2.2.1. The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)

The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty addressing climate change signed by 158 states at Rio de Janeiro in 1992. The United Nations established a Secretariat headquartered in Bonn to implement the Rio de Janeiro agreement.

The treaty established three categories of signatory states with differential responsibilities. The categories are: developed countries (Annex 1), developed countries with special financial responsibilities (Annex 2) and developing countries. Annex 1 countries are members of the EU and thirteen Eastern European states in transition to market economies. This group is called upon to adopt national policies to limit greenhouse gas emissions. Annex 2 countries include all Annex 1 countries except the thirteen East European states. This group is asked to provide financial resources to meet the costs of developing countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Finally, the developing countries of the third category are required to submit progress reports of their individual commitments on climate change and emission targets for greenhouse gases.

The UNFCCC has been criticised for its apparent ineffectiveness in reducing levels of emissions of greenhouse gases since its creation. However, it should take the credit for being the major international forum of climate change and the source of other international climate change initiatives such as the Kyoto Protocol, ICAP, COP and IPCC, which will be discussed below.

2.2.2. The Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto in December 1997 by 192 countries. It extends the 1992 UNFCCC objective to reduce greenhouse gas emissions based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring and that CO₂ emissions as a result of human activity are causing this. The Kyoto Protocol applies to the six components of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide (CO₂), methane (CH₄) and nitrous oxide (N₂O) as the main contributors.

The Protocol acknowledges that developed and developing countries have different capabilities in combating climate change and places the obligation more heavily on developed countries. The Protocol's first commitment period started in 2008 and 36 countries fully complied with it. The second commitment period, known as the Doha Amendment, commenced in 2012, under which 37 countries, including EU and Australia, have binding targets. However, there have been stumbling blocks along the way. Japan, New Zealand and Russia have participated in Kyoto but have not committed to the second-round targets. Other developed countries without second-round goals are Canada (which ceremonially withdrew from the Protocol in 2012) and the United States (which has not ratified). Of the 37 countries with binding commitments, 34 have ratified and 147 states have accepted the Doha Amendment in principle.

Following the much-publicised departure of Canada in 2012 and the lack of ratification by many countries including the USA, the Kyoto Protocol is considered to have failed to deliver. This resulted in the adoption of the Paris Agreement in 2015 as a separate instrument under the UNFCCC.

2.2.3. International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP)

The International Carbon Action Partnership (ICAP) was founded in Lisbon in 2007 by more than fifteen government representatives as an international cooperative forum. From its Secretariat based in Berlin, ICAP coordinates the sharing of best practices and monitors the progress of the ETS (Emission Trading Scheme). ETS is an incentive-based approach for reducing emission pollutants, also known as ‘cap and trade’. A maximum ‘cap’ or limit is set on the total amount of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by all participating members.

ICAP regularly publishes the status report of emission trading worldwide (ICAP, 2021). The partnership currently counts 32 full members and five observers. The UK launched its own domestic ETS following its departure from the European Union while the Chinese government officially announced the start of the first compliance cycle of its domestic ETS in January 2021, ending in December 2021.

ICAP advocates for a Paris Agreement that supports countries in using market mechanisms on a voluntary basis to help achieve their intended nationally determined contributions.

2.2.4. The Paris Climate Agreement

The Paris Climate Agreement (also known as the Paris Accord) is an international treaty on the climate crisis. Its stated aim is to radically reduce global carbon emissions and restrict the rise in the Earth's temperature to less than 2 degrees centigrade. This treaty was signed by all 189 participating countries in Paris in December 2015 at COP 21.

There are four guiding principles for the Agreement:

• To support Parties in transferring part of their mitigation outcomes to other Parties for compliance, leading to greater emissions reductions than can be achieved individually.
• To provide for a sound and transparent accounting framework for internationally transferred mitigation outcomes and build trust among Parties.
• To encourage the development and use of robust monitoring, reporting and verification (MRV) standards and ensure that the environmental integrity of Parties’ mitigation commitments is not undermined.
• To build upon the knowledge and institutions developed by countries and the UNFCCC.

The participating countries are also required to report every two years on how much greenhouse gas is being produced within their geographical boundaries. These reports are called ‘greenhouse gas inventories’. Countries must also provide feedback on their efforts regarding climate change adaptation responses.

The treaty is bound by international laws. Although the participating countries are not bound by law to aim towards one universal goal, they are required to establish and review their own climate targets and plans every five years. These objectives must be set on a consistent basis. The plans and targets are known as NDCs or nationally determined contributions. With 189 nations having ratified the landmark accord since 2015, the USA is the only country in the world to have formally withdrawn from it in June 2017. However, the succeeding US administration of President Biden re-joined the Paris Climate Agreement in February 2021.

Notwithstanding the fact that, inevitably, some doubts arose when President Trump began the process of extracting the USA from the Paris Agreement, the treaty has proved to be remarkably resilient. The key axis of the EU and China has remained intact. There are other successes such as the inclusion of 1 degree centigrade as the aspirational target, a powerful movement towards ‘net-zero emissions’ as well as a multiplicity of successful actions on climate by large businesses. However, even with all these positive steps, emissions have continued to rise globally. The UN Environment Programme (UNEP) reported that releases escalated from 50 billion tonnes in 2015 to 55 billion tonnes in 2019.

Despite the evident challenges, there is once again a sense of optimism around what can be achieved with President Joe Biden re-joining the Paris Agreement on his first day in office, and China's President Xi Jinping committing the world's largest emitter to a zero emissions target by 2060.

2.2.5. The Conference of Parties (COP)

The COP is the decision-making body of the UNFCCC and can produce some very important outcomes. For example, the Paris Climate Agreement was signed at the COP 21 in 2015. All States that are Parties to the Convention are represented and work together to make the relevant decisions that safeguard the successful implementation of the Convention. The COP meets annually and reviews the national communications and emission inventories submitted by Parties. The COP dates back to March 1995 when the first COP meeting was held in Berlin, Germany, while the most recent, COP 25, took place at Madrid in 2019.

COP 26 was to be held in Glasgow in 2020 but was rescheduled as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic and is due to occur in November 2021. It will take place in an atmosphere of anticipation, and expectations are high as President Biden has prioritised climate change, promising to convene a climate summit of the world's major economies within 100 days of taking office. All eyes will be on those countries who have not yet committed to long-term net-zero targets. There will also be an appetite to see progress from those nations who have already dedicated themselves and who have already offered detailed plans for cutting emissions by 2030.

2.2.6. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

The IPCC or Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a highly respected body of the United Nations and was established in 1988. In conjunction with former US Vice-President Al Gore, the IPCC won the Nobel Prize in 2007.

The group works to produce reports on climate change which are commonly held to be the official consensus of scientists, experts and global governments. These documents allow the IPCC to assess, summarise and provide an overview of knowledge, progress, impacts and the future risks of climate change. The reports are drafted and reviewed by the scientific community at various stages, thus guaranteeing objectivity and authenticity.

2.2.7. Other International Initiatives

There are other international bodies involved in climate change initiatives, albeit with lower profiles, including GEF and GCP.

The Global Environment Facility (GEF) was set up in 1992 at the Rio Earth Summit. GEF supports 184 countries in partnership with some private sector groups and civil society organisations to address global environmental issues. GEF also provides financial support for projects related to climate change, international waters, the ozone layer and environmental pollutions. The organisation has financed or co-financed more than 4,800 projects in 170 countries.

The Global Carbon Project (GCP) was established in 2001 as a global research project of Future Earth, a network of the international science community. Based in Canberra, its aim is to decelerate the escalation of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. The primary focus of GCP research is carbon management and the group regularly publishes Global Carbon Project reports in English, Chinese, Japanese and Russian.

2.3.1. European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS)

The European Union Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) was launched in 2005 as the first large greenhouse trading scheme.

All installations must monitor and report their greenhouse gas emissions. A maximum cap is set on the total quantity of greenhouse gases that can be emitted by all participating installations. EU allowances for emissions are then auctioned off and can subsequently be traded. If emissions exceed the amount permitted by allowances, an installation must purchase allowances from others. Conversely, if an installation has performed well and has demonstrated success at reducing its emissions, it can sell its leftover credits. This is known as ‘the cap and trade principle’.

In 2013 the EU ETS covered more than 11,000 installations of the power stations and factories of all 27 EU member countries. Subsequently, the EU ETS was also extended to EU airports.

We will now examine in more detail how some key global economies are performing in terms of climate change, with a focus upon some of the worst ‘sinners’ in this area.

2.3.2. UK Climate Change Initiatives

British climate change initiatives are ambitious. The UK aims not just to meet the tenets of the Kyoto Protocol to reduce all greenhouse emissions by 12.5% from 1990 levels by 2012. In fact, new commitments will set the UK on a path to slash its carbon emissions by 78% by the year 2035. Furthermore, the 2008 Climate Change Act commits the UK government to cut national greenhouse gas emissions by at least 100% of 1990 levels (net zero) by 2050.

Achieving these targets would require more widespread use of electric cars, low-carbon heating and renewable electricity as well as cultural changes to food purchasing habits by a reduction in the consumption of meat and dairy products. Following Brexit, the UK entered its own UK-only ETS, although this is broadly similar to the EU ETS described above and the same ethos applies. Industries and power plants receive permits to emit greenhouse gases and can trade them at the market rate. Increasing renewable energy production, by wind, solar and nuclear power is one fundamental way that will allow the UK to meet its binding net-zero target by 2050.

At the COP 21 meeting held in Paris, Britain joined ‘Mission Innovation’ with a group of twenty countries, pledging to ‘double spending on clean tech R and D’.

2.3.3. USA Climate Change Initiatives

The United States of America is the second highest polluter of greenhouse gases but arguably holds maximum power and influence in global climate change initiatives. A look at the varying policies of US administrations towards green initiatives in this century reveals rather a ‘swing of the pendulum’ effect. It is evident that recent Republican presidents (viz. George W. Bush and Donald Trump) have sought to protect fossil fuel industries while their Democrat counterparts (Barack Obama and Joe Biden) are more proactive supporters of global and national climate change initiatives.

The USA, although a signatory to the Kyoto Protocol, has neither ratified nor withdrawn from this agreement. President Clinton in 1993 committed the United States to reducing their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2020. However, in 2001 George W. Bush announced that the United States would not implement the Kyoto Protocol.

Bush's successor adopted a different and more proactive approach to the pressing problem of climate change. In 2009 President Obama announced that the USA would enter a ‘cap and trade’ system to limit global warming. He also established a new office, the White House Office of Energy and Climate Change, and appointed Todd Stern as the Special Envoy for Climate Change. In 2013 President Obama and Chinese President Xi Jinping formulated a landmark agreement to reduce CO₂ and two years later, in 2015, President Obama became a signatory of the Paris Climate Agreement. In the same year the United States committed to reducing emissions to 26–28% below 2005 levels by the year 2025, a reflection of the US goal to convert the national economy into one of low-carbon reliance.

However, 2017 saw another reversal of attitudes with a change of administration, when President Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Climate Agreement and appointed Scott Pruitt, a climate change denialist, as his director of the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).

Since taking office in 2021, the Biden administration has re-joined the Paris Climate Agreement and created a National Climate Task Force. President Biden has also proposed spending on climate change in his infrastructure bill, including $174 billion for electric cars and $35 billion for research and development into climate change initiatives.

2.3.4. China Climate Change Initiatives

China accounts for 28% of global greenhouse gas emissions and is the world's number one polluter due to an energy infrastructure heavily reliant upon the use of fossil fuels and coal. Furthermore, major industries including the construction and manufacturing sectors contribute heavily to the country's enormous levels of carbon dioxide emissions. China is already experiencing the severe impacts of global warming upon its agriculture, water resources and the environment.

However, as a signatory to the Paris Climate Agreement, the nation appears to be committed to climate change initiatives. President Xi Jinping announced in 2020 at the UN General Assembly that his country would hit peak carbon emissions before 2030, aiming towards attaining carbon neutral status by 2060. The National Leading Group on Climate Change (NLGCC) was established by the Chinese government in June 2007. It was created in response to international pressure and constitutes a ministerial ‘super group’ designed to coordinate complex decision-making processes related to the key areas of climate change, emissions reductions and the conservation of energy. Furthermore, in terms of clean technology, China is a major world producer and exporter of solar panels, wind turbines and electric cars.

2.3.5. India Climate Change Initiatives

Another major problem area is India, the third largest global polluter of greenhouse gas emissions (7%). If India is to achieve an economic growth rate of over 8% then the country should also focus on its energy constraints. India is highly dependent on imported oil, which constitutes 70% of its requirements.

The nation was on track to achieve its NDCs (nationally determined contributions) from 2015, but it is also one of the fastest growing economies in the world, with a rapidly expanding climate footprint. The country's emissions have risen by a staggering 184% since 1990 – in fact, China is the only nation whose emissions have increased by a larger rate. Prime Minister Modi played a prominent role in COP 21 in Paris and has said that he also expects developed countries to support international financing to India's climate change initiatives.

2.3.6. Russia Climate Change Initiatives

Russia ranks fourth in the greenhouse gas emission table (5%) and also has a high profile on the international political stage. The country has signed all UN climate treaties including the Paris Climate Agreement and thus agrees to aim to reach net-zero carbon emissions by 2050.

In 2020, a long-term strategy was presented by Russia on how to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050. An internal review also claims that Russia's greenhouse gas emissions decreased by an encouraging 30% between 1990 and 2018.

However, Russia's energy strategy is not clear. The country enjoys a major advantage, being fortunate in possessing one of the largest stores of solar, wind, geothermal and biofuels in the world. However, the nation's ‘Energy Strategy 2035’ has also projected a substantial increase of Russian fossil fuel production, combustion and exports within the next fifteen years.

2.3.7. Japan Climate Change Initiatives

Japan is fifth in the list of global polluters with its 3% share. The country is in many ways synonymous with key climate initiatives, as Japan acted as the host of COP 3 in Kyoto in 1997 when the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. However, the country's performance in emissions control prior to 2013 was less than satisfactory. Since the East Japan earthquake of 11th March 2011 Japan's dependence on coal-fired power has increased. The country's policy decision to continue the new construction of coal-fired power plants domestically and to support them financially abroad was criticised by the international community.

Matsushita (2020) recommends three key measures that Japan should adopt:

1. Set ambitious greenhouse gas reduction targets such as a 40–50% reduction by 2030 and net-zero emissions by 2050;
2. Radically reform current coal-fired power policy, including stopping construction of new coal-fired power plants and discontinue providing financial assistance for the construction of coal-fired power plants abroad; and
3. Introduce full-fledged carbon pricing.