The global response:

During the early 1990s, the greenhouse effect was receiving world recognition as more people realised it could result in destructive climate changes with unknown outcomes. No one country could tackle the problem alone. In 1992, the United Nations held an Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro and developed the Framework Convention on Climate Change or FCCC. Australia ratified the FCCC in December 1992. A total of 154 nations signed the FCCC and agreed to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to the 1990 level by the year 2000.

For more information about the 1992 Framework Convention, go to:
http://www.globelaw.com/Climate/fcc.htm

Regular meetings, known as Conferences of Parties (COP), were held to progress the objectives of the FCCC. At the first Conference of Party (COP-1) in Berlin in 1995, it was realised that the first global target would not be sufficient to stop climate changes. More needed to be done.

For more information about the COP-1 in Berlin, go to:
http://unfccc.int

After two and a half years of intense negotiations, the third Conference of Party (COP-3) was held in Kyoto, Japan, and concluded in December 1997 with agreement on the Kyoto Protocol.  Under this Protocol, developed nations were to reduce their annual greenhouse gas emissions to an average of 95 per cent of their 1990 levels during the period between 2008 and 2012.

For more information about the Kyoto Protocol, go to:
http://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol/items/2830.php

Next Section >> The Australian government's response.

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