What are the International Bodies Taking Action on Climate Change?

If you are interested in the governance side of climate change - who are the various policy "actors" in the fight against global warming - then this section will introduce you to some of the timeline of activities and how Canada works within these groups to establish priorities, review the science and identify the priorities for our country and the Arctic region. 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established in 1988, to assess risks and impacts of climate change. As a technical voice, it issues scientific and technical reports every five years. These reports are a synthesis of previously published works. Via scientific consensus, it became undisputable and startlingly clear that global warming was occurring and the cause was human made CO2 emissions. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) in 1992, emerged to stabilize greenhouse gases (GHGs).  

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (often referred to as UNFCCC) was formed with the objective to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference (defined as human actions) with the climate system". The framework sets non-binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms. Instead, the framework outlines how specific international treaties (called ‘protocols’ or ‘Agreements’) may be negotiated to specify further action towards the objective of the UNFCCC. UNFCCC basically does not set out any specific legally-binding targets. Instead, it sets out a path or initiative in the right direction to try to adapt to climate change issues. It sets out a specific goal to reduce GHGs in the atmosphere and puts the onus on developed countries to lead the way. The developed countries are the ones that must do the most work to reduce GHG emissions because the theory is that it is the industrialized countries which are also responsible for the current levels of GHGs in the atmosphere. Developed countries, including Canada were expected by the year 2000, to reduce emissions to pre-1990 levels.

It was during the third session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change in 1997, in Kyoto, Japan, that the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. The Kyoto Protocol is significant because, unlike previous negotiations on climate change suggesting that governments voluntarily reduce their emission of greenhouse gases, it contains concrete mandatory aims for the countries that have signed it. 

Between November 30 to December 12, 2015, in Le Bourget, France, the Paris Accord was drafted and was ratified by 55 global nations, with commitments to reduce 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions.  The Paris Agreement builds upon the convention, requiring all Parties to put their best efforts through nationally determined contributions (NDCs). 

One of the requirements is that all Parties regularly report on their emissions and implementation efforts. Canada has provided its 4th Report to the UNFCCC on our actions since ratification.

To read the Paris Agreement in summary form, click here.