UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was created as an initiative of the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and sets a global framework for government initiatives in combating climate change. It took effect in March 1994 and has 192 member countries. The central organism of the UNFCCC is the Conference of the Parts (COP), the vehicle for the negotiating process among governments.
COP16
The sixteenth Conference of the Parties (COP) will be held in Cancún, Mexico, from 29 November to 10 December 2010.
Participants in the conference are ministerial level members of the Conference of the Parts (COP) and technical secretariats, organisms of the United Nations, observer groups (such as the OECD, the International Energy Agency) and non-governmental organizations (NGOs).
Official COP16 page
IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change)
Created by the United Nations Environmental Programme (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO), this panel prepares scientific studies on climate change and its social and environmental impact. It is an inter-governmental organizational open to UN and WMO members.
United Nations Environmental Programme
Created in 1972, the UNEP provides assistance to governments, especially in developing countries, on environmental matters and advises on management and technology transfer.
World Meteorological Organization
An organism of the United Nations created in 1950, it has 188 member countries and territories. It acts as the official UN mouthpiece on the state of the atmosphere, its interaction with the ocean, the resulting climate conditions and the resulting distribution of hydraulic resources.
Kyoto Protocol
The central feature of the Kyoto Protocol is a commitment to limit or reduce CO2 emissions. Kyoto Protocol documents
To achieve these objectives, the negotiators included three principle mechanisms:
- Carbon trading market: The countries that adopted commitments under the Kyoto Protocol accepted objectives on limiting or reducing emissions during 2008-2012. The emissions market allows countries with an excess of permits (for unutilized emissions) to trade them with countries with a shortfall.
- Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): Allows industrialised countries to finance clean energy projects in developing countries, in return for certificates on emissions reduction (CER). Each emission certificate is equivalent to 1 tonne of CO₂. In this way, industrialised countries can meet a significant part of their emissions reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
- Joint implementation: Allows a country with commitments to reduce or limit emissions under Annex B to obtain emissions reductions units (ERU) from a project it is financing in another Annex B country.
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