International climate politics

Climate protection has been on the agenda of international politics since the first IPCC report of 1990. In 1992, the Framework Convention on Climate Protection was signed in Rio; the Kyoto Protocol was signed in 1997. It is still unclear what will happen with international climate policy after 2012 when the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires.  Yet in Copenhagen, all the heads of state were in agreement: Further steps are necessary – and they must be co-ordinated on an international level.

Framework Convention on Climate Change

The first big step towards worldwide supported carbon offset was the UN Conference on the Environment and Development in Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted at this famous "Rio Conference". In Rio, however, only non-binding commitments were agreed.

Main principles:

• Stabilise the greenhouse gas concentration at a safe level
• Common but differentiated responsibilities for developing and industrialised countries
• Stabilise emissions at 1990 levels (by 2000) in the "Annex I countries" (industrialised countries and the former Eastern Bloc countries)
• Financial resources for developing countries by industrialised countries
• Sustainable development and precautionary principle
• National greenhouse gas inventories and reporting
• Annual conferences of the member countries (conference of the parties COP)

The Framework Convention on Climate Change has been in force since 1994, and is ratified by 192 countries.

Kyoto Protocol

Five years later (1997), the countries adopted the Kyoto Protocol in Kyoto, Japan. Four years of negotiations on its implementation then followed, during which the U.S. withdrew. Following the agreement reached in Marrakech (2001), a further four years elapsed before the Kyoto Protocol could come into effect. Just like the EU, Switzerland has committed itself internationally to a reduction of -8 percent by 2010 (compared with 1990 levels).

The Kyoto Protocol has been in force since 2005, and is ratified by 185 countries.

After Copenhagen: How do we move forward?

Discussions about "Post-Kyoto" (the period from 2012 after the expiry of the Kyoto Protocol) were already started in 2002 in New Delhi. Some measure of a breakthrough was achieved in 2007 (COP 13) in Bali when the countries agreed on an ambitious timetable – probably under the influence of the scientific IPCC Report 2007 and the much publicised Stern Review of 2006, according to which the damage costs of unchecked climate change will be many times higher than the avoidance cost of a rapid introduction of climate-friendly framework conditions.

Yet despite this reversal of trend in 2007, negotiations have since proceeded very sluggishly. Not even at the Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen (COP 15) in December last year, which had been viewed with such high expectations, were the obstacles overcome, with most of the decisions instead being postponed to the November 2010 conference in Mexico. This result led to widespread disappointment, but at the same time reinforced the certainty that the solution cannot simply be expected to come from the UN. Individual member countries with their national policies as well as the population and the economy were equally asked to continue to work towards local, national and international approaches to solutions.

A detailed and informative overview of the stages of the international climate policy can be seen at:
Federal Office for the Environment (FOEN)

Further Information
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
UNFCCC website