Climate Negotiations in the UN

The goal of the climate convention is to stabilise the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to such an extent that dangerous climate change is prevented.

The climate convention (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, UNFCCC) first saw the day of light in June 1992 in connection with an environmental conference in Rio, Brazil, where 154 countries, including Denmark, signed the convention. The convention has since been ratified by 192 countries, including the US.

The goal of the Climate Convention
The goal of the climate convention is to stabilise the content of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere to such an extent that dangerous, man-made climate change is prevented. According to the preamble, the stabilisation is to take place in such a manner that the ecosystems are allowed to adjust by natural means. This means that food security may not be compromised, and the possibility of creating sustainable development – socially and economically – may not be endangered.

The framework is a so-called framework convention. This means that it serves as an overall tool for the mitigation of greenhouse gases, but does not contain binding requirements for the mitigation of greenhouse gas emissions.

The background for the Climate Convention
In 1990, the UN General Assembly decided to commence drafting an actual climate convention. It do against a bleak background: the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) had in its first synthesis report that same year pointed out the actual risk that a rise in greenhouse gas emissions could affect the global environment to an unprecedented and potentially serious degree.

The climate convention is administered by the UN Climate Secretariat, in Bonn, Germany. One of its tasks is to keep track of which countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, and of these countries’ development protocols on their greenhouse gas emissions; furthermore, at all UN conferences they are responsible for preparing the agenda, background documents, etc.

What is a COP?
Every year during the convention, the parties hold a climate conference called a COP (Conference of the Parties). The Conference of the Parties is the supreme body in the climate negotiations, and major decisions that impact the implementation of the climate convention are taken at these conferences. Usually, the conference lasts two weeks, and all countries that have signed the climate convention are represented. Typically, several thousands of delegates representing the governments of member states and observer organisations participate, as do journalists and representatives from commercial and civil society organisations. In total, 16 climate conferences have been held, the latest in Mexico from 29 November-10 December 2010.

Each year a number of preparatory meetings are held. Each year in June, a permanent preparatory meeting is held in Bonn, the cradle of the climate convention, which is also where the convention’s two subsidiary bodies meet (SBI, Subsidiary Body of Implementation and SBSTA, Subsidiary Body of Scientific and Technical Advice) in order to prepare that year’s COP, which is held at the end of the year. Since the new climate agreement negotiations were initiated, additional preparatory meetings have been held.