Beruflich Dokumente
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Institutions / Organizations
Research organizations
• Global Warming
• Loss of bio-diversity
• Deforestation
• Desertification
• Marine pollution
1962
1962 - Declaration on the permanent
Sovereignty over natural resources
1972 1989
1972 - Stockholm Declaration
2002
2002 - World Summit on Sustainable
Development
Every nation declared their sovereign right over their territorial natural resources,
which resulted into
- Uncontrolled exploitation of natural resources
- Rapid degradation of natural resources
Important Principles:
1. Sustainable Development
2. Principle 21 (duty of every nation) – ‘One must use its own, so as not to cause
harm to others’. States that ‘Every state has a right to exploit its human and
natural resources, but it at the same time should see that these activities do
not cause any harm to other State.’
Trail Smelter Case, Comfu Canal Case
10. World Environment Day – 5th June (Environment & Environmental Protection)
Objectives:
• The world leaders met to call for a new global decision making body to protect the
atmosphere.
• Such a body should be able to make decisions to prevent global warming, with
measures to ensure compliance, without waiting for unanimity among almost 200
governments.
Consideration / Thoughts:
• The right to live is the right from which all right stem.
• Today, the very conditions of life on our planet are threatened by the severe
attacks to which the earth’s atmosphere is subjected.
• We are in a situation that calls for a new approach, through the development of
new principles of international law including new and more effective decision-
making and enforcement mechanisms.
• Most of the emissions that affect the atmosphere at present originate in the
industrialised nations and hence these nations can deal with this problem
effectively.
a) The principle of developing, within the framework of the United Nations, new
institutional authority, either by strengthening existing institutions or by creating a
new institution which, in the context of the preservation of the earth's atmosphere,
shall be responsible for combating any further global warming of the atmosphere and
shall involve such decision making procedures as may be effective even if, on
occasion, unanimous agreement has not been achieved.
d) The principle that countries to which decisions taken to protect the atmosphere shall prove
to be an abnormal or special burden, in view, inter-alia of the level of their development and
actual responsibility for the deterioration of the atmosphere, shall receive fair and equitable
assistance to compensate them for bearing such burden. To this end mechanisms will have
to be developed;
Important points:
• 27 Principles were adopted in Declaration
• It stressed the importance to plan and eradicate the poverty. It also gave
importance to women, youth and indigenous people
• The Convention aspired Developed countries should take measures for reducing
their CO2 and other Green Houses Gases.
Important points:
• Conference deeply concerned with Green House effect, Global warming,
Ozone layer depletion, Desertification, population explosion, technology
transfer, finance etc.
• It was agreed by all the participants for the forest development to make
necessary legislation to prevent the deforestation.
Rio Declaration stated that ‘human beings are the centre of concern for
Sustainable Development. They are entitled to healthy and productive life in
harmony with nature.’
• Multilateralism is the future: expresses need for more effective, democratic and
accountable international and multilateral institutions
• Means of implementation
• Institutional Framework
• Advocate,
• Educator,
• Catalyst, and
• Facilitator
• Encouraging new partnerships and mind-sets within civil society and the
private sector
• Ozone Secretariat
Assessment reports:
1. First Assessment Report (1990): confirmed the scientific basis for concern
about climate change. This lead to the decision by the UN General
Assembly to prepare a UN Framework Convention on Climate Change
(UNFCCC). The Convention entered into force in March 1994.
• International treaty – ‘to begin to consider what can be done to reduce global
warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable’
• Convention has universal membership with more than 191 countries ratified
and was entered into force from March, 1994.
• The Convention sets principles and an agenda for action with the ultimate
objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere at safe
levels.
• The allowable level of emissions is called the Party’s assigned amount. Each
Annex B Party has a specific emissions target listed in Annex B, which is set
relative to its emissions of GHGs in its base year.
• The Annex B emissions target and the Party’s emissions of GHGs in the base
year determine each Party’s initial assigned amount for the Protocol’s five-year
first commitment period (2008–2012).
Mechanisms:
• Kyoto mechanisms: Annex I parties can trade Kyoto Protocol units with other
parties to change the level of their allowed emission over the committed period.
2. Joint implementation (JI): Mechanism by which one Annex I Party can invest in
a project that reduces emissions or enhances sequestration in another Annex I
Party, and receive credit for the emission reductions or removals achieved
through that project. The unit associated with JI is called an emission reduction
unit (ERU).
• Important precedent as it was the first time that the nations agreed ‘in
principle’ to tackle a global environmental problem before its effects were
felt.
• Summary of Provisions:
1. Research
• concerning substances / processes that modify the ozone layer resulting
in effects on human health and environment,
• on alternative substances and technologies; and
• in systematic observation of the State of the ozone layer
1. Exchange of information
• Parties to exchange scientific, technical, socio-economic, commercial and
legal information relevant to the Convention,
• Cooperate in the development and transfer of technology and knowledge
CEPT University, Ahmedabad Session no. 5
Global response – Ozone layer depletion
Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer, 1987
UNEP’s effort to help to implement the Montreal Protocol and restore the
Earth’s ozone layer by phasing out ozone-depleting substances.
Goals of CBD:
• To promote the conservation of biodiversity,
• The sustainable use of its components, and
• The fair and equitable sharing of benefits arising out of the utilization of
genetic resources.
Refer: http://www.cbd.int