International Environmental

Agreements

Presentation by:

Dr. Gazala Habib

Room 303, Block IV

Department of Civil Engineering

IIT Delhi

(4th November, 2016)

Vital alarming statistics !!

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• Sea level rise: 3.41 mm/year

• Global average CO2: September 2016 atmospheric CO2 average

~ 404.42 ppm {First time in history >400ppm CO2 for >1 year

(2015-2016)}.

• Global Temperature: 1.7 ºF since year1880.

• Arctic summer sea ice: Shrunk to lowest extent on record.

(13.3% per decade recently !!).

• Greenland ice loss: Doubled between 1996 and 2005 (around

281 gigatonnes per year).

Source: http://climate.nasa.gov/

Atmospheric CO2 Levels: Historical Perspective

Source: NOAA, 2016

Mauna Loa:

Hawaii IslandsVostok & Law Dome:

Antartica

Atmospheric CO2 Levels: Recent data

Source: NOAA, 2016

Source: NASA, 2015

Global Sea Level Rise

Source: NASA, 2015

Important Terms

• Pre-industrial time: Refers to period before year 1750.

• Green House Gases (GHGs): Water vapor (H2O), CO2,

methane (CH4), Nitrous oxide (N2O), Ozone (O3),

Chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs)

• Signatory: A party (country) that sign a legally binding

document at any treaty, convention, conference, etc.

• Ratification: Official adoption of any treaty, agreement, etc.

signed by a party (country) by its parliament/law making

body by voting and securing a majority.

Climate Change: DefinitionsInter-governmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC):

“A change in the state of the climate that can be identified (e.g., by using

statistical tests) by changes in the mean and/or the variability of its properties,

and that persists for an extended period, typically decades or longer. Climate

change may be due to natural internal processes or external forcing, or to

persistent anthropogenic changes in the composition of the atmosphere or in

land use”

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC):

“A change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human

activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in

addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods”.

Various Environmental Organizations

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INTER-GOVERNMENTAL ORGANIZATIONS:

•United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP)

•IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) [1988]

•World Bank

•International Energy Agency (IEA)

•Earth System Governance Project [2009]

•Global Environment Facility [1991]

GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION:

•Ministry of Environment, Forests & Climate Change.

•Central/State Pollution Control Boards/Agencies.

NON-GOVERNMENT ORGANIZATION (NGO) :

•International (e.g. Green Peace, WWF)

•Country Specific (e.g. CSE)

UN CONFERENCES

&

PROTOCOLS

ON

ENVIRONMENT,

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT , CLIMATE

CHANGE

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UN Conference on Human Environment, Stockholm (1972)

(Effect of Environmental degradation on Quality of Human Life)

Vienna Convention (1985)

(Protection of Ozone Layer)

Montreal Protocol (1989)

(Total Elimination of Ozone Depleting Substances)

Basal Convention (1989)

(Control of Trans-boundary Movements of Hazardous waste)

Geneva Convention (1990)

(Technology and financial help to Developing Countries)

UN Convention on Climate Change, New York (1992)

Economic Development and Environmental Protection

Bio-diversity Convention, Nairobi (1992)

(Preservation of Earth’s Bio-diversity)

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UN Conference on Environment and Development (Earth Summit)

Rio de Janeiro, Brazil (1992)

(Environment and Sustainable Development)

Kyoto Protocol (1997)

(Stabilization of Green House Gases)

World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg (2002)

(International Solidarity on Environmental Issues)

Copenhagen Summit (2009)

(Road map for Post-Kyoto treaties)

Bali, Indonesia (2007)

Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action under the Convention (AWG-LCA)

established

United Nations Climate Change Conference, Doha, Qatar (2012)

(The Doha Climate Gateway)

Paris Agreement (2016)

(Targets for everyone)

Montreal Protocol 1987

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• Main provisions:

– Requirement for individual countries to phaseout the production and consumption ofdesignated substances (CFC’s)

– A multilateral fund into which developedcountries could contribute funds that would beused to help developing countries achieve thecontrol measures specified in the agreement

– Ban on trade in designated ozone-depletingchemicals e.g. those containing CFC’s.

Ozone Depleting Gas Index

ODGI 2016: 81.4

Source: NOAA, 2016

KYOTO PROTOCOL (1997)

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The UN member countries divided into:

Annex I countries: Industrialized countries and economies in

transition.

Annex II countries: Developed countries which pay for costs of

developing countries.

Non Annex I countries: Developing countries.

Kyoto Protocol: Mechanisms

Kyoto Protocol (1997)

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Brown = Countries that have signed and ratified the treaty

(Annex I & II countries in dark brown)

Blue = No intention to ratify at this stage.

Dark blue = Canada, which withdrew from the Protocol in December 2011.

Grey = no position taken or position unknown

Source: UNFCCC, 2016

Annex I, II & Non Annex Parties

Source: UNFCCC, 2016

CO2 before & after Kyoto Protocol

Source: UNFCCC, 2015

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Paris Agreement on Climate Change, 2016

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• On 12 December 2015, the Paris Agreement was adopted as an agreementwithin the UNFCCC framework.

• 192 countries have signed this agreement (including India).

• 94 Countries have ratified (including India).

• India ratified on 02 October 2016.

• It will come into force on 4 November 2016 after ratification by 55 UNFCCCParties, accounting for 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

• Paris Agreement will replace the Kyoto Protocol after its second commitmentperiod ends on 31 January 2020.

Importance of Paris Agreement, 2016

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For the first time in more than 20 years of

UN’s climate negotiations, the COP21

accomplished a legally binding and

universal agreement on climate: the

Paris Agreement.

Provisions in Paris Agreement

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• A long-term target to limit the rise in the global temperature “to well below 20C

(3.60F) above pre-industrial levels” and appealed to countries to engage in efforts

to restrict the increase to 1.50C.

• A promise to generate a global assessment of climate improvement by 2018;

and the nations will be back to the negotiating table by 2020 for presenting

climate objectives that would represent an advancement ahead of their then-

existing target.

• Voluntary pledges made by 188 parties (countries) to climate change action in

the shape of Intended Nationally Determined Contributions (INDCs).

• Emissions-slashing pledges from individual countries and promises to help the

developing nations adapt to the detrimental effects of global warming. Moreover, the

negotiators agreed on measures to amend, strengthen, and scrutinize countries’

individual contributions (INDCs).

Common But Differentiated Responsibility (CBDR)

(India’s Standpoint)

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• Stresses the need for equity and fairness

(as highlighted by the developing countries).

• Obligation on all parties (countries) to take

climate action in consideration of their

respective domestic/national circumstances.

India Ratifies the Paris Climate Agreement.

What does it mean?

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India’s Ratification of Paris Agreement

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• India ratified the Paris agreement on climate

change on 2nd October 2016.

• India is the world’s 4th-largest carbon

emitter accounting for 4.1% of the total

global emission, is the 62nd nation to

ratify the agreement.

India’s Commitments in Paris Agreement

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• Reduction in emissions intensity per unit GDP by 33 to 35%below the 2005 level by 2030.

• The aim is to produce 40% of the total electricity from sourcesother than fossil fuels.

• Creation of an additional carbon sink of 2.5 to 3 billion tonnesof carbon-dioxide through extra forest and tree cover by 2030.

• Voluntarily installing 175 GW of renewable power capacity by2022 (Targets are 100 GW of electricity from solar energy, ofwhich 40 GW would be through individual rooftop systems.

Volunteer Tasks for you !!

1. Watch and share these documentary movies:

• An Inconvenient Truth (By Al Gore).

• Before the Floods (By Leonardio Caprio).

2. Read the book “Six Degrees: Our Future on a Hotter Planet” by

Mark Lynas.

(Summary at:

http://www.sustainablewoodstock.co.uk/onetwo%20degrees%20

summary.pdf)