Pariksha SaathiLesson 8 of 10 · Environment and Ecology
International Environmental Conventions: From Stockholm 1972 to the Paris Agreement
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Stockholm 1972 and UNEP
The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, held in Stockholm, Sweden, from 5 to 16 June 1972, was the first world conference to make the environment a major international issue. It adopted the Stockholm Declaration of 26 principles and an action plan, and led to the creation of the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) the same year, with headquarters in Nairobi, Kenya. The opening day, 5 June, became World Environment Day. Prime Minister Indira Gandhi spoke there, linking poverty with the environment, and India's Air Act 1981 and Environment (Protection) Act 1986 were passed to carry out the Stockholm decisions.
The Brundtland Report
The World Commission on Environment and Development, chaired by Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, published Our Common Future in 1987. It gave the best-known definition of sustainable development: development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.
Rio Earth Summit 1992
The UN Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), called the Earth Summit, was held in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, in June 1992. It produced the Rio Declaration of 27 principles, including the precautionary principle, the polluter pays principle and common but differentiated responsibilities; Agenda 21, a non-binding action plan for sustainable development in the 21st century; and the non-binding Forest Principles. Two binding conventions were opened for signature there: the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) and the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). The UN Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD), adopted in 1994, completes the three Rio conventions. Rio+10 was held at Johannesburg in 2002 and Rio+20 in Rio in 2012.
Climate treaties
The UNFCCC came into force in 1994, has its secretariat in Bonn, Germany, and holds a yearly Conference of the Parties (COP), the first in Berlin in 1995. It divides countries into Annex I (industrialised countries and economies in transition) and non-Annex I countries such as India. The Kyoto Protocol, adopted at COP3 in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 and in force from 2005, set binding targets only for Annex I countries: an average cut of 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels in the first commitment period, 2008 to 2012; the Doha Amendment of 2012 added a second period up to 2020. The Paris Agreement, adopted at COP21 in December 2015 and in force from 4 November 2016, commits all parties to hold warming well below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels and to try for 1.5 degrees. Each country sets its own Nationally Determined Contribution (NDC), renewed every five years. India ratified it on 2 October 2016, Gandhi Jayanti.
Ozone treaties
The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985) was the framework, and the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, signed on 16 September 1987 and in force from 1989, set binding phase-out schedules for CFCs, halons and other ozone-depleting substances. Its Multilateral Fund helps developing countries switch, and with the Vienna Convention it became the first UN treaty ratified by every country. The Kigali Amendment, agreed in Rwanda in October 2016, brought hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), which do not harm ozone but are powerful greenhouse gases, under a phase-down; India's group must freeze HFC use in 2028 and cut it by 85 per cent by 2047.
Chemicals and waste
The Basel Convention (1989) controls the movement of hazardous wastes across borders and their disposal, after rich countries were found dumping toxic waste in poorer ones. The Rotterdam Convention (1998) sets up the Prior Informed Consent (PIC) procedure, so a country must be informed and must agree before certain hazardous chemicals and pesticides are exported to it. The Stockholm Convention (2001) aims to eliminate or restrict persistent organic pollutants (POPs), starting with the dirty dozen such as DDT, aldrin, dieldrin, PCBs, dioxins and furans; DDT is still allowed for malaria control. The three share a joint secretariat in Geneva, and the Minamata Convention (2013) controls mercury.
Biodiversity treaties
The CBD, in force from 29 December 1993 with its secretariat in Montreal, Canada, has three objectives: conservation of biodiversity, sustainable use of its components, and fair and equitable sharing of the benefits from genetic resources. The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (adopted in 2000, in force 2003) governs the movement of living modified organisms, that is genetically modified organisms, across borders. The Nagoya Protocol on Access and Benefit Sharing (adopted in Japan in 2010, in force 2014) ensures that the countries and communities that provide genetic resources and traditional knowledge share in the benefits of their use. Other wildlife treaties are Ramsar (1971), CITES (1973) and the Bonn Convention on Migratory Species (1979).
IPCC
The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change was set up in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and UNEP, with its secretariat in Geneva. It does no research of its own; it assesses published science and issues Assessment Reports, the first in 1990. It shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice-President Al Gore.
Key facts
- Stockholm Conference, 5-16 June 1972: first UN environment conference; created UNEP (Nairobi); 5 June became World Environment Day.
- Brundtland Report, Our Common Future (1987): defined sustainable development as meeting present needs without compromising those of future generations.
- Rio Earth Summit 1992 outcomes: Rio Declaration (27 principles), Agenda 21, Forest Principles, UNFCCC and CBD; UNCCD followed in 1994.
- Kyoto Protocol: adopted at COP3, 1997; in force 2005; Annex I countries to cut 5.2 per cent below 1990 levels in 2008-2012.
- Paris Agreement: COP21, 2015; in force 4 November 2016; well below 2 degrees Celsius, aiming for 1.5; NDCs every five years; India ratified on 2 October 2016.
- Ozone: Vienna Convention 1985 (framework), Montreal Protocol 16 September 1987 (CFCs), Kigali Amendment 2016 (HFC phase-down; India's group freezes in 2028).
- Chemical conventions: Basel 1989 (hazardous waste), Rotterdam 1998 (prior informed consent), Stockholm 2001 (POPs, dirty dozen), Minamata 2013 (mercury).
- Under the CBD: Cartagena Protocol (biosafety, GMOs; adopted 2000) and Nagoya Protocol (access and benefit sharing; adopted 2010).
- Secretariats: UNEP Nairobi, UNFCCC Bonn, CBD Montreal, IPCC and the Basel-Rotterdam-Stockholm conventions Geneva.
- IPCC: set up in 1988 by WMO and UNEP; first Assessment Report 1990; shared the 2007 Nobel Peace Prize with Al Gore.
Quick revision
Stockholm 1972 (UNEP, 5 June); Brundtland 1987; Rio 1992: Rio Declaration, Agenda 21, UNFCCC, CBD; UNCCD 1994; UNFCCC in force 1994, Bonn; Kyoto 1997 (COP3), in force 2005, 5.2 per cent cut; Paris 2015 (COP21), in force 2016, well below 2 C; Vienna 1985; Montreal 1987; Kigali 2016 (HFCs); Basel 1989, Rotterdam 1998, Stockholm 2001; Cartagena 2000; Nagoya 2010; IPCC 1988 (WMO, UNEP).