The role of trust in the international climate negotiations
Heike SchroederFelix BeyersNiko SchäpkeKathleen A. MarChristine WamslerDorota StasiakTim LueschenCarolin FraudeThomas BruhnM. G. Lawrence
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Abstract In this paper, we examine the role of trust in the international climate negotiations. We (1) identify forms of trust inferred from institutional designs, (2) analyse effects of institutional design on social and political trust and (3) describe the relationship between social and political trust in international climate change negotiations. We do this by combining document analysis, literature review and interviews. We find that the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement imply different forms of trust and thereby produce different levels of trust. Social trust is generally medium to high, political trust rather low. Our analysis illustrates tensions and contradictions between human agency and intention, on the one hand, and political agency and process, on the other. These tensions and contradictions are such that, although delegates at the international climate conferences do at least partly trust each other, they meet in an institutional context that is marked by lack of political trust. Moving forward, we discuss whether this lack of trust is well‐founded or not given the current institutional and organisational structures of the UNFCCC and its subsequent agreements and what it is highlighting in terms of specific flaws or omissions in the UNFCCC's design.This background note will be updated to include any new developments on the formal negotiations are taking place within the meetings and working groups that have been established under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and Kyoto Protocol framework. The Rudd Government has emphasised that a major part of Australia’s efforts to control global greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions would be Australia’s participation in international negotiations leading to a global agreement on this issue. Domestically, the government proposed an Emissions Trading Scheme, which is currently being debated in Parliament.Australia participates in a number of bilateral and multilateral climate change partnerships. It is party to both the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Kyoto Protocol. The main feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it contains legally binding GHG emissions targets for developed countries that are parties to the Protocol. The Australian Government is currently participating in international meetings intended to shape a future global response to tackling climate change.The formal negotiations are taking place within the various meetings and working groups that have been established under the UNFCCC and Kyoto Protocol framework. This background note will be a ‘living’ document, updated to include any new developments on this front.
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Toward the end of 2005, in the middle of a federal election campaign in Canada, the latest chapter in the remarkable story of the Kyoto Protocol was written. The Montreal Conference under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was the 11 meeting of the Parties since the Convention came into force in 1994. More significantly, it was the first meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol, which in turn represents the first international agreement on binding greenhouse gas (GHG) emission reductions in developed States. The Kyoto Protocol is to date the only international effort that has shown any hope of moving the global community toward the stated objective of the UNFCCC, to reduce GHG emissions globally to levels that prevent dangerous and irreversible interference with the climate system.
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One of the most current pressing environmental problems threatening the well-being and survival of the global community is climate change. The change in the Earth's climate is believed to be caused by human-induced activities such as the several decades of uncontrolled emissions of greenhouse gases. There is now a universal consensus that climate change is a global problem that needs urgent global attention and response. The need to compel a paradigm shift in the emissions of several gases accountable for global warming with the resultant effect of climate change led to the negotiation of an international agreement known as the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol commits industrialized nations and nations with economies in transition to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions and achieve their reductions targets. To achieve its aim, the Kyoto Protocol initiated three innovative market-based mechanisms, now known as the carbon market, designed to help Parties meet their national greenhouse emissions reduction targets. This paper reviews the market-based mechanisms (Carbon Market) of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to ascertain whether the Kyoto Protocol has achieved significant global greenhouse gas emissions reduction through its carbon market. The paper also examines the compliance mechanism, the successes, and failures of the Kyoto Protocol. The paper concludes with a recommendation that both the developed and developing countries must be involved in greenhouse gas emissions reduction if any significant global greenhouse gas emissions reduction is to be achieved. Keywords: Kyoto Protocol, Kyoto Protocol market-based mechanisms, Kyoto compliance mechanism, Kyoto Protocol successes, Kyoto Protocol failures. DOI: 10.7176/IAGS/86-03 Publication date: September 30 th 2020
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The Third Conference of the Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (Climate Change Convention) was held from 1 to 11 December 1997 at Kyoto, Japan. Significantly the States Parties to the Convention adopted a protocol (Kyoto Protocol) on 11 December 1997 under which industrialised countries have agreed to reduce their collective emissions of six greenhouse gases by at least 5 per cent by 2008–2012. Ambassador Raul Estrada-Oyuela, who had chaired the Committee of the Whole established by the Conference to facilitate the negotiation of a Protocol text, expressed the view that: “This agreement will have a real impact on the problem of greenhouse gas emissions. Today should be remembered as the Day of the Atmosphere.” This note seeks to outline in brief the science of climate change, and international activity to combat global warming prior to the Kyoto conference. It then attempts to analyse the terms of the Kyoto Protocol and to draw some conclusions on its significance.
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The AFT-Cosmo deal is the example of the willingness of private companies to implement measures that are clearly consistent with the fundamental principles of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ('UNFCCC')' and the Kyoto Protocol through utilising the marketplace mechanisms that these instruments formally create. Irrespective of the way in which the international negotiations over the Kyoto Protocol evolve, it is clear that a significant shift is taking place in the behaviour of many corporations, which either see new opportunities or wish to limit the liabilities, which may arise under the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol.
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The global average temperature has raised around 0.7 celsius degree for 100 years; moreover, the recent raising pattern becomes a major threat to human mankinds. UN Framework Convention for Climate Change and its subsequent protocol, Kyoto Protocol have played main legal systems to prevent global warming until now. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change(UNFCCC) was established in 1992 when the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development convened in Rio de Janeiro Brazil. The Convention's stated objective is stabilization of greenhouse gas(GHG) concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic(human caused) interference with the climate system requiring both develped and developing nations to establish national programs together will achieve that objective. However, the content of those programs was not specified, but may include quantified GHG emissions reductions, policies and measures, technololy development and other approaches. So it needed consecutive negotiations to materialize the UNFCCC. The Kyoto Protocol was the final results to begin the step to mitigate global GHG. Under the Kyoto Protocol, was agreed to in 1997 in Kyoto Japan, industrialized countries(Annex I countries) committed to reduce their GHGs emissions, requiring a five percent reduction from 1990 GHG emission level by 2012. Kyoto Protocol was effective in 2005, ratified by 186 countries in 2009, but its emission reduction commitments are set to expire in 2012. Disappointedly United States was the only industrialized nation to not have ratified Kyoto Protocol, because of it imposed no limitations on the fast growing developing countries. Kyoto's key feature is that it allows the member countries to meet their emissions reduction commitments through the market-based mechanisms. These mechanisms are emissions trading, clean development mechanism (CDM) and joint implementation(JI). Kyoto assigns emission targets, or assigned amounts, to Annex I countries. Each assigned amounts unit equates to one ton of carbon dioxide. The assigned amount unit can be traded under various emissions trading schemes, the equivalent of a regulation. To implement the trading, various member countries have developed trading systems. The European Union for example, has developed the EU Emissions Trading System. The JI and CDM are project-based mechanims. That is, each allows an entity to create emission reductions by performing or funding projects with other countries. In December 2007, in Bali, Indonesia, the parties to UNFCCC (including the United States) met and agreed to a negotiating process(termed the Bali Action Plan) by which a replacement to or extention of the Kyoto Protocol. They planned to come to the final accord by December 2009, when the Conference of the Parties of UNFCCC(COP-15) was held in Denmark Copenhagen. Even though the Copenhagen Accord has not reached to the Post-Kyoto scheme about second-stage emission reductions, it has confirmed the Bali Action Plan that developing nations agree to consider nationallly appropriate mitigation actions (NAMA), while developed countries agree to pursue reportable and verifiable (MRV) nationally appropriate commitment or actions, including quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives. During the various levels of talks, including COP, it has become obvious that Kyoto regime did not work enough to handle the global warming for its defaults, equity problems. Developing countries group argue the developed countries should be blamed for their historical responsibilities to global warming and ask for financial and technical supports and more obligation to decrease greenhouse gases. Developed countries, however, point out so-called fast-growing countries, such as China and India, as one of major countries that causing global warming. Main legal issue in arguing of both group is the equity controversy. However. hard legalization of international cooperation in climate change is hard to come by due to several factors involved in climate change including high level of uncertainty, huge gap between advanced and developing countries, etc. Next part in this paper, about review of the Basic Act on Low Carbon Green Growth Republic of Korea, just enacted in January 2010, and become effective April 2010. From the international perspective, Korea as a non-Annex I country drafted the Basic Act in 2009 as a part of its efforts to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions thereby further contributing to the international efforts to deal with climate change. In this context 2008 August, President Lee Myung-bak of Korea proclaimed the green growing up is the basic strategy to cope with national climate change and economic development. And the next year, 2009, the Korean government pronounced that on 2020, mitigating 30 percent GHG of nationally emissions compared to the BAU(Business As Usual). The Basic Act includes policies and strategies to mitigate greenhouse gas emissions such as promoting green industry, introducing green tax system, developing basic plans on climate change response and energy and introducing cap-and-trade system. The effective implementation of the policies and strategies to be introduced by the Basic Act will be ensured by building reporting and verifying systems on greenhouse gas emission related activities. Although it was drafted before the Copenhagen Accord, the Basic Act seems to be already in conformity with the elements on nationallly appropriate mitigation actions(NAMA), and measurable, reportable and verifiable(MRV), which are required to the developing countries by the Copenhagen Accord. I think the Basic Act on Low Carbon Green Growth could be one of the model of the developing countries trying to like law-making implementation.
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The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) marked the first meaningful attempt by the community of nations to curb greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. This agreement, though a significant first step, is not sufficient for the longer-term task ahead. Whether one thinks the Kyoto Protocol was a good first step or a bad first step, everyone agrees that a second step is required. This chapter identifies some key principles and promising policy architectures for the post-Kyoto period. A credible global climate change agreement must be: equitable; cost-effective; able to facilitate significant technological change and technology transfer; consistent with the international trade regime; practical, in the sense that it builds where possible on existing institutions and practices; attentive to short-term achievements, as well as medium-term consequences and long-term goals; and realistic. The chapter also considers four potential frameworks for a post-Kyoto agreement. The first calls for emissions caps established using a set of formulas that assign quantitative emissions limits to countries through 2100. A second potential framework would instead rely on a system of linked international agreements that separately address mitigation in various sectors and gases. A third architecture would consist of harmonized domestic taxes on emissions of GHGs from all sources. A fourth architecture links national and regional tradable permit systems only indirectly, through the global Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) established by the Protocol.
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International environmental agreements. Why protecting the environment. Climate change and environmental cooperation. The United Nations framework convention on climate change. The Kyoto Protocol. Canada: from compliant to withdrawing. Australia: from disengagement to ratification. Comparisons between Canada and Australia.
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Climate change caused by anthropogenic greenhouse gas emissions is a global environmental problem. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992 and the subsequent Conferences of Parties (COP) have expressed the urgent need to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere. The Kyoto Protocol, the third COP, was to be a milestone in that for the first time legally binding caps on GHG emissions were to be set. This study analyses the 1990 and current GHG emissions status of Annex I countries and their ability to meet their Kyoto target. The analysis is based on data published in the UNFCCC websites in October 2007. In 1990, total aggregate emissions, including land use, land use change and forestry, of all 40 Annex I countries was 17,551.2 TgCO2e, which had decreased by 4.6% in 2005. In a “business as usual” scenario, emissions would further decrease to 16,357.70 TgCO2e (or by 6.8%) in 2012. Therefore, this would ensure the collective target of Kyoto Protocol would be— to reduce GHG emissions by 5.2% from 1990 levels during the first commitment period. Despite Australia not ratifying the Kyoto Protocol until December 2007, it surprisingly has meet its Kyoto target. Ratifying the Protocol and introducing domestic and international emissions trading systems will boost Australia’s economy and reputation in the long run.
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While Australia has signed both the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, and the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, it has failed to ratify the latter. It is nevertheless committed to meeting its +8% Kyoto target for greenhouse gas emissions, and argues that it is on track to doing so. This paper examines Australia's non-ratification politics and greenhouse policy efforts in an attempt to explain its contrary position of resisting Kyoto, yet embracing and pursuing its emission reduction targets. Australia's behavior as a carbon-intensive nation is highly significant in the global context, and this paper focuses on the domestic factors of interests, ideas and institutions, while also considering international factors in trying to explain Australia's non-ratification of Kyoto and climate change policy development. It finds that while ideas and institutions have been modifying influences in the domestic context, political and economic interests have dominated Australia's greenhouse policy.
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