Climate Change Policy

Some of the most important early advances in climate change negotiations were made at the Villach (Austria) and Bellagio (Italy) meetings of 1987, which were co-sponsored by the Woods Hole Research Center. These meetings provided an appraisal of the consensus within the scientific community on global warming and an indication of how to address the issues politically. As a follow up, the Center held an international workshop in 1988 in Woods Hole. The papers prepared for the workshop provided the rationale for proceeding in the policy realm, and its results were widely referred to in the UN General Assembly session that year. The Center has maintained that an international agreement designed to stop the warming of the earth should reflect the needs of developing countries as well as those of the more industrially advanced. To strengthen that support, the Center arranged a series of regional meetings in the developing world to open discussions of climatic change and how these nations might respond. Meetings were held in New Delhi, India; Nairobi, Kenya; São Paulo, Brazil; and Bangkok, Thailand.

In 1987, the United Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). The first IPCC report, issued in 1990 and based on the work of hundreds of scientists from around the world, called for immediate action to avoid the effects of a warming Earth. Our staff joined in the preparation of this and subsequent IPCC reports. The report was endorsed by the governmental representatives at the Second World Climate Conference in November 1990, which called for immediate negotiations on a framework convention on climate change. In response, the General Assembly created the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change (INC) to elaborate a treaty for adoption at the 1992 Earth Summit. The Center's Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna worked extensively with the INC in drafting this treaty, now the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Dr. Ramakrishna was appointed as a special advisor to the INC to work on principles and commitments in the Convention and on participation of developing countries. At the request of the INC, the Center conducted a series of briefings for delegates from developing countries on negotiating strategies in order to strengthen their participation in the international discussions.

Our experience in international legal processes also helps the Center act as a bridge between nongovernmental organizations in the United States and the rest of the international community. In 1989, for example, the Center helped establish the Climate Action Network (CAN) of nongovernmental organizations to facilitate cooperation among nongovernmental organizations working on climate change issues world wide. The network has since expanded to incorporate over 340 NGOs drawn from all over the globe. It continues to be a powerful and constructive force in the international negotiations and domestic

A Prompt Start

From December of 1992 until February of 1995, the INC met six more times in preparation for the first Conference of the Parties. To further support the Convention and the on-going negotiations, the Center conducted, at the request of the secretariat and several governments, a series of policy dialogues among representatives of governments, nongovernmental organizations, and Convention Secretariat staff.

The first such meeting, held in January 1994 in Southampton, Bermuda, concerned criteria for joint implementation to meet the abatement commitments contained in the Convention. The second workshop, held in July 1994 in Woods Hole, concerned the operation of the financial mechanism of the Convention. The third workshop, held in October 1995 in Woods Hole, focused on the structure and process of the current negotiations to elaborate a protocol or amendment to strengthen the Convention.

In each case, the Center produced a report on the conference including commissioned papers and official documents, and these reports were formally introduced into the official deliberations by several governmental delegates. The decisions of the First Meeting of the Conference of the Parties, held in Berlin in March/April 1995, relating to joint implementation and the financial mechanism closely follow the recommendations of these policy workshops.

Given the intense involvement of the Center and its Program on Science in Public Affairs, the chairman of the Ad-hoc Group on the Berlin Mandate, whose task it was to negotiate a protocol to the Convention, appointed Dr. Ramakrishna to chair a panel at the Second Meeting of the Conference of the Parties held in Geneva in the summer of 1996. This was the first time a nongovernmental “observer” was asked to hold such a position during formal negotiations. As a follow up to that exercise, the Center endeavored to develop additional policy dialogues to strengthen the ongoing efforts both at the inter- and nongovernmental levels.

Such initiatives included a conference that the Woods Hole Research Center co-hosted with the World Resources Institute and the Environment Agency, Government of Japan, in Kyoto during March 30-31, 1997 on "Opportunities and Problems of Early Actions for Climate Protection." Also, under the auspices of the Consensus Building Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts, Dr. Ramakrishna, as one of the Facilitators, conducted a workshop on climate change in Schlangenbad, Germany during October 17-19, 1997, from which came the Report of the Schlangenbad Workshop on Climate Change.

These initiatives provided an opportunity for senior negotiators and experts in law, policy, science and technology, all deeply involved in the negotiations, to work together and engage in substantive discussions.

As December of 1997 approached, Center staff prepared for the Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP3) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, scheduled for December 1-10, 1997. (The Falmouth Enterprise highlights the Woods Hole Research Center's role in preparations for Kyoto in the editorial, "A Player on the World Stage").

The Third Conference of the Parties, Kyoto, Japan, December, 1997

During the first two weeks of December of 1997, the city of Kyoto was the site of a conference that hoped to produce substantive international agreements to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and stabilize the levels of CO2 in the atmosphere. The Woods Hole Research Center sent five representatives to the conference, continuing its ongoing active participation in this important process.

During this conference, known as the Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP3) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Woods Hole Research Center and KIKO Forum hosted a special event entitled: "National Communications by Non-Annex I Countries: Case Studies from Asia" on December 3rd at the Kyoto International Conference Hall (KICH). The panelists, drawn from leading policy research institutions in Asia, gave brief descriptions of their Woods Hole Research Center-sponsored studies, including what projects have been undertaken and what measures are being planned by their countries in preparation for the submission of national communications. Preliminary findings of the project, including the challenges and limitations confronting these processes, were also presented.

Also in Kyoto, on December 9th, the Woods Hole Research Center co-hosted another special event, this time with the former Ozone Action of Washington, DC. This event, entitled "Scientific Exposé: Implications of the Current Protocol Proposal," consisted of a roundtable of scientific experts drawn from all over the world. These experts reminded those involved in the process, at a critical stage in the negotiations, about what it will take to stabilize actual greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere.

On the morning of December 11th, world leaders meeting in Kyoto for the Third Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP3) finally adopted the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Under this protocol, industrialized nations agreed for the first time to specific legally binding greenhouse gas emissions limitations or reductions, averaging to about 5.2% below 1990 levels. The Protocol, however, will not enter into force until it is ratified by at least 55 countries, which combined account for at least 55% of the total carbon dioxide emissions for 1990.

Four months after COP3 in Kyoto and the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna addressed “The Challenge of Global Climate Change” in an editorial in the April 1998 edition of Global Change.

Kyotometer

Building a Climate Regime

The mechanisms of implementation outlined in the Protocol are crucial for obtaining the required number of ratifications to the Protocol. As credit for emissions reductions for the first commitment period of 2008-2012 can be obtained from the “Clean Development Mechanism,” or CDM, projects beginning in the year 2000, rules and other details need to be agreed and put into place.

In an effort to help delegates formulate priorities and exchange their ideas, the Woods Hole Research Center collaborated with the Consensus Building Institute of Cambridge, Massachusetts in conducting a “Pre-COP Informal Workshop on Climate Change” in Buenos Aires during 6-8 October 1998, just prior to the Fourth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP4). The meeting brought together government delegates and experts to discuss various issues of concern, including the possibility of a Buenos Aires action plan, prior to COP4, the first Conference of the Parties after the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol.

Members of our staff attended COP4 and the ninth sessions of the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI9) and the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA9) held in Buenos Aires, Argentina from 31 October to 14 November 1998. At COP4, Parties did indeed adopt a “Buenos Aires Plan of Action,” in which they expressed their determination “to strengthen the implementation of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and prepare for the future entry into force of the Kyoto Protocol…” which includes demonstrating “substantial progress” on various issues including the financial mechanism, development and transfer of technology, and the work program of the mechanisms of the Kyoto Protocol.

The Center’s Program on Science in Public Affairs is also part of a small consortium of nongovernmental organizations working on similar issues in the climate realm. The Consortium for North-South Partnership on Climate Change consists of several institutions from various regions of the world. In addition to the Woods Hole Research Center, founding members include the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies (BCAS), Dhaka, Bangladesh; Environnement et Developpement – Tiers Monde (ENDA), Dakar, Senegal; COPPE, the Graduate School of Engineering of the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, and the Pacific Institute for Studies in Development, Environment and Security, Oakland, California, U.S.A.

To continue discussion on how financing of CDM projects will affect and be influenced by other forms of international cooperative investments and joint ventures, a side event was held by the Consortium for North-South Partnership on Climate Change on June 9, 1999 at the tenth sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies (SBI-10/SBSTA-10) in Bonn. The seminar was titled “International Finance and the CDM: Searching for Synergies” and speakers included Jose Gonzalez Migues (Brazil), Vanida Govender (South Africa), Paul Hassing (the Netherlands), Charles di Leva (World Bank), Irving Mintzer (USA), Juhani Santaholma (Finland), and WHRC’s Kilaparti Ramakrishna.

Immediately following the tenth sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies (SBI10/SBSTA10) held in Bonn, Germany during 31 May to 11 June 1999, Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna had the honor of addressing a meeting of Ministers of Environment and Forestry from countries of the Treaty for Amazonian Cooperation (TAC). He was one of only three outside resource persons asked to travel to Cochabamba, Bolivia during June 13-14 to address this distinguished group on the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) of the Kyoto Protocol. At the end of formal presentations and discussions the Ministers drafted a statement including a set of recommendations regarding the inclusion of forest projects in the CDM and their agreement to continue to work on this and related issues in various fora.

The Consortium held a “Workshop on the Challenge of Securing Financing and Ensuring Capacity Building in CDM Projects” for the Latin America Region during September 1-3, 1999 in Rio de Janeiro. Key delegates from various countries and experts were invited to this meeting, which was designed to give delegates an opportunity to discuss these issues prior to the Fifth Meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP5) in Bonn.

COP5 and the eleventh sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies (SBI-11/SBSTA-11) were held in Bonn, Germany during 25 October to 5 November 1999. Here delegates continued work toward fulfilling the “Buenos Aires Plan of Action” or BAPA. Staff of the Woods Hole Research Center again participated in that meeting as observers to the official negotiating sessions and in coinciding special “side events.”

A side event entitled “Getting to Work: Finance, Capacity Building and the CDM” was presented by the NGO Consortium for a North-South Dialogue on Climate Change and the Foundation for Business and Sustainable Development on October 28, 1999 at COP5 in Bonn. Speakers included Kilaparti Ramakrishna of the Woods Hole Research Center, Youba Sokona of ENDA, Thomas Black Arbalez of Colombia, John Palmisano of Enron, Robert Kleiburg of Shell International, Ogunlade Davidson, Co-Chair of the IPCC Working Group lll, Luis Pinguelli Rosa of COPPE at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro, Christinia Figueres of the Center for Sustainable Development in the Americas, Lee Solsbery of the Foundation for Business and Sustainable Development, and Atiq Rahman of the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies. A short report on the event and a brief Real Audio segment of Robert Kleiburg’s presentation can be found in the IISD archives. The seminar, held in a large, temporary room built onto the conference facility, turned out to be one of the best-attended events offered at COP5.

In May of 2000 the Consortium held the second of its three planned regional meetings on CDM issues. A two-day workshop was held in Cape Town, South Africa during May 9-10, 2000 entitled “Forging New Links & Reinforcing National Capacities on Climate Change: Challenges & Opportunities for CDM in Africa.”

Because of the large number of issues to be addressed before the sixth session of the Conference of the Parties (COP6), instead of one meeting of the subsidiary bodies prior to COP6, the UNFCCC Secretariat decided to hold two one-week sessions of SBI and SBSTA, each preceded by one week of “informal” meetings. This in effect doubled the negotiating time before COP6. These meetings included the twelfth sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies (SBI-12/SBSTA-12) held in Bonn during 12-16 June 2000, and the thirteenth sessions of the Subsidiary Bodies (SBI-13/SBSTA-13) held in Lyon, France during 11-15 September 2000. On September 15th, the thirteenth sessions were suspended and scheduled to be resumed at The Hague during November 13-18, the first week of COP6.

COP6 in The Hague

Several Woods Hole Research Center staff members attended COP6, which was held in The Hague, the Netherlands during November 13-24, 2000. Major issues under debate included the following:

the “flexibility” mechanisms of the Protocol:
- the Clean Development Mechanism (or CDM)
- Joint Implementation
- emissions trading

“sinks”, a.k.a. land use, land use change and forestry (LULUCF),
north-south cooperation, including capacity building, technology transfer

adverse impacts of climate change and of response measures on vulnerable countries

Center staff participated actively in the negotiations, including its side events. The NGO Consortium for North-South Dialogue on Climate Change, in cooperation with the United Nations Institute for Training and Research (UNITAR), oversaw a study to survey the capacity building needs with regard to climate change of 30 developing countries in four different regions of the world. The preliminary findings of the study were presented in a side event at COP6 in The Hague on November 15th. Dr. Ramakrishna, Deputy Director of the Woods Hole Research Center, served as a moderator for part of that session, which was entitled “Kyoto Protocol Needs Assessment: Capacity-Building Needs of Developing Countries with a focus on the Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol.” The event was extremely well attended and well received.

Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna was also invited to be part of a panel hosted by the Tata Energy Research Institute (TERI) (now The Energy and Resources Institute) of New Delhi, India. The event, addressing one of the most debated issues – the Clean Development Mechanism - was entitled “CDM: Leading the Climate Solution?” Dr. Ramakrishna’s remarks were well received and extensively discussed.

On November 20th WHRC staff members attended an event sponsored by the Asian Development Bank (ADB) launching its new book, edited by Prodipto Ghosh, entitled Implementation of the Kyoto Protocol: Opportunities and Pitfalls for Developing Countries. The first chapter of this volume, “A legal review of the key provisions and background to the Kyoto Protocol and the Buenos Aires Action Plan,” was co-authored by Chad Carpenter, Charles Di Leva, and WHRC’s Kilaparti Ramakrishna. This book has been used by ADB in capacity building workshops and training sessions all over Asia.

A publication on the connections between climate change and sustainable development, stemming from a collaborative project between the United Nations Development Programme and the Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies, was also launched on November 23rd at a side event during COP6. The book, entitled Climate Change and Development and edited by Luis Gomez-Echeverri, contains a chapter, written by Kilaparti Ramakrishna, called “The UNFCCC – History and Evolution of the Climate Change Negotiations.” The volume is meant to be a resource for decision makers, particularly in developing countries, and has been circulated by UNDP all over the world. For table of contents and order form from Yale, click here.

COP6 in The Hague also marked the release of a book by the Woods Hole Research Center entitled Asia Looking Ahead: Initial Stages of National Communications Reporting. The Woods Hole Research Center’s recent activities in Asia considered issues surrounding implementation of the Convention and, in particular, participation by Asian developing countries. Center staff collaborated with colleagues from China, Bangladesh, Korea, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Thailand to encourage such participation and to build human resource capacity in the region. In the course of the study it was discovered that large developing countries such as India and China have in fact accomplished far greater reductions in the growth of their projected emissions than the industrialized countries that have adopted binding commitments. Researchers also found that these countries desire capacity building exercises, even over financial resources, but that many have yet to determine exactly how best to further the Convention’s objective as well as make the most of their development concerns at home. As such advances are documented and presented to decision makers in the U.S. and abroad, the efforts made by developing countries, as well as their assistance needs, can be more accurately assessed.

As reported in many of the newspaper headlines, after 36 hours of continuous deliberation in The Hague COP6 negotiations broke down on the morning of Saturday, November 25th. After delegations had returned to their home countries, some effort was made to bridge the divide between the EU countries and the US and its negotiating partners before 2001 and the arrival of President Bush and his team, but no deal was struck.

U.S. Administration Backs Away from the Kyoto Protocol

On March 13th, 2002, backing away from campaign pledge to regulate CO2 as a pollutant, President Bush sent a letter to Republican Senators saying:

“I oppose the Kyoto Protocol because it exempts 80 percent of the world, including major population centers such as China and India, from compliance, and would cause serious harm to the U.S. economy.”

With most of the world community looking to move forward with the Kyoto Protocol, the President of COP6, Minister Jan Pronk of the Netherlands, announced that the “second part” of COP6 would be held during the last two weeks of July 2001 in Bonn, Germany.

The Sixth Session of the Conference of the Parties, Part II

Staff of the Woods Hole Research Center attended COP6 Part II, which was held at Hotel Maritim in Bonn, Germany during 16-27 July 2001. The first three days delegates met in four closed negotiating groups to work out differences before the start of the High-Level segment. The four groups focused on financial issues; the mechanisms; compliance; and land-use, land use change & forestry (LULUCF).

On Friday COP6 President Pronk introduced a “streamlined document” and formed “The Group”, a smaller negotiating body, including all major interests, of about 35 high-level delegates. After over 48 hours of continuous negotiations, a political decision now known as the “Bonn Agreements” was reached at about 10am on Monday morning, July 23rd, and then approved by ministers in the Plenary which reconvened at 11:55 am. Most delegates were elated at the completion of such an historic agreement, and a standing ovation ensued. The text of the Bonn Agreements was then formally adopted by COP Plenary on Wednesday, July 25th, leaving the technical details to be worked out in accordance with these political decisions.

The NGO Consortium for North-South Dialogue on Climate Change held another event during COP6 Part II in Bonn called “Finance, Capacity Building and Technology Transfer”. This panel discussion, held Saturday, July 21st, was moderated by WHRC’s Kilaparti Ramakrishna, and also included Ogunlade Davidson, of University of Cape Town and co-chairman of the IPCC, Atiq Rahman of the Bangladesh Center for Advanced Studies, Fabio Feldman, Secretary General of the Brazilian Climate Change Forum, and Youba Sokona of ENDA-TM. The aim of the event, which was very well attended, was to help focus future negotiations by airing some unresolved issues in this realm.

At the end of the week much work had been completed by the Conference, but several key details were left to be finalized at the seventh session of the COP. In the lead up to COP7 and the World Summit on Sustainable Development, Dr. Kilaparti Ramakrishna addresses what needs to be done and why in an article in the Earth Times called “No Time For Complacency”.

Negotiations Completed in Marrakech

As COP7 began in Marrakech, Morocco on 29 October 2001, delegates were faced with the task of finalizing the operational details of the Kyoto Protocol.

After all night negotiations, COP7 President Mohamed Elyazghi convened the Plenary early on Saturday morning, November 10th. Around 6:00 am the COP adopted a package of decisions, now called the “Marrakesh Accords.” These can be found in UNFCCC documents FCCC/CP/2001/13/Add.1 through 4. (Click here to access UNFCCC library.) This Kyoto “rulebook”, now finalized, specifies how to measure emissions and reductions, the extent to which carbon dioxide absorbed by carbon sinks can be counted towards the Kyoto targets, how the joint implementation and emissions trading systems will work, and the rules for ensuring compliance with commitments.

The Conference of the Parties also adopted a “Marrakech Ministerial Declaration” as input into September 2002’s World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg (Decision 1/CP.7 in FCCC/CP/2001/13/Add.1). The Declaration states that action on climate change can make a contribution to sustainable development and calls for capacity building, technology innovation, and cooperation with the biodiversity and desertification conventions.

During the negotiations, Dr. Ramakrishna participated as a panelist in the side event “Finding New Money and Building Local Capacity: Challenges for the CDM and the UNFCCC” held on Tuesday, 6 November during COP7. The discussion was presented by the Consortium for North-South Dialogue and Partnership on Climate Change, of which the Woods Hole Research Center is a core member.

COP-8 in New Delhi

The eighth meeting of the Conference of the Parties (COP8) of the UNFCCC met in New Delhi, India from 23 October through 1 November 2002.

In an effort to engage participants in discussion about issues under study by the Program on Science in Public Affairs, the Woods Hole Research Center held a special side event during COP8. The event, held on Friday, 25 October at the India Habitat Centre, was entitled “Developing Countries and the UNFCCC: Retrospect and Prospect.” Panelists included the following:

Prodipto Ghosh, Additional Secretary to the Prime Minister of India,
Randall Spalding-Fecher, Senior Researcher: Energy, Efficiency, and Environment, Energy & Development Research Centre, University of Cape Town in South Africa,
Marcio Santilli, Climate Policy Director, IPAM – Instituto de Pesquisa Ambiental Amazonia in Brazil, and
Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Sara Shallenberger Brown Chair in Environmental Policy at the Woods Hole Research Center.

Prodipto Ghosh spoke on India’s participation in the climate regime, and the views and priorities of developing countries in general. Randall Spalding-Fecher presented African experiences with the UNFCCC, emphasizing their development priorities, as well as climate priorities such as adaptation measures, technology transfer, and funding issues. Lastly, Marcio Santilli addressed Brazil’s perspective on the climate issue. Kilaparti Ramakrishna began the event by making introductory comments about the Center and the current study of developing countries and chaired the session. The presentations, which were well received, were followed by a discussion session. Several thought-provoking questions and statements arose from the audience.

The event was chosen to be "web cast" live by the UNFCCC Secretariat and can be viewed still in the COP8 video archives. In addition, Dr. Ramakrishna was on the air with All India Radio as well as on the NPR program Living on Earth, and was interviewed on CNBC Asia television.

COP-9:

Moving Toward Ratification:

COP-10:

The Future of the Kyoto Protocol

The Tenth Session of the Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP-10) was hosted by the Government of Argentina in Buenos Aires from 6 to 17 December 2004. This will be the last Conference of the Parties before the Kyoto Protocol goes into force February 16, 2005.

What happened at COP-10?

Over 6100 participants from 167 governments, two observer States, 272 intergovernmental, non-governmental and other observer organizations, and 240 media outlets were in attendance at the "La Rural" exhibition center in Buenos Aires for COP-10 . During the meeting, Parties addressed and adopted numerous decisions and conclusions on issues, including: technology transfer; issues relating to land use, land-use change and forestry; the UNFCCC's financial mechanism; Annex I national communications; capacity building; adverse effects and adaptation; and a UNFCCC article on education, training and public awareness.

In addition to adopting formal decisions, the conference has evolved into a global forum for businesses, environmental groups and others to exchange ideas, make contacts and present new reports and findings.

During the final high-level segment at COP-10, 85 ministers along with heads of delegations participated in a lively exchange during four panel discussions. The discussion themes were "The Convention after 10 years: accomplishments and future challenges"; "Impacts of climate change, adaptation measures and sustainable development"; "Technology and climate change"; and "Mitigation of climate change: policies and their impacts".

COP-10 asked the Convention secretariat to convene a seminar of governmental experts next May in Bonn to promote an exchange on 1) actions relating to mitigation and adaptation so that countries can continue to develop effective and appropriate responses to climate change; and 2) policies and measures adopted by their respective governments that support implementation of existing commitments under the Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol.The next annual conference, consisting of the Conference of the Parties (COP 11) for the Convention and the Conference of the Parties/Meeting of the Parties (COP/MOP 1) for the Kyoto Protocol will be held from 7 to 18 November 2005.

The Woods Hole Research Center at COP-10

Kilaparti Ramakrishna, Deputy Director of the Woods Hole Research Center, attended and participated in two side events: He co-moderated a panel focusing on "Sensible Directions on HFCs: Global Innovation in Technology and Policy Solutions" and was a panelist at the Youth and Experts Round Table. Kilaparti Ramakrishna co-moderated a panel on 13 December, focusing on "Sensible Directions on Hydrofluorocarbon s (HFCs): Global Innovation in Technology and Policy Solutions."

His co-moderator on the panel was Kevin Fay, Executive Director of International Climate Change Partnership. The panel discussed the efforts to address both climate and ozone impacts as part of the responsible use of HFCs, including Life Cycle Climate Performance Analysis, what the air conditioning industry is doing to meet this challenge, and the interaction among policy, regulation, and the innovation necessary to develop the technologies to address both ozone and climate issues.

Panelists were: Lambert Kuijpers who is Co-chair UNEP Technology and Economic Assessment Panel and Professor at Technical University, Eindhoven, Netherlands; Nick Campbell, Environmental Manager of ARKEMA; Mac McFarland, Environmental Manager of DuPont; and Durwood Zaelke of the University of California, Santa Barbara.

Panelists left-to-right: McFarland, Kuijpers, Fay, Ramakrishna, Campbell, Zaelke

International Climate Change Negotiations—A Chronology

1980: The first World Meteorological Organization (WMO) / United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) / International Council of Scientists (ICSU) meeting on CO2-induced climate change is held in Villach, Austria.

1987: Another WMO/UNEP/ICSU conference in Villach establishes greenhouse warming as an international concern.
The Beijer Institute (Sweden) sponsors workshop in Villach and Bellagio that highlights the growing concerns of global warming. induced climate change.

1988: The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is established by WMO and UNEP to assess the scientific, technical and socio-economic basis of human-induced climate change.

The Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere calls for a 20% reduction of 1988 CO2 levels by 2005.

1990: The First Assessment Report of the IPCC is released. It recommends the launch of negotiations on a global climate change agreement. The UN General Assembly opens negotiations on a framework convention on climate change and establishes an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee (INC) to conduct these.

1991: The Conference of Developing Countries is held in Beijing. The resulting Beijing Ministerial Declaration emphasizes the need for "firm commitments by developed countries" states "developing countries cannot be expected to accept any obligations in the near future" under a future climate treaty.

1992: The Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) is signed at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development in Rio. Annex I countries agree to strive to return their individual CO2 emissions back to 1990 levels by the year 2000; however, the U.S. refuses to make the terms of the agreement legally binding.
The IPCC Supplementary Scientific Assessment is released.

1994: The FCCC enters into force with the 50th country’s ratification.
The Alliance of Small Island States - many of whom fear they will disappear beneath the waves as sea levels rise - adopt demand for 20 per cent cuts in emissions by the year 2005. This, they say, will cap sea-level rise at 20 centimeters.

1995: The first Conference of Parties (COP1) to the Climate Convention in Germany adopts the Berlin Mandate, exempting developing countries.

1996: COP-2 meets in Switzerland, resulting in the Geneva Declaration. Little progress is made to reach an agreement on CO2 reduction targets for a new treaty, but the United States agrees to legally binding emission commitments and announces the possibility of inclusion of flexibility mechanisms such as emissions trading in the new agreement.

1998: COP-4 in Argentina results in the Buenos Aires Plan of Action to strengthen the implementation of the Convention and prepare for the Protocol’s entry into force.

1999: COP-5 in Bonn, Germany includes negotiations on rules for emissions trading, and project criteria for the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) and Joint Implementation (JI).

2000: Negotiations collapse in COP-6 held in The Hague, Netherlands after the U.S. and Europe fail to agree on rules for emissions trading and use of carbon sinks.

2001: U.S. President George Bush declares that “Kyoto is dead,” announcing that the U.S. will not ratify the Protocol.
COP-6 resumes in Bonn, resulting in a political agreement without the U.S. on the ‘rulebook’ by which the countries agree to ratify and implement the Protocol.
COP-7 convenes in Morocco, resulting in the Marrakesh Accords, which adopts decisions taken at COP-6 that will accelerate the transition from negotiations to implementation.

2002: COP-8 in New Delhi links climate change to sustainable development. The New Delhi Declaration calls for effective action to limit emissions and reduce vulnerability to climate change.

Early History