There are plenty of issues in the world, but none is more pressing than climate change. It’s no surprise, then, that attention to this topic at the U.N. has sharpened as its impacts have spread around the world. In this article, we explore the Evolution of climate change at the UN, highlighting the key moments on the road to concerted global action.
Diplomacy and World Politics: from the Stockholm Syndrome to the Coup on Skeet Street
First Steps: 1949 – 1972
There was no space for the environment when the UN was born. Emphasis was essentially on the economy and on the profitable use of substances than on the conservation of resources. Development related to that was the first major attempt to do so before, 1949: we concentrated on those areas … but it was development related and it was the United Nations Scientific Conference on the Conservation and Utilization of Resources. Some 10 years after that, in 1972, again at the “First Earth Summit,” in Stockholm, this declaration — with its 26 principles for ensuring human ecosystem protection and enhancement — was adopted. Humans could influence climate! (The potential ill effects of human influence were first raised then, and governments were notified.)
Formative Years: 1979 – 1988
The first stirrings of climate concern were felt in 1979, in the Convention on Long-range Transboundary Air Pollution. The Conference represented the changing attitude to management of Air Quality, with the realization that regulation of the air pollution had to be directed toward identifying all the sources of air pollution. In the 1980s, the alarms were about the damage to the ozone layer. The Vienna Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer (1985) and the Montreal Protocol (1987) established timetables for the elimination of the production and consumption of chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs).
World and Cultural Affairs: 1988-92
“1989 was the year the environment became divisive.” It was the year of “60 Minutes” and the ozone hole and toxic waste and the greenhouse effect. Following a UNEP international workshop, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) was established. The Environmental Perspective to the Year 2000 and Beyond was approved by the UN General Assembly in 1987 and sustainable development was recognized as an idea. It guided domestic and international policies and programs for environmentally sound development.
This Is Your Time: The 1990s & The 2000s
Earth Summit in Rio: 1992
The date of demarcation was the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The UNFCCC is adopted, providing new momentum in international efforts toward safeguarding the stability of the global environment. The FCCC 1994 sought to achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
Kyoto Protocol: 1997
The 1997 Kyoto Protocol, which became effective in 2005, is the most significant action to date. The protocol mandates that developed nations must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by 5% compared to 1990 levels over the period 2008–2012. The pact was the most sweeping action ever taken by the world to address climate change.
The Path to the Future
Recent Advances and Pending Challenges
The UN has had to work to keep climate at the political fore globally in recent years. “We are seeing globally that the commitment to reduce climate risks is increasing, with the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 and the inclusion of the 2℃ target as a formal goal. However, challenges persist. The evidence of what it means if we do not act on climate change is mounting, and the world needs to make the response whatever it takes. De-escalating the mistakes that were generated in climate change requires international pressure, clean technology, and a shift in economic model.
Conclusion
The path from first denial, and then delay, to today’s heightened activity by governments globally to lay plans for and respond to climate change has taken decades and is a microcosm of the wider global climate process that ebbs and flows at the U.N. Every step — from the early discussions to the ratification of international pacts — has been critical in the fight against this global threat. And we need to keep pressing for policies and actions that will make this planet habitable for generations to come.