|
 |
Home : Energy Issues and Policy : International Policy
International Policy
In 1992, the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development produced an international environmental treaty - the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The treaty, which is legally non-binding, provides for periodic updates or protocols that set mandatory emission limits. Nearly 200 parties - including the United States have signed this treaty.
The Kyoto Protocol, adopted in 1997, is the principal update to the UNFCCC, and includes commitments from participating industrialized countries to reduce specific greenhouse gases and for all member countries to give general commitments to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Kyoto Protocol has been signed and ratified by 187 parties. The United States has not signed and ratified the Kyoto Protocol.
Parties of the UNFCCC meet annually in Conference of the Parties (COP). The 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference was held in Copenhagen, Denmark, from December 7-18, 2009, and will include the 15th Conference of the Parties (COP 15) and the 5th Meeting of the Parties (COP/MOP5) to the Kyoto Protocol. To read the decisions and accord reached in Copenhagen, please click here.
|
|
|
 |
