international agreements - environmental science

7/29/2019 International Agreements - Environmental Science

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InternationalAgreements

Matt Simpson, Matt Kornberg,and Brian Delehanty


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UNFCC

The United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change

First formal international agreement for

human-driven climate change

U.S. - Senate's advice and consent,

George H. W. Bush signs 1992

52 Countries


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Requires parties to:o Gather and share info on GHG emissions,

national policies, & best practices

o Launch national strategies addressing GHG

emissionso Cooperate in preparation for impacts of

climate change


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Legally binding

No rule on the adoption of protocols, so

parties have repeatedly failed to reach

agreements


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Problems

The United States has been pretty

resistant to binding agreements

Developing nations (and China) argue

that they need to be allowed more carbon

emissions due to still being in an

industrial/industrializing economy


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Establishing quantitative emission

reduction targets for high income

countries

Reduce overall emissions 5% below 1990

"Marrakesh Accords" - rules for

implementation

Kyoto Protocol


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Internationally binding agreement

Market-based mechanisms:

o Emission trading among parties

Penalties:

o Increase in country's emissions reduction

target

o Exclusion of country from emission tradingscheme


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2001 - Pres. George W. Bush announces

U.S. would not become a party to the

Protocol

Note: The U.S. did sign the protocol in

1998, showing support and approval of

the agreement, but never became a party

Russia and certain other post-sovieteastern European nations have since

dropped out


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Japan has stated that it will not return fora second Kyoto protocol

o Cites economic restrictions which would

reduce economic competitiveness

defections such as this make theagreement far weaker


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Nations in purple are not returning second

term


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Copenhagen Accord

First U.N. document with goal of limiting

global temperature rise

o Limit to 2 degrees centigrade

Political agreement, but not legally

binding

Countries "associate with"

rather than signing


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Predicted CO2 emissions for 2020 are 44gigatons

Projected emissions without the

agreement amount to 50 gigatons

Models suggest the GHG concentration

should level off at 650 parts per million


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Stated that climate change is one of the

foremost challenges of our time

Called for carbon mitigation from both

developed and developing countries.

Established Copenhagen Green Climate

Fund which would support climate

focused projects


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Asia-Pacific Partnership on

Clean Development and Climate

Voluntary agreement lasting from 2005 to

2011

included China, Australia, United States,

Canada, South Korea, India, and Japan

independent projects still continue even

though the agreement is officially

concluded centered on fostering international

collaboration


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Has undergone criticism

o called innefective

o criticized for the lack of binding agreements

None of the parties have actually

decreased emissions

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