{"id":62295,"date":"2022-10-24T10:46:09","date_gmt":"2022-10-24T09:46:09","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.lse.ac.uk\/granthaminstitute\/?post_type=faqs&p=62295"},"modified":"2024-08-16T09:40:16","modified_gmt":"2024-08-16T08:40:16","slug":"what-is-the-un-framework-convention-on-climate-change-unfccc","status":"publish","type":"faqs","link":"https:\/\/www.lse.ac.uk\/granthaminstitute\/explainers\/what-is-the-un-framework-convention-on-climate-change-unfccc\/","title":{"rendered":"What is the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)?"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Signed in 1992, the <\/a>United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change<\/path><\/svg><\/a> (UNFCCC) is the foundational treaty that has provided a basis for international climate negotiations since it was established, including landmark agreements such as the Kyoto Protocol<\/path><\/svg><\/a> (1997) and the Paris Agreement<\/a> (2015). The Convention has been ratified by 197 states who have committed to act on climate change and regularly report on their progress.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What does the UNFCCC say?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The ultimate goal of the Convention is the “stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system” within a timeframe that allows people and planet to adapt and economies to develop sustainably. In joining the Convention, Parties acknowledge the existence of the threat of climate change and agree to undertake efforts to combat it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Convention itself has not established concrete targets. Rather, it was intended to provide a framework for future agreements and policies. The Convention calls for ongoing research, negotiations, agreements and obligations through a few important mechanisms:<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1. Common but differentiated responsibility<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Convention recognises the principle of common but differentiated responsibility (CBDR) and respective capability. This principle acknowledges that different states have different capabilities and responsibilities to address climate change and this can be used as a framework to navigate the balance between the need for all states to act on climate change, with their varying levels of responsibility for greenhouse gas emissions – both past and present – and capacity to address that problem in a way that is “equitable and appropriate”.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The Paris Agreement <\/path><\/svg><\/a>refers to “common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities, in the light of different national circumstances”, and reflects both the shifting landscape of countries’ emissions – for example, the dramatic rise in China’s emissions since 1992<\/path><\/svg><\/a> – and changing capacity to address climate change as economies, technologies and policies develop.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2. Establishing major institutions, structures and processes<\/h3>\n\n\n\n

The Convention lays out a basic structure through which the Parties can work together to achieve its goals.<\/p>\n\n\n\n