purpose of the UNFCCC is to harness international cooperation to limit the rise of average global temperatures to minimize the impacts of climate change to enable timely adaptation, avoid threats to food production, and ensure sustainable economic development.
- It is one of three conventions that was adopted at the Rio Earth Summit in 1992 to promote a sustainable planet for future generations.
- Its sister Rio Conventions are the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification.
- The UNFCCC has 198 Parties, comprising 197 States and the European Union, making it one of the most widely ratified international treaties.
- Every year, parties to the Convention meet in Conference of the Parties (COPs), as well as in technical meetings throughout the year, to advance the aims and ambitions of the Paris Agreement and achieve progress in its implementation.
- The UNFCCC relies on the scientific assessments of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) to inform its decisions and guide negotiations.
- The IPCC is the United Nations body for assessing the science related to climate change.
- It was established by the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) in 1988.
- Kyoto Protocol adopted in 1997 as part of the UNFCCC, the Kyoto Protocol outlines individual quantitative emission reduction targets for developed countries.
- The Protocol required these countries to reduce their emissions by 5% in 2008-2012 compared to 1990 levels.
