c.
Joint implementation among member states
ENVIRONMENTAL LAW
TRANSCRIPTION
Nov 28, 2018
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCC) – Main global forum for climate change negotiations;
The UNFCC is a Rio Convention one which adopted the Rio
Earth Summit; Objective is to stabilize green house gases;
Negotiations in the UNFCCC cover themes which include:
1. Mitigation – reducing levels of greenhouse gas
emissions
2. Adaptation – building resilience to the impacts of
climate change
3. Climate Finance – finance mitigations to climate
change
4. Technology
5. Capacity Building
6. Reducing Emissions from Deforestation and Forest
Degradation
History
 Rio 1992 adopted Rio Earth Summit
 Copenhagen 1994 – UNFCCC enters into force
 Copenhagen 2009 goal to reduce emissions by 2020
 Set the goal of limiting global temperature rise to
below 2 degrees Celsius
 CanCun2010 – formalized Copenhagen Accord
“Cancun Agreement”” to improve transparency of
developing country emissions and actions
 Durban 2011 – New Global agreement to take effect
2020 second commitment of Kyoto
 Doha 2012
 Warsaw 2013
 Lima 2014
 Paris 2015 Deadline is to complete and be
implemented on 2020
Kyoto protocol is an international agreement linked to the
UNFCC;
1. Adopted 1997 in Japan
2. 191 states signified and ratified;
3. only the US Afghanistan Andora and South Sudan did
not ratify
a. Canada withdrew from protocol on 2011
4. Major feature binds 37 industrialized countries for
reducing Greenhouse gas emissions
5. Major distinction is that this protocol does not merely
encourage them but commits them to do so;
6. Kyoto mechanisms are
a. Emission trading
b. Clean dev mechanism
7. Monitoring system targets
a. Registration system
b. Reporting
c. Compliance system
d. Adaptation
8. BY the end of the first commitment in 2012 a new
international framework needs to have been
negotiated and ratified that can deliver the stringent
emission reductions the Intergovernmental panel on
Climate Change
Do Developed countries have a higher obligation to combat
climate change?
Global warming is the result of massive emission of Co2 and
other greenhouse gases from the burning of fossil fuels
throughout the industrial revolution beginning in the 19 th
century; Many of the developed countries are responsible
hence they should bear a greater responsibility for combating
the climate change. It exempted developing nations such as
china India the Philippines from the same reduction efforts
from developed countries; The Kyoto Protocol called for
developed countries to exert effort and assume greater
responsibility; Because developing countries have began to
industrialize and pollute they should also recognize this
principle.
1. Developed and Developing nations have common
but differentiated responsibilities.
2. Developed nations emit more per capita and are
more obligated to cut rate; hence developed nations
are more responsible for causing global warming and
they are obligated to cut emission and solve the
problem
3. Contraction/Convergence equalizes per capita
emissions burdens wealthy
4. Developed Countries cause global warming so they
must fix it as well this is caused by long term historic
emissions of developed countries and their high per
capita emissions.
5. Developed Countries are criticizing developing
states for polluting more heavily at present; because
of the wealth of developed countries they had the
option know-how and the luxury to go “green”
6. Developed states have more available money to
fight climate change
7. Developing states live in subsistence lower “green”
obligation; developing countries employ almost all
resources on subsistence living developed spend
much in luxury and excesses. Developing countries
cannot be expected to contribute equally in fighting
global climate change
8. Developed Countries are responsible to commit
“green” technologies; they have more resources
technologies and know how; they are responsible to
commit these resources toward the fight on global
warming; responsibility to transfer them to
developing countries without the resources to fight
climate change.
 9. Developing nations need room to develop without
emission restrictions; developing nations need room
to develop and grow; having emissions regulations
constrain such growth is unfair.
10. Going “green” in developed nations is not a burden
but an opportunity; they should take the lead and not
consider it a burden.

Arguments AGAINST higher obligations on part of developed

nations:
1. Obligations and equality distract from solving
climate change; climate change is our shared
responsibility. Developing nations should swallow
their legitimate frustrations with developed nations
for causing global warming and focus their attention
on helping form a collective solution
2. Seeking equality of emissions fail to cut overall
emissions; because the ultimate result developing
countries cancels out the reductions by developed
country reductions
3. Equality of per capita emissions does not work when
states specialize; Some states specialize in
manufacturing and some services, industries with far
different emissions; Attempting to hold these
specializing states to same per capital emissions
levels, therefore does not make sense. It would
require that all states have the same share of all
industries which is neither economically or
environmentally desirable.
4. Developed states did not initially know that they
were causing global warming; It is inappropriate
therefore to hold them morally accountable to
starting the industrial revolution and causing global
warming they knew not what they were doing
5. Largest states are responsible to lead on climate
change; US Japan China Germany India; due to their
size and economic power they share equal
responsibility to fight global warming
6. If poor are most affected they should be willing to
invest; this goes hand in hand with efforts to combat
poverty disease and social disruption.
7. China is worst contributor to climate change has
equal obligations.
8. Emissions exemptions for China or India will inflate
outsourcing to them; It will be even more likely that
jobs are outsourced to China and India leaving the
middle class of developed countries suffering
9. World’s manufacturing in China; Emissions must be
cut there;