Abstract
International climate negotiations for the 2015 agreement started in 2005 in order to find an alternative solution to the fight against climate change. The international climate regime based on the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol is not responding to the new world and the developments, which occurred since its creation. The reality of 1992 when the Convention was signed has changed and the evolution of climate negotiations, from Bali to Copenhagen to Cancún and Durban, has shown that all Parties are now ready to share their responsibility in the mitigation and adaptation to climate change. Since 2001, the EU has assumed a leading role in the global fight against climate change and has developed advanced legislation to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and to promote renewable energy and energy efficiency. In this respect, the EU is seen by many as a pioneer and example, especially in consideration of the EU Emissions Trading System that introduced binding caps on private installations in many key economic sectors. EU climate diplomacy is therefore strongly committed to climate negotiations and has invested many resources in the run-up to Paris COP21. The EU is also aware of the many challenges of the UN climate negotiations and is trying to promote key reforms and more efficiency from not only an internal point of view, but also regarding improvements in the UNFCCC process.
This chapter is an updated and revised version of Massai 2013. Views expressed in this chapter belong exclusively to the author and cannot be associated with the position of any Party in the multilateral negotiations on climate change under the UNFCCC.
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Notes
- 1.
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (New York, 26 May 1992) (UNFCCC).
- 2.
Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC (Kyoto, 11 December 1997).
- 3.
Traditionally, this can be a convention, protocol, agreement or any other legal term recognized by International Law.
- 4.
From the Fifth Assessment Report of the IPCC, Working Group I, Summary for policymakers: “Warming of the climate system is unequivocal, and since the 1950s, many of the observed changes are unprecedented over decades to millennia. The atmosphere and ocean have warmed, the amounts of snow and ice have diminished, sea level has risen, and the concentrations of greenhouse gases have increased”, “Over the last two decades, the Greenland and Antarctic ice sheets have been losing mass, glaciers have continued to shrink almost worldwide, and Arctic sea ice and Northern Hemisphere spring snow cover have continued to decrease in extent”, “Human influence on the climate system is clear. This is evident from the increasing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere, positive radiative forcing, observed warming, and understanding of the climate system”.
- 5.
Units that can be used for compliance under the Kyoto Protocol are: Assigned Amount Units (AAUs), Removal Units (RMUs), Emission Reduction Units (ERUs), Certified Emission Reductions (CERs).
- 6.
- 7.
For a better understanding of what happened in Copenhagen at COP15 see Massai (2009), pp. 102–119.
- 8.
For a better understanding of multilateral environmental negotiations see ‘Guide for Presiding Officers, UNFCCC, November 2011’ and ‘Multilateral Environmental Agreement Negotiator’s Handbook, UNEP, 2006’ and Vanhoonacker (2010).
- 9.
Bali Action Plan, Decision 1/CP.13 (FCCC/CP/2007/6/Add.1, 14 March 2008).
- 10.
The Bali Road Map, closing statement of Joint High-Level Segment by the President of the COP, Rachmat Witoelar (Bali, 15 December 2007), available at <http://unfccc.int/files/meetings/cop_13/application/pdf/close_stat_cop13_president.pdf>.
- 11.
For more information on the Copenhagen Accord, please see Massai (2009), pp. 104–121.
- 12.
In the international climate change regime, sinks are defined as all activities in the agriculture and forestry sectors that result in a net reduction of greenhouse gas emissions.
- 13.
Thanks to the changes to the EU Treaties introduced by the Treaty of Lisbon since 2009 the European Community is superseded by the European Union.
- 14.
In order to know more about EU climate policy and law see Massai (2011).
- 15.
In March of the same year the United States of America announced the decision to not ratify the Kyoto Protocol.
- 16.
Case 6/64 Flaminio Costa v ENEL [1964] ECR, 585.
- 17.
A topic covered by Ms S. Huber in this paper.
- 18.
Commission Communication COM (2013)167, The 2015 International Climate Change Agreement: Shaping International Climate Policy beyond 2020, Brussels, 26 March 2013, p. 3.
- 19.
See COM (2013)167, pp. 9 and 10.
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Massai, L. (2016). A Resilient EU Facing Global Environmental Risks. In: Mišćenić, E., Raccah, A. (eds) Legal Risks in EU Law. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-28596-2_12
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