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United Nations Conference on the Human Environment
In 1972, the United Nations convened in Stockholm, Sweden for the first major environmental conference in its history. Considered one of the first international talks on the environment, the UN Conference on the Human Environment, also known as the Stockholm Conference, established 26 principles in its Declaration meant to set a basis of values for environmental action, with the intention of being universally and equally concerning to all. Accomplishments at the UN Conference on the Human Environment include the Stockholm Declaration, an Action Plan with 109 recommendations, and a Resolution recommending a second UN Conference on the Human Environment. Notable topics of the Conference include the first international discussion on the use of CFC’s and their potential depletion of the ozone layer, which were eventually banned under the Montreal Protocol. The Conference also led to creation of the UNEP (United Nations Environmental Programme) in 1972. The United States, under President Nixon at the time, was present for the Conference and fully supported and participated in the negotiation of many of the accomplishments at Stockholm.
United Nations Environmental Programme, Report on the UN Conference on the Human Environment
UN Documents, Declaration of the UN Conference on the Human Environment
UN Resolution 2997– United Nations Environmental Programme
The United Nations Environmental Programme was established on 15 December 1972, based on the talks of the June 1972 UN Conference on the Human Environment in Stockholm. The UNEP was created upon recognition of the need for a permanent institution within the United Nations to centralize and oversee coordinated environmental action by its countries. In principle, it is the basic authority of all international environmental activity.
The UNEP is based in Nairobi, Kenya, with 6 smaller sister regional agencies, and country agencies around the globe. The UNEP has an Executive Director with a 4-year term and a Governing Council of regional electorates with three-year terms. An Environmental Fund was further established under the financial budget of the UN, to finance activities of the UNEP and its various environmental projects and programmes.
Roles of the UNEP include bringing to attention the latest environmental news and concerns, helping implement, develop and improve international policies and policies specific to various countries, harmonizing the use of science with environmental studies, developing environmental projects and programmes, and helping establish various conventions to discuss the environment and related politics.
UN Environmental Programme, About UNEP: The Organization
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
The Montreal Protocol, effective since 1989, is the international accord established for the protection and recovery of the ozone layer. Its main objectives are to ban and phase out the production of certain substances determined to deplete the ozone layer. CFC’s (found in refrigerants, aerosols, and solvents) are one of the more controversial substances regulated and now phased out under the Protocol. Opened for signature on 16 September 1987, it became a historically successful treaty when it was unanimously signed by all UN countries.
Using the 26 principles of the Stockholm Declaration as a basis, the Montreal Protocol first establishes the need for a law to protect the ozone layer, arguing that countries have an obligation to ensure that their activities are not harmful to the resources and natural environment they depend on. The Protocol defines the ozone layer and states that participating states should continue monitoring of the ozone layer and the effects of certain substances on its condition. It also establishes an Executive Committee for overseeing purposes and a Multilateral Fund to deal with financing Protocol goals.
UN Documents, Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit)
The 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro, or the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development as it was officially billed, was convened to discuss - among a plethora of important social and economic issues - the paradigm of sustainable development, and how it could be used to reconcile international economic and environmental interests. To accomplish these goals the premise was adopted that "economic and social progress depends critically on the preservation of the natural resource base with effective measures to prevent environmental degradation" (The Heinrich Boell Foundation). In accordance with this general principle delegates sought to agree upon; an "Earth Charter," a more detailed set of principles aimed to couple development and the environment, an "Agenda 21," a global 'action plan' for the implementation of the aforementioned principles, and finally a way in which developed countries could contribute to sustainable development in the developing world. While the conference was successful in meeting these objectives, individual nations' compliance with these doctrines has been mediocre at best. Perhaps the most significant achievement of the conference, however, was the agreement upon the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, an initiative that will be elaborated upon below. The 1992 Summit was followed up by the Earth Summit 2 (Rio + 10) in Johannesburg, South Africa, which is generally regarded as being a failure. The conference was met initially with much controversy, as it was widely criticized for providing delegates with catered food and drink only a few miles away from thousands of starving South Africans. The United States also boycotted the conference - aside from a brief address given by Colin Powell at the end of the conference, American delegates did not participate in negotiations. While successfully negotiating an agreement to restore the worlds depleted fisheries by 2015, little was accomplished in the way of effective environmental legislation.
United Nations, UN Conference on Environment and Development (1992)
World Summit Website of the Heinrich Boell Foundation, 1992: The Rio Earth Summit
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change was produced at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. While it is legally non-binding, the treaty-as stated in Article 2-aims to "[stabilize...] greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" through imposing voluntary emissions limits. Particular emphasis was placed on the responsibilities of industrialized nations to significantly reduce emissions in the near future, and it was agreed upon that specific targets would be set in subsequent protocols-of which that agreed upon in Kyoto is perhaps the most well known. The United States, under the administration of President George H.W. Bush, ratified the treaty on 7 October, 1992, agreeing to the terms and aim of the treaty.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change website
Globelaw, United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change FCCC Convention Text
Kyoto Protocol
The Kyoto Protocol is an agreement that was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December, 1997. Linked to the previous United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the Kyoto Protocol differentiates from its predecessor by establishing legally binding emissions reduction targets for 37 nations in the industrial world (as well as the European Community as a whole). These targets amount to an average of roughly 5% reductions from 1990 emissions levels between the years 2008 and 2012, and the treaty also outlines a series of 'mechanisms' - which include emissions trading - through which these objectives can be achieved. Among Kyoto's substantive significance, it is also important because it is widely seen as a bold first step towards the establishment of an official and legally binding global emissions trading regime as well as a relatively sound foundation upon which future international climate-change agreements. As of November 2009 virtual all nations have become party to the protocol, with the United States being a notable and controversial exception. Though the ratification process was begun under the administration of President Bill Clinton, his predecessor George W. Bush refused to submit it to the Senate for final ratification because of disagreements with the exemptions it gave with respect to China and other developing nations as well as the belief that it would put unacceptable restraints on the American economy.
8/3/2010
