2.5.6 Climate and environmental treaties notes

1. 2.5.6.1Stockholm 1972 to Rio 1992: evolution of global environmental governance

   The Stockholm Conference of 1972 put the environment on the world agenda and created UNEP; twenty years later the Rio Earth Summit joined environment with development and launched the main global environmental treaties.

   Advanced · 8 min · Full course
2. 2.5.6.2UNFCCC: principles, CBDR and the COP process

   The UNFCCC (1992) is the parent climate treaty: it sets the goal of preventing dangerous climate change, splits countries into groups under "common but differentiated responsibilities", and meets every year as the Conference of the Parties (COP).

   Advanced · 9 min · Full course
3. 2.5.6.3Kyoto Protocol: targets and CDM, joint implementation and emissions trading

   The Kyoto Protocol (1997) was the first treaty to set legally binding emission cuts, but only for developed countries, and it created three market mechanisms (emissions trading, joint implementation and the CDM) to help them meet those cuts.

   Advanced · 8 min · Full course
4. 2.5.6.4Paris Agreement: NDCs, Article 6 and India's updated NDC

   The Paris Agreement (2015) commits all countries to keep warming well below 2°C, aiming for 1.5°C, through self-set pledges (NDCs) that must be strengthened every five years; India has pledged a 45% cut in emission intensity by 2030 (47% by 2035 in its 2026 NDC) and net zero by 2070.

   Advanced · 10 min · Full course
5. 2.5.6.5Recent COPs: key outcomes from COP26 onwards

   Since 2021 the COPs have finished the Paris rulebook (Glasgow), created a loss and damage fund (Sharm el-Sheikh, Dubai), agreed to transition away from fossil fuels (Dubai), set a new finance goal (Baku) and focused on implementation and adaptation (Belém).

   Advanced · 10 min · Full course
6. 2.5.6.6Climate finance and loss and damage: GCF, adaptation fund and REDD+

   Climate finance is money from developed to developing countries for cutting emissions and adapting; it flows through funds such as the GEF, the Green Climate Fund and the Adaptation Fund, while loss and damage and REDD+ deal with unavoidable harm and with forests.

   Advanced · 9 min · Full course
7. 2.5.6.7Convention on Biological Diversity: Cartagena, Nagoya and the Kunming–Montreal framework

   The CBD (1992) is the main global treaty on biodiversity, with three aims (conservation, sustainable use, fair benefit-sharing); its protocols deal with GM organisms (Cartagena) and benefit-sharing (Nagoya), and the Kunming–Montreal framework (2022) sets the 2030 targets, including "30x30".

   Advanced · 10 min · Full course
8. 2.5.6.8CITES and wildlife trade

   CITES (1973) controls international trade in wild animals and plants through three appendices, so that trade does not threaten their survival; India gives it effect through the Wild Life (Protection) Act as amended in 2022.

   Advanced · 9 min · Full course
9. 2.5.6.9Ramsar, CMS and UNCCD

   Ramsar (1971) protects wetlands, the Bonn Convention or CMS (1979) protects migratory animals, and the UNCCD (1994) fights desertification and land degradation; India is a Party to all three, and Kolleru is Andhra Pradesh's Ramsar site.

   Advanced · 10 min · Full course
10. 2.5.6.10Montreal Protocol and the Kigali Amendment

    The Montreal Protocol (1987) phases out ozone-depleting substances and is the most successful environmental treaty; its Kigali Amendment (2016) extends it to phasing down HFCs, which are powerful greenhouse gases.

    Advanced · 8 min · Full course
11. 2.5.6.11Chemical conventions: Basel, Rotterdam, Stockholm and Minamata

    Four global treaties manage dangerous chemicals and wastes: Basel controls cross-border movement of hazardous waste, Rotterdam requires consent before trade in certain hazardous chemicals, Stockholm eliminates persistent organic pollutants, and Minamata controls mercury.

    Advanced · 10 min · Full course
12. 2.5.6.12Environmental organisations: UNEP, IPCC, GEF, IUCN, WWF and IPBES

    UNEP is the UN's environment agency, the IPCC and IPBES assess science on climate and on nature, the GEF funds environmental treaties, and IUCN and WWF are conservation bodies that combine science with action.

    Advanced · 9 min · Full course

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