2.6. Atmosphere

♤ First Sustainable Development Summit in Stockholm 1972, marked the emergence of environment as a key issue in IR.

♤ UNFCCC is one of the three Rio-Conventions, adopted at the “Rio Earth Summit” in 1992. Its sister Rio Conventions are the UN Convention on Biological Diversity and the Convention to Combat Desertification.

♤ UNFCCC came into existence in 1992 and has 197 parties. It took effect in 1994.♤ Puts the onus on developed countries to lead the way.♤ The Kyoto Protocol is what “operationalizes” the Convention. It commits industrialized ♤ Sets binding emission reduction targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community in its first commitment period. Overall, these targets add up to an average five per cent emissions reduction compared to 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008 to 2012 (the first commitment period).“common but differentiated responsibility”.o Reporting and verification procedures;o A compliance system.♤ India is the world’s third largest emitter of greenhouse gases after the China and the 2.6.2.2. Nationally determined contributions 2.6.2.3. Key terms