IPCC+-+Conventions+and+Efforts

= Introduction = The **Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)** is a scientific intergovernmental body established in 1988 by two United Nations organs, the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP), and then futher endorsed by UN General Assembly Resolution 43/53. Its goal is to provide comprehensive scientific assessments of current scientific, technical and socio-economic information worldwide about the risks of climate change caused by human activity, its potential environmental ans socio-economic consequences, and possible options for adapting to these consequences or mitigating the effects.

For more information on the IPCC's organizational structure go to IPCC - Research and Institutions

Fun Fact: The IPCC won a Nobel Peace Prize in 2007 with Al Gore!

One of the focuses of the IPCC is publishing extensive reports on topics relevant to the implementation of the **United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)**, an international treaty that acknowledges the possibility of harmful climate change. The implementation of the UNFCCC led eventually to the **Kyoto Protocol**. The most recent efforts by the IPCC will be seen in **Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development**, held in Rio de Janeiro on June 22, 2012.

=**Rajendra K. Pachauri - Chairperson of IPCC**=
 * Rajendra Kumar Pachauri was born on August 20, 1940 (72 years old) in Nainital, India. He is the Chairperson of the IPCC and is involved in college programs revolving around climate change, including Columbia and Yale. He has worked for several different organizations including the UNEP prior to joining the IPCC, he was also appointed Member, Economic Advisory Council to the Prime Minister of India. **
 * On global climate change he has stated: ** "What is happening, and what is likely to happen, convinces me that the world must be really ambitious and very determined at moving toward a 350 target." [|[14]] 350 refers to the level in parts per million of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere that top climate scientists such as NASA's [|James Hansen] agree to be a safe upper limit in order to avoid a climate tipping point.

= = =** United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) **= In 1992, countries joined an international treaty, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, to cooperatively consider what they could do to limit average global temperature increases and the resulting climate change, and to cope with whatever impacts were, by then, inevitable. By 1995, countries realized that emission reductions provisions in the Convention were inadequate. They launched negotiations to strengthen the global response to climate change, and, two years later, adopted the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol legally binds developed countries to emission reduction targets. The Protocol’s first commitment period started in 2008 and ends in 2012. At COP17 in Durban, governments of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol decided that a second commitment period, from 2013 onwards, would seamlessly follow the end of the first commitment period. The length of the second commitment period is to be determined: it will be either five or eight years long

**for more information on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and its treaties visit [|Essential Background]** =** Kyoto Protocol **= The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialized countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so. Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” || The Kyoto Protocol, like the Convention, is also designed to assist countries in adapting to the adverse effects of climate change. It facilitates the development and deployment of techniques that can help increase resilience to the impacts of climate change. The Adaptation Fund was established to finance adaptation projects and programmes in developing countries that are Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Fund is financed mainly with a share of proceeds from CDM project activities.
 * The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.
 * The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh in 2001, and are called the “Marrakesh Accords.” ||

= GHG Reduction Potential: = Possible reductions in emissions of greenhouse gases (quantified in terms of absolute reductions or in percentages of baseline emissions) that can be achieved through the use of technologies and measures.

=** Rio +20 United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development **=

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Countries Seek New Path Towards Agreement for Rio+20  "Rio+20 is expected to set the agenda for a more sustainable future for years to come. Governments, business and civil society organizations are expected to launch actions that will make a measurable difference, leading to greater prosperity, health and opportunities, and an environment that will continue to support growth for future generations. More than 120 Heads of State and Government have registered to attend; in addition, some 50,000 people, including business executives, mayors, NGOs, youth, indigenous people and many other groups, are expected to participate in both official and informal events in Rio de Janeiro during the Conference."  For the rest of the article go to: [|Countries Seek New Path Towards Agreement for Rio +20]

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