UNFCCC agreements and the role of the COP

Question 1

The UN climate change regime has explored different solution to address the climate change problem. What are the recurring themes/issues that have been explored?

Answer 1

• legal bindingness: legally binding vs. soft obligation
• architecture: each method has its pros and cons. top-down (less flexible, more ambition, less participation) vs. bottom-up approach (more flexibility and participation, less ambition and accountability)
• differenciation: how to differentiate can be different (between chategories like developed and developing countries, or differentiation by self-differentiation)

Question 2

In what way are the COP decisions important in the climate change regime?

Answer 2

• not formally legally binding unless the treaty explicitly gives it that authority, but;
• they have enriched and expanded the normative core of the regime by fleshing out treaty provisions
• reviewing the adequacy of existing obligation
• launching negotiations to adopt further agreements
• an elaborate institutional architecture to supervise implementation and compliance
• the language agreed in COP decisions are often reproduced in later legal texts
• they are written in a manner that might provide normative force, even if they formally are non-binding (use of language such as ‘shall’)

Question 3

Why is the Copenhagen Accord important despite that it has no legal standing in the UN climate regime?

Answer 3

One of the more influential documents to have emerged from the climate negotiations. Its architecture, which privileges national sovereignty over international prescription, captures self-selected targets and actions, and focuses on transparency provisions, representing a step change in the evolution of the climate regime, and provided the template for the design of the Paris Agreement. The significance does not lay in its legal character, but rather in the emerging political consensus that it reflects.

Question 4

Which principles are the UNFCCC based on?

Answer 4

• sovereignty
• equity
• common but differentiated responsibilities
• precautionary principle: scientific uncertainty should not be used to postpone measures to prevent or minimize harm
• cost-effectiveness: analyzing costs and benefits of a potential measure
• sustainable economic growth

Question 5

What is the UNFCCC? And what is its objective and commitments?

Answer 5

• a framework convention on climate change
• objective: stabilize GHG consentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system and achieve a levele within a timeframe sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner
• commitments (general commitments do not compel particular action)
  
  • encourage countries to formulate and implement national programs and measures to mitigate climate change
  • to cooperate in preparing for adaptation to the impacts of climate change
  • enhancement of sinks (ex. forests)
  • to take climate change into account in their existing policies
  • to exchange information
  • to promote scientific research, education, training, and public awareness
  • for the developed countries to reduce GHG emissions to 1990 levels before 2000 (art. 4.2)
  • the most significant general committments relate to national inventories and reporting: both developed and developing countries is required to prepare, periodically update, and publish information to the COP on anthropogenic emissions by sources and removals by sinks a national inventory of its emissions by sources and removals by sinks of GHGs, and the steps it has taken to implement the convention

Question 6

The UNFCCC’s objective focuses on atmpsheric concentrations of GHGs rather then on emissions. Has the GHG concentration level been agreed on in other agreements under the UN climate regime?

Answer 6

No, so far the parties have not yet been able to specify the GHG concentration level that the regime should seek to achieve, instead they have agreed on objectived in terms of temperature change and long-term emissions.

Question 7

What are the UNFCCC institutions?

Answer 7

• COP art. 7: the supreme body og the convention, main function to review the implementation of the convention
• the secretariat art. 8: general administrative functions
• subsidiary body for scientific and technological advice art. 9: assisst the COP by providing scientific information and advice
• subsidiary body for implementation art. 10: assist the COP in assessing and reviewing the implementation