Hello everyone, welcome back! In the past two posts, we have learnt more about climate change, including the processes behind it and the pollutants that caused it. We hope that through our posts on international air pollution, we managed to show how some pollution are transnational in nature. Hence, tackling these global problems require an equally global effort. In our 3-part series, we shall now look at three different international climate change policies – the United Conventions Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement. As always, we will not go too deep into each of these international laws as there would be too much to unpack. Instead, we will be looking at how air pollution, specifically the emission of greenhouse gases (GHG) which causes climate change, are defined. As our loyal readers would know, we will give our own definition for it as well. Let’s go!
Our definition of climate change
In our first post on climate change, we recognised that climate change can be natural or anthropogenic. The current problem is due to the additional anthropogenic emissions of GHG. Next, we looked at the types and sources of some GHG. We learnt that GHG comes in many different shapes and form. Some are primary pollutants, others secondary; some can be found in nature, others man-made. Recognising these facts, we feel that climate change should be defined based on the emission of GHG (air and water pollution definitions under the EPMA), rather than its effect (land pollution definition under the EPMA). Thus, our definition of climate change is as follows:
“The pollution of air with greenhouse gases, in particular, of anthropogenic origins or as a result of anthropogenic processes.”
Which came first?
The first of the three international climate change policy is the UNFCCC. Rectified by 197 countries, the UNFCCC came into force in 1994 (UNFCCC, 1992). Recognising the impacts of climate change on Earth and humankind, the UNFCCC sought to address this issue with developed nations taking first actions (UNFCCC, 1992). Up next came the Kyoto Protocol. Adopted in 1997, the Protocol entered into force in 2005. The Kyoto Protocol sought to operationalise the UNFCCC (UNFCCC, 1997). Finally, this leaves us with the Paris Agreement. Entering into force in 2016, the agreement sought to pursue the objectives set out in the UNFCCC (UNFCCC, 2015).
I hope that this introductory post on the three climate change laws have whet your appetite. From the next post onward, we will embark on a 3-post series to look at how climate change is defined in the UNFCCC, Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement! Stay tuned~
Regards,
Lee Yang
References
UNFCCC. (1992, 2020). What is the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change? Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-convention/what-is-the-united-nations-framework-convention-on-climate-change
UNFCCC. (1997, 2020). What is the Kyoto Protocol? Retrieved from https://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol
UNFCCC. (2015, 2020). What is the Paris Agreement? Retrieved from https://cop23.unfccc.int/process-and-meetings/the-paris-agreement/what-is-the-paris-agreement