Treaties, protocols, conventions, etc.

International environmental agreements are generally multilateral (or sometimes bilateral) treaties (a.k.a. convention, agreement, protocol, etc.). The majority of such conventions deal directly with specific environmental issues. There are also some general treaties with one or two clauses referring to environmental issues but these are rarer. There are about 1000 environmental law treaties in existence today; no other area of law has generated such a large body of conventions on a specific topic.

Protocols are subsidiary agreements built from a primary treaty. They exist in many areas of international law but are especially useful in the environmental field, where they may be used to regularly incorporate recent scientific knowledge. They also permit countries to reach agreement on a framework that would be contentious if every detail were to be agreed upon in advance. The most widely known protocol in international environmental law is the Kyoto Protocol, which followed from the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

Organizations, institutions, bodies, etc.

Multilateral environmental agreements are sometimes creating an International Organization, Institution or Body that implements the agreement. Major examples are the Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna and Flora (CITES) and the International Union for Conservation of Nature (IUCN).

Customary international law

Customary international law is an important source of international environmental law. These are the norms and rules that countries follow as a matter of custom and they are so prevalent that they bind all states in the world. When a principle becomes customary law is not clear cut and many arguments are put forward by states not wishing to be bound. Examples of customary international law relevant to the environment include the duty to warn other states promptly about icons of an environmental nature and environmental damages to which another state or states may be exposed, and Principle 21 of the Stockholm Declaration ('good neighbourliness' or sic utere).

International judicial decisions

International environmental law also includes the opinions of international courts and tribunals. While there are few and they have limited authority, the decisions carry much weight with legal commentators and are quite influential on the development of international environmental law. One of the biggest challenges in international decisions is to determine an adequate compensation for environmental damages.

The courts include: the International Court of Justice (ICJ); the international Tribunal for the Law of the Sea (ITLOS); the European Court of Justice; European Court of Human Rights^[40] and other regional treaty tribunals. Arguably the World Trade Organisation's Dispute Settlement Board (DSB) is getting a say on environmental law also.

Important cases have included:

·         Trail smelter arbitration, 33 AJIL (1939)

·         Nuclear weapons testing cases, such as between New Zealand and France before the International Court of Justice;

·         Gabcikovo-Nagymaros Dam Case, ICJ Rep (1997)

Administration and enforcement

Main article: United Nations Environment Programme

Education and training

The IUCN Academy of Environmental Law is a network of some 60 law schools worldwide that specialize in the research and teaching of environmental law.

 

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international environmental treaty negotiated at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 to 14 June 1992. The objective of the treaty is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system".^[2]

The treaty itself set no binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and contains no enforcement mechanisms. In that sense, the treaty is considered legally non-binding. Instead, the treaty provides a framework for negotiating specific international treaties (called "protocols") that may set binding limits on greenhouse gases.

The UNFCCC was opened for signature on 9 May 1992, after an Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee produced the text of the Framework Convention as a report following its meeting in New York from 30 April to 9 May 1992. It entered into force on 21 March 1994. As of March 2014, UNFCCC has 196 parties.

The parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and established legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.^[3] The 2010 Cancún agreements state that future global warming should be limited to below 2.0 °C (3.6 °F) relative to the pre-industrial level.^[4] The 20th COP will take place in Peru in 2014.^[5]

One of the first tasks set by the UNFCCC was for signatory nations to establish national greenhouse gas inventories of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and removals, which were used to create the 1990 benchmark levels for accession of Annex I countries to the Kyoto Protocol and for the commitment of those countries to GHG reductions. Updated inventories must be regularly submitted by Annex I countries.

The UNFCCC is also the name of the United Nations Secretariat charged with supporting the operation of the Convention, with offices in Haus Carstanjen, Bonn, Germany. From 2006 to 2010 the head of the secretariat was Yvo de Boer. On 17 May 2010, Christiana Figueres from Costa Rica succeeded de Boer. The Secretariat, augmented through the parallel efforts of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC), aims to gain consensus through meetings and the discussion of various strategies.

Treaty

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was opened for signature at the 1992 United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) in Rio de Janeiro (known by its popular title, the Earth Summit). On 12 June 1992, 154 nations signed the UNFCCC, that upon ratification committed signatories' governments to reduce atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases with the goal of "preventing dangerous anthropogenic interference with Earth's climate system". This commitment would require substantial reductions in greenhouse gas emissions (see the later section, "Stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations")

Article 3(1) of the Convention^[6] states that Parties should act to protect the climate system on the basis of "common but differentiated responsibilities", and that developed country Parties should "take the lead" in addressing climate change. Under Article 4, all Parties make general commitments to address climate change through, for example, climate change mitigation and adapting to the eventual impacts of climate change.^[7] Article 4(7) states:^[8]

The extent to which developing country Parties will effectively implement their commitments under the Convention will depend on the effective implementation by developed country Parties of their commitments under the Convention related to financial resources and transfer of technology and will take fully into account that economic and social development and poverty eradication are the first and overriding priorities of the developing country Parties.

The Framework Convention specifies the aim of developed (Annex I) Parties stabilizing their greenhouse gas emissions (carbon dioxide and other anthropogenic greenhouse gases not regulated under the Montreal Protocol) at 1990 levels, by the year 2000.^[9]

Later negotiations

Kyoto Protocol

After the signing of the UNFCCC treaty, Parties to the UNFCCC have met at conferences ("Conferences of the Parties" – COPs) to discuss how to achieve the treaty's aims. At the 1st Conference of the Parties (COP-1), Parties decided that the aim of Annex I Parties stabilizing their emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2000 was "not adequate",^[10] and further discussions at later conferences led to the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol sets emissions targets for developed countries which are binding under international law.

The Kyoto Protocol has had two commitment periods, the first of which lasts from 2005-2012, and the second 2012-2020. The US has not ratified the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol has been ratified by all the other Annex I Parties.

All Annex I Parties, excluding the US, have participated in the 1st Kyoto commitment period. 37 Annex I countries and the EU have agreed to second-round Kyoto targets. These countries are Australia, all members of the European Union, Belarus, Croatia, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine.^[11] Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have stated that they may withdraw from the Protocol or not put into legal force the Amendment with second round targets.^[12] Japan, New Zealand, and Russia have participated in Kyoto's first-round but have not taken on new targets in the second commitment period. Other developed countries without second-round targets are Canada (which withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2012)^[13] and the United States.

As well as the Kyoto Protocol, parties to the Convention have agreed to further commitments. These include the Bali Action Plan (2007),^[14] theCopenhagen Accord (2009),^[15] the Cancún agreements (2010),^[16] and the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action (2012).^[17]

Bali Action Plan

As part of the Bali Action Plan, adopted in 2007, all developed country Parties have agreed to "quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives, while ensuring the comparability of efforts among them, taking into account differences in their national circumstances."^[18]Developing country Parties agreed to "[nationally] appropriate mitigation actions [NAMAs] context of sustainable development, supported and enabled by technology, financing and capacity-building, in a measurable, reportable and verifiable manner."^[18] 42 developed countries have submitted mitigation targets to the UNFCCC secretariat,^[19] as have 57 developing countries and the African Group (a group of countries within the UN).^[20]

Copenhagen and Cancún

As part of the 2009 Copenhagen negotiations, a number of countries produced the Copenhagen Accord.^[15] The Accord states that global warming should be limited to below 2.0  °C (3.6  °F).^[15] This may be strengthened in 2015 with a target to limit warming to below 1.5  °C.^[15]The Accord does not specify what the baseline is for these temperature targets (e.g., relative to pre-industrial or 1990 temperatures). According to the UNFCCC, these targets are relative to pre-industrial temperatures.^[21]

114 countries have agreed to the Accord.^[15] The UNFCCC secretariat notes that "Some Parties [...] stated in their communications to the secretariat specific understandings on the nature of the Accord and related matters, based on which they have agreed to [the Accord]." The Accord was not formally adopted by the Conference of the Parties. Instead, the COP "took note of the Copenhagen Accord."^[15]

As part of the Accord, 17 developed country Parties and the EU-27 have submitted mitigation targets,^[22] as have 45 developing country Parties.^[23] Some developing country Parties have noted the need for international support in their plans.

Many aspects of the Copenhagen Accord were brought into the formal UNFCCC process as part of the Cancún agreements.^[24] The Cancún agreements were adopted by the COP in 2010.^[25] The agreement states that global warming should be limited to below 2.0  °C (3.6  °F) relative to the pre-industrial level.^[26] This target may be strengthened "on the basis of the best available scientific knowledge, including in relation to a global average temperature rise of 1.5  °C".^[26]

As part of the Cancún agreements, developed and developing countries have submitted mitigation plans to the UNFCCC.^[27][28] These plans are compiled with those made as part of the Bali Action Plan.

Durban and Doha

In 2011, parties adopted the "Durban Platform for Enhanced Action".^[29] As part of the Durban Platform, parties have agreed to "develop a protocol, another legal instrument or an agreed outcome with legal force under the Convention applicable to all Parties".^[29] This new treaty is due to be adopted at the 21st COP, and implemented in 2020. The 21st COP is scheduled to held in 2015.^[30]

At Durban^[31] and Doha,^[32] parties noted "with grave concern" that current efforts to hold global warming to below 2 or 1.5 °C relative to the pre-industrial level appear inadequate.

Development

At Berlin^[33] Cancún^[34] and Durban,^[35] the development needs of developing country parties were reiterated. For example, the Durban Platform reaffirms that:^[35]

[...] social and economic development and poverty eradication are the first and overriding priorities of developing country Parties, and that a low-emission development strategy is central to sustainable development, and that the share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to meet their social and development needs

Interpreting Article 2

The ultimate objective of the Framework Convention is to prevent "dangerous" anthropogenic (i.e., human) interference of the climate system.^[2]As is stated in Article 2 of the Convention, this requires that GHG concentrations are stabilized in the atmosphere at a level where ecosystemscan adapt naturally to climate change, food production is not threatened, and economic development can proceed in a sustainable fashion.

Human activities have had a number of effects on the climate system.^[36]:4 Global GHG emissions due to human activities have grown since pre-industrial times.^[37] Warming of the climate system has been observed, as indicated by increases in average air and ocean temperatures, widespread melting of snow and ice cover, and rising global average sea level.^[38] As assessed by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), "[most] of the observed increase in global average temperatures since the mid-20th century is very likely due to the observed increase in anthropogenic GHG concentrations".^[37] "Very likely" here is defined by the IPCC as having a likelihood of greater than 90%, based on expert judgement.^[39]

The future levels of GHG emissions are highly uncertain.^[40] In 2010, the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) published a report on the voluntary emissions reduction pledges made as part of the Copenhagen Accord. As part of their assessment, UNEP looked at possible emissions out until the end of the 21st century, and estimated associated changes in global mean temperature.^[41]:18 A range of emissions projections suggested a temperature increase of between 2.5 to 5 °C before the end of the 21st century, relative to pre-industrial temperature levels. The lower end temperature estimate is associated with fairly stringent controls on emissions after 2020, while the higher end is associated with weaker controls on emissions.

Graphical description of risks and impacts of climate change by the IPCC, published in 2001. A revision of this figure by Smith and others shows increased risks.^[42]

Future climate change will have a range of beneficial and adverse effects on human society and the environment. The larger the changes in climate, the more adverse effects will predominate (see effects of global warmingfor more details).^[43] The IPCC has informed the UNFCCC process in determining what constitutes "dangerous" human interference of the climate system. Their conclusion is that such a determination involvesvalue judgements, and will vary among different regions of the world.^[44]The IPCC has broken down current and future impacts of climate change into a range of "key vulnerabilities", e.g., impacts affecting food supply, as well as five "reasons for concern", shown opposite.^[45]

Stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations

See also: climate change mitigation

In order to stabilize the concentration of GHGs in the atmosphere, emissions would need to peak and decline thereafter.^[46] The lower the stabilization level, the more quickly this peak and decline would need to occur. The emissions associated with atmospheric stabilization varies among different GHGs. This is because of differences in the processes that remove each gas from the atmosphere.^[47] Concentrations of some GHGs decrease almost immediately in response to emission reduction, e.g., methane, while others continue to increase for centuries even with reduced emissions, e.g., carbon dioxide.

All relevant GHGs need to be considered if atmospheric GHG concentrations are to be stabilized.^[36]:9 Human activities result in the emission of four principal GHGs: carbon dioxide (chemical formula: CO₂), methane (CH₄), nitrous oxide (N₂O) and the halocarbons (a group of gases containing fluorine, chlorine and bromine).^[48] Carbon dioxide is the most important of the GHGs that human activities release into the atmosphere.^[37] At present, human activities are adding emissions of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere far faster than they are being removed.^[47] This is analogous to a flow of water into a bathtub.^[49] So long as the tap runs water (analogous to the emission of carbon dioxide) into the tub faster than water escapes through the plughole (the natural removal of carbon dioxide from the atmosphere), then the level of water in the tub (analogous to the concentration of carbon dioxide in the atmosphere) will continue to rise. To stabilize the atmospheric concentration of carbon dioxide at a constant level, emissions would essentially need to be completely eliminated.^[47] It is estimated that reducing carbon dioxide emissions 100% below their present level (i.e., complete elimination) would lead to a slow decrease in the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ by 40 parts-per-million (ppm) over the 21st century.

The emissions reductions required to stabilize the atmospheric concentration of CO₂ can be contrasted with the reductions required for methane. Unlike CO₂, methane has a well-defined lifetime in the atmosphere of about 12 years. Lifetime is defined as the time required to reduce a given perturbation of methane in the atmosphere to 37% of its initial amount.^[47] Stabilizing emissions of methane would lead, within decades, to a stabilization in its atmospheric concentration.^[50]

The climate system would take time to respond to a stabilization in the atmospheric concentration of CO₂.^[51] Temperature stabilization would be expected within a few centuries. Sea level rise due thermal expansion would be expected to continue for centuries to millennia. Additional sea level rise due to ice melting would be expected to continue for several millennia.

Precautionary principle

In decision making, the precautionary principle is considered when possibly dangerous, irreversible, or catastrophic events are identified, but scientific evaluation of the potential damage is not sufficiently certain (Toth et al., 2001, pp. 655–656).^[52] The precautionary principle implies an emphasis on the need to prevent such adverse effects.

Uncertainty is associated with each link of the causal chain of climate change. For example, future GHG emissions are uncertain, as are climate change damages. However, following the precautionary principle, uncertainty is not a reason for inaction, and this is acknowledged in Article 3.3 of the UNFCCC (Toth et al., 2001, p. 656).^[52]

Parties

Parties to the UNFCCC

  Annex I and II parties

  Annex I parties

  Non-annex parties

  Observer states

Main article: List of parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

As of 2014, the UNFCC has 196 parties including all United Nations member states, as well as Niue, Cook Islands and the European Union.^[53][1] In addition, the Holy See and Palestine are observer states.

Classification of Parties and their commitments

Parties to the UNFCCC are classified as:

·         Annex I: There are 41 Parties to the UNFCCC listed in Annex I of the Convention. These Parties are classified as industrialized (developed) countries and "economies in transition" (EITs). EITs are the former centrally-planned (Soviet) economies of Russia and Eastern Europe. The European Union-15 (EU-15) is an Annex I Party.^[54][55]

·         Annex II: There are 24 Parties to the UNFCCC listed in Annex II of the Convention.^[56] These Parties are made up of members of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD). Annex II Parties are required to provide financial and technical support to the EITs and developing countries to assist them in reducing theirgreenhouse gas emissions (climate change mitigation) and manage the impacts of climate change (climate change adaptation).^[54]

·         Annex B: Parties listed in Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol are Annex I Parties with first- or second-round Kyoto greenhouse gas emissions targets (see Kyoto Protocol for details). The first-round targets apply over the years 2008–2012. As part of the 2012 Doha climate change talks, an amendment to Annex B was agreed upon containing with a list of Annex I Parties who have second-round Kyoto targets, which apply from 2013–2020.^[57] The amendments have not entered into force.

·         Least-developed countries (LDCs): 49 Parties are LDCs, and are given special status under the treaty in view of their limited capacity to adapt to the effects of climate change.^[54]

·         Non-Annex I: Parties to the UNFCCC not listed in Annex I of the Convention are mostly low-income^[58] developing countries.^[54]Developing countries may volunteer to become Annex I countries when they are sufficiently developed.

List of parties

Annex I countries

There are 41 Annex I Parties including the European Union. These countries are classified as industrialized countries and economies in transition:^[55] Of these, 24 are Annex II Parties (including the European Union)^[56] and 14 are Economies in Transition.^[55]

·          Australia[a] ·          Austria[a] ·          Belarus[b] ·          Belgium[a] ·          Bulgaria[b] ·          Canada[a] ·          Croatia[b] ·          Czech Republic[b] ·          Denmark[a] ·          Estonia[b] ·          Finland[a]

·          France[a] ·          Germany[a] ·          Greece[a] ·          Hungary[b] ·          Iceland[a] ·          Ireland[a] ·          Italy[a] ·          Japan[a] ·          Latvia[b] ·          Liechtenstein

·          Lithuania[b] ·          Luxembourg[a] ·          Malta ·          Monaco ·          Netherlands[a] ·          New Zealand[a] ·          Norway[a] ·          Poland[b] ·          Portugal[a] ·          Romania[b]

·          Russian Federation[b] ·          Slovakia[b] ·          Slovenia[b] ·          Spain[a] ·          Sweden[a] ·          Switzerland[a] ·          Turkey ·          Ukraine[b] ·          United Kingdom[a] ·          United States of America[a]

Conferences of the Parties

Main article: United Nations Climate Change conference

The United Nations Climate Change Conference are yearly conferences held in the framework of the UNFCC. They serve as the formal meeting of the UNFCC Parties (Conferences of the Parties) (COP) to assess progress in dealing with climate change, and beginning in the mid-1990s, to negotiate the Kyoto Protocol to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.^[3]From 2005 the Conferences have also served as the Meetings of Parties of the Kyoto Protocol (MOP). Also parties to the Convention that are not parties to the Protocol can participate in Protocol-related meetings as observers. The first conference was held in 1995 in Berlin, while the 2012 conference was held in Doha. On November 11-22, 2013, it was held in Warsaw, Poland.

Subsidiary bodies

A subsidiary body is a committee that assists the Conference of the parties. Subsidiary bodies includes:^[59]

·         Permanents:

·         The Subsidiary Board of Implementation (SBI) makes recommendations on policy and implementation issues to the COP and, if requested, to other bodies.

·         The Subsidiary Board of Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) serves as a link between information and assessments provided by expert sources (such as the IPCC) and the COP, which focuses on setting policy.

·         Temporary:

·         Ad Hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol (AWG-KP)

·         Ad Hoc Working Group on Long-term Cooperative Action (AWG-LCA)

Secretariat

The work under the UNFCCC is facilitated by a secretariat in Bonn, Germany, which from July 2010 is headed by Executive SecretaryChristiana Figueres.

Commentaries and analysis

Criticisms of the UNFCCC Process

Christiana Figueres (left) - Executive Secretary UNFCCC, and Noeleen Heyzer - ES of Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (ESCAP) at the Bangkok Climate Change Talks., August 2012^[60]

The overall umbrella and processes of the UNFCCC and the adopted Kyoto Protocol have been criticized by some as not having achieved its stated goals of reducing the emission of carbon dioxide (the primary culprit blamed for rising global temperatures of the 21st century).^[61] At a speech given at his alma mater, Todd Stern — the US Climate Change envoy — has expressed the challenges with the UNFCCC process as follows, “Climate change is not a conventional environmental issue...It implicates virtually every aspect of a state's economy, so it makes countries nervous about growth and development. This is an economic issue every bit as it is an environmental one.” He went on to explain that, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change is a multilateral body concerned with climate change and can be an inefficient system for enacting international policy. Because the framework system includes over 190 countries and because negotiations are governed by consensus, small groups of countries can often block progress.^[62]

The failure to achieve meaningful progress and reach effective-CO2 reducing-policy treaties among the parties over the past eighteen years have driven some countries like the United States to never ratify the UNFCCC's largest body of work — the Kyoto Protocol, in large part because the treaty didn't cover developing countries who now include the largest CO2 emitters. However, this fails to consider the historical responsibility for climate change since industrialisation, which is a contentious issue in the talks, and the responsibility of emissions from consumption and importation of goods.^[63] It has also led Canada to withdraw from the Kyoto Protocol out of a desire to not force its citizens to pay penalties that would result in wealth transfers out of Canada. Canada formally withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2011.^[64] Both the US and Canada are looking at Voluntary Emissions Reduction schemes that they can implement internally to curb carbon dioxide emissions outside of the Kyoto Protocol.^[65]

The perceived lack of progress has also led some countries to seek and focus on alternative high-value activities like the creation of theClimate and Clean Air Coalition to Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants which seeks to regulate short-lived pollutants such as methane, black carbon and hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) which together are believed to account for up to 1/3 of current global warming but whose regulation is not as fraught with wide economic impacts and opposition.^[66]

In 2010, Japan stated that it will not sign up to a second Kyoto term, because it would impose restrictions on it not faced by its main economic competitors, China, India and Indonesia.^[67] A similar indication was given by the Prime Minister of New Zealand in November 2012.^[68] At the 2012 conference, last minute objections at the conference by Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and Kazakhstan were ignored by the governing officials, and they have indicated that they will likely withdraw or not ratify the treaty.^[69] These defections place additional pressures on the UNFCCC process that is seen by some as cumbersome and expensive: in the UK alone the climate change department has taken over 3,000 flights in two years at a cost of over ₤1,300,000 (British Pounds).^[70]

Benchmarking

Benchmarking is the setting of a policy target based on some frame of reference.^[71] An example of benchmarking is the UNFCCC's original target of Annex I Parties limiting their greenhouse gas emissions at 1990 levels by the year 2000. Goldemberg et al. (1996)^[72] commented on the economic implications of this target. Although the target applies equally to all Annex I Parties, the economic costs of meeting the target would likely vary between Parties. For example, countries with initially high levels of energy efficiency might find it more costly to meet the target than countries with lower levels of energy efficiency. From this perspective, the UNFCCC target could be viewed as inequitable, i.e., unfair.

Benchmarking has also been discussed in relation to the first-round emissions targets specified in the Kyoto Protocol (see views on the Kyoto Protocol and Kyoto Protocol and government action).

 

 

Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate

Asia-Pacific Partnership on Clean Development and Climate, also known as APP, was an international, voluntary, public-private partnership among Australia,Canada, India, Japan, the People's Republic of China, South Korea, and the United States announced July 28, 2005 at an Association of South East Asian Nations(ASEAN) Regional Forum meeting and launched on January 12, 2006 at the Partnership's inaugural Ministerial meeting in Sydney. As of 5 April 2011, the Partnership formally concluded although a number of individual projects continue. The conclusion of the APP and cancellation of many of its projects attracted almost no media comment.

Foreign, Environment and Energy Ministers from partner countries agreed to co-operate on the development and transfer of technology which enables reduction ofgreenhouse gas emissions that is consistent with and complementary to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change and other relevant international instruments, and is intended to complement but not replace the Kyoto Protocol.,^[1] Ministers agreed to a Charter, Communique and Work Plan that "outline a ground-breaking new model of private-public task forces to address climate change, energy security and air pollution."

Member countries account for over 50% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, energy consumption, GDP and population. Unlike the Kyoto Protocol (currently unratified by the United States), which imposes mandatory limits on greenhouse gas emissions, the Partnership engages member countries to accelerate the development and deployment of clean energy technologies, with no mandatory enforcement mechanism. This has led to criticism that the Partnership is worthless, by other governments, climate scientists and environmental groups. Proponents, on the other hand, argue that unrestricted economic growth and emission reductions can only be brought about through active engagement by all major polluters, which includes India and China, within the Kyoto Protocol framework neither India nor China are yet required to reduce emissions.

Canada became the 7th member of the APP at the Second Ministerial Meeting in New Delhi on October 15, 2007. Canada's Prime MinisterStephen Harper earlier expressed his intention to join the Partnership in August 2007, despite some domestic opposition.

Aims

U.S. former President George W. Bush called it a "new results-oriented partnership" that he said "will allow our nations to develop and accelerate deployment of cleaner, more efficient energy technologies to meet national pollution reduction, energy security and climate change concerns in ways that reduce poverty and promote economic development."^[3] John Howard, the former Australian Prime Minister, described the pact as "fair and effective"^{[citation needed]}

However, the Worldwide Fund for Nature stated that "a deal on climate change that doesn't limit pollution is the same as a peace plan that allows guns to be fired" whilst the British Governments' chief scientific adviser, Sir David King, in a BBC interview said he doubted the new deal could work without setting caps on emissions, but added it should be seen as a sign of progress on climate change.^[4] Compared to the Kyoto Protocol, which so far requires no emission reductions from India and China, the APP actively engages both countries through building market incentives to reduce greenhouse emissions along with building capacity and providing clean technology transfers. Proponents argue that this approach creates a greater likelihood that both India and China will, sooner rather than later, effectively cut their greenhouse emissions even though they are not required to do so under the Kyoto Protocol.

Areas for collaboration

The intent is to create a voluntary, non-legally binding framework for international cooperation to facilitate the development, diffusion, deployment, and transfer of existing, emerging and longer term cost- effective, cleaner, more efficient technologies and practices among the Partners through concrete and substantial cooperation so as to achieve practical results; promote and create enabling environments to assist in such efforts; facilitate attainment of the Partners' respective national pollution reduction, energy security and climate change objectives; and provide a forum for exploring the Partners’ respective policy approaches relevant to addressing interlinked development, energy, environment, and climate change issues within the context of clean development goals, and for sharing experiences in developing and implementing respective national development and energy strategies.

The Partnership's inaugural Ministerial meeting established eight government/business taskforces through its Work Plan,^[5] posted on the APP website.^[6]

1.    cleaner fossil energy ^[7]

2.    renewable energy and distributed generation ^[8]

3.    power generation and transmission ^[9]

4.    steel ^[10]

5.    aluminum ^[11]

6.    cement ^[12]

7.    coal mining ^[13]

8.    buildings and appliances ^[14]

Ministerial meetings

terial meeting was held at the Four Seasons and Government House in Sydney, Australia on January 11 and 12, 2006.^[15]

Asia-Pacific Partnership Ministers agreed and released a:

·         Charter that provides the framework and structure of the Partnership;^[16]

·         Communiqué that highlights key outcomes from this meeting;^[17] and

·         Work Plan that maps out an intensive agenda of work for the taskforces in the near-term.^[18]

Partnership Ministers met again in New Delhi, India on October 15, 2007, and released a second communique ^[19] and admitted Canada as a Partner.^[20] The Ministers also met in Shanghai, China on October 26–27, 2009 where they discussed the accomplishments of the Partnership since the New Delhi Ministerial, and received the results of a report analyzing and evaluating the progress of the APP flagship projects.^[21]

Support

The Partnership has been publicly supported as an alternative to the Kyoto Protocol by governments and business groups in some countries, particularly in countries where the Kyoto Protocol has not been ratified. Many commentators have particularly welcomed the fact that the Partnership overcomes the impasse between developed and developing countries under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the Kyoto Protocol and has led to India and China taking some steps to address their greenhouse gas emissions. Mexico,Russia, and several ASEAN members have expressed interest in joining the Partnership in the future.

Criticism

The Partnership has been criticized by environmentalists who have rebuked the proceedings as ineffectual without mandatory limits on greenhouse-gas emissions. A coalition of national environment groups and networks from all of the APP countries issued a challenge ^[22] to their governments to make the APP meaningful by agreeing to mandatory targets, creating financial mechanisms with incentives for the dissemination of clean energy technologies, and create an action plan to overcome the key barriers to technology transfer. U.S. Senator John McCain said the Partnership "[amounted] to nothing more than a nice little public relations ploy.",^[23] while the Economist described the Partnership as "patent fig-leaf for the refusal of America and Australia to ratify Kyoto".^[24]

In the year since the Partnership went into effect, none of the parties have lowered emissions of greenhouse gases.^{[citation needed]} Although it should be noted that under the Kyoto Protocol Australia is able to increase its emissions from 1990 levels to 108%.

Successes

Proponents of the Partnership have lauded the APP’s achievements since its inception in 2006. In its over three years, the Partnership has established a record of achievement in promoting collaboration between our governments and private sector in key energy-intensive sectors and activities. The Partnership has worked to develop and implement detailed action plans across key sectors of the energy economy, and to date has endorsed 175 collaborative projects including 22 flagship projects across all the seven Partner countries. These projects have, inter alia, helped power plant managers improve the efficiency of their operations, trained cement plant operators how to save energy at their facilities, assisted in pushing solar photovoltaics toward commercialization, and improved design, equipment and operations of buildings and appliances. The Partnership has been widely noted for its innovative work in public-private sector cooperation, and stands as an example of the benefits of international cooperative efforts in addressing climate change.^[25]