UN Conventions on Environmental Protection and Climate Change
UN Conventions on Environmental Protection and Climate Change
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
The UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994. Today, it has near-universal membership. The 197 countries that have ratified the Convention are called Parties to the Convention. Preventing “dangerous” human interference with the climate system is the ultimate aim of the UNFCCC.
Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (1973)
CITES (the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora) is an international agreement between governments. Its aim is to ensure that international trade in specimens of wild animals and plants does not threaten their survival. Any trade in protected plant and animal species should be sustainable, based on sound biological understanding and principles.
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (1987)
Adopted on 15 September 1987, the Protocol is to date the only UN treaty ever that has been ratified every country on Earth - all 197 UN Member States.
The Montreal Protocol, finalized in 1987, is a global agreement to protect the stratospheric ozone layer by phasing out the production and consumption of ozone-depleting substances (ODS).
Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal (1989)
The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and their Disposal was adopted in 1989 and it came into force in 1992. It is the most comprehensive global environmental agreement on hazardous wastes and other wastes. With 175 Parties (as at 31 March 2011), it has nearly universal membership. Its aim is to reduce hazardous waste generation. The convention calls for environmentally sound management of hazardous waste and seeks to limit and regulate trans-boundary movement of hazardous waste.
Convention on Biological Diversity (1992)
The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) is an international agreement adopted at the Earth Summit, in Rio de Janeiro, in 1992. The CBD was negotiated under the guidance of the United Nations. It was signed by more than 150 government leaders at the Rio Earth Summit (which official denomination is the 'United Nations Conference on Environment and Development'). It has three main objectives:
- to conserve biological diversity
- to use its components in a sustainable way
- to share fairly and equitably the benefits arising from the use of genetic resources
Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety (2000)
The Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety to the Convention on Biological Diversity is an international agreement which aims to ensure the safe handling, transport and use of living modified organisms (LMOs) resulting from modern biotechnology that may have adverse effects on biological diversity, taking also into account risks to human health. It was adopted on 29 January 2000 and entered into force on 11 September 2003.
Stockholm Convention on persistent Organic Pollutants (2001) EN L 303/60 Official Journal of the European Union 31.10.2012
The Convention was adopted on 22 May 2001 at the Conference of Plenipotentiaries on the Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants, Stockholm, 22-23 May 2001.
The Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants aims to protect human health and the environment from persistent organic pollutants which are hazardous chemicals toxic to humans and wildlife.
Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1998)
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997. Owing to a complex ratification process, it entered into force on 16 February 2005. Currently, there are 192 Parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
The Kyoto Protocol operationalizes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by committing industrialized countries to limit and reduce greenhouse gases (GHG) emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets. The Convention itself only asks those countries to adopt policies and measures on mitigation and to report periodically.