UNIT 7

Post Rio Conference

(United Nations Commission on
Sustainable Development,
Restructuring of GEF, The Earth
Summit and the Kyoto Protocol)
UN COMMISSION ON SUSTAINABLE
DEVELOPMENT
 Asa mandate of the Agenda 21, it was established by the
General Assembly and the Economic and Social Council of
the United Nations in 1992 (53 members)

 Intended
to monitor, review and consider progress in the
implementation of the international environmental policies

Specifically, primary functions of UNCSD were to

 Monitor the implementation of Agenda 21
 Assess the role of developed nations in supporting the
developing nations through financial and technical
assistance
 Act as a forum for consensus building and decision making
by identifying and resolving weaknesses in international
legal and institutional mechanisms.
 THE EARTH SUMMIT PLUS FIVE 1997
Held five years after the Earth Summit ’92- hence the
name. (sometimes referred as the Earth Summit-2)-
was aimed at assessing the commitments of Rio.

Although Some European nations applied cleaner

technologies, UNEP declared that the overall quality
of the environment degraded during the period.

It was found that,

GH gas emission was increasing (by 2 % annually)
despite the 1992-commitment to cut it down
Deforestation and cross boundary discharge of toxic
and hazardous waste increased, the soil quality and
fish stock dwindled.
Foreign aid to the developing nations by the
developed ones decreased.
Some critics (e.g the NGOs) called it “Rio minus five”
 THE SUCCESSIVE COP OF THE UNFCCC
COP 1- Berlin 1995- Germany
COP 2 – Geneva 1996- Switzerland
COP 3 – Kyoto1997- Japan
COP 4 - Buenos Aires - Argentina
COP 5 - Bonn 1999- Germany
COP 6 - The Hague 2000 (Holland) & again in Bonn in 2001
COP 7 – Marrakesh 2001 (regular COP meeting)- Morocco
COP 8 – Delhi 2002- India
COP 9 – Milan 2003 - Italy
COP 10 – Buenos Aires 2004
COP 11 - Montreal 2005 - Canada
COP 12 – Nairobi 2006- Kenya
COP 13 – Bali 2007; Indonesia
COP 14 - Poznan 2008 – Poland
COP 15 – to be held in Copenhagen 2009
RESTRUCTURING OF GLOBAL ENVIRONMENT
FACILITY
Established as a pilot project of the World Bank,
UNEP and UNDP, Global Environment Facility was to
support the developing countries in the undertaking
of Sustainable Development initiatives.
Assists developing countries to undertake projects
and research activities, develop environment-
friendly technologies.

GEF mainly focuses on

Climate change,
Biodiversity
International waters
Land Degradation (Desertification)
Ozone layer depletion
Persistent Organic Pollutants
 THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
 Adopted by the 3rd session of the COP of UNFCCC
 Came in to force after the signing of Russia in 2005.
Its first commitment time ends in 2012
 Signatories of the protocol commit to reduce GHGs
or engage in carbon-trading if they maintain or
increase their emissions, and Focuses on GHGs and
its implications such as climate change

Features
 Carbon market introduced
 Demanded greater responsibility on developed
countries based on the principle of “common but
differentiated responsibilities”
 Provided guidance for further climate change
policies Check this out.
THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
• Earlier COPs did not set binding targets on
emission reductions i.e. they did not specify
which countries should reduce how much
emission. Instead, they only required
voluntary reduction on carbon emissions.

• Kyoto Protocol (COP 3)set targets for

emission reduction based on “the principle of
common but differentiated responsibilities”.

• This principle requires the developed nations to

contribute more to combat climate change (and
other global environmental problems) and less to the
developing nations.
PRINCIPLE OF COMMON BUT
DIFFERENTIATED RESPONSIBILITIES

The principle is based on the facts that,

The largest share of global emissions of GHGs
has originated from industrialized (developed)
nations.

The developed nations can more easily bear

the cost of cutting down the emissions.

Per capita emission in developing countries is

still relatively low

The emission contributed by the developing

nations will help in the socioeconomic
development of the people in those countries.
 THE POLLUTERS PAY PRINCIPLE (PPP)
 Anexample of a “curative approach” where
a “polluting party” bears the environmental
and economic responsibility of its polluting
activity.

 ThePolluter internalizes the cost of avoiding,

abating or cleaning up the pollution he/she
creates

 PPP makes use of following approaches;

 command-and–control approach by setting
regulations, standards and application of
fines
 market-based approach e.g. making use of
taxes known as Ecotax such as carbon tax,
waste disposal tax, licensing etc
THE POLLUTERS PAY PRINCIPLE (PPP)

 In
the management of Natural Resources,
“user’s pay” principle is used e.g.
entrance fee to a National park

 Inrecent days, PPP has evolved further.

i.e. the polluter has an increased
responsibility to reduce its environmental
impact which is exhibited through the
principle of Extended Polluter
Responsibility (EPR)
EXTENDED POLLUTER RESPONSIBILITY

 EPR aims to enhance a firm’s

environmental performance by
internalizing the cost of waste disposal into
the cost of production.

 EPR requires a firm (producer) to take full

responsibility for the environmental
impacts of its product throughout its life
cycle i.e. from collection of raw materials
to production processes and downstream
impacts due to use and disposal of the
product.
 THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE (PP)
 PP
is about taking action (caution) to protect the
environment from possible danger of severe
damage due to human activities.

 Providesan ethical platform to manage risks

 Remember “Better safe than sorry” or “Look before
you leap”?

 More than a “preventive approach” because

preventive approach is for more obvious risks while
PP is associated with unpredictable, uncertain and
unquantifiable but possibly catastrophic risks such
as those associated with emerging technologies like
GM crops, nuclear power; and effects like global
warming and climate change.
 THE PRECAUTIONARY PRINCIPLE
The statement: Where an activity raises threats of
harm to the environment or human health,
precautionary measures should be taken even if
some cause and effect relationships are not fully
established scientifically.

 In this context, the proponent of an activity, rather

than the public bears the burden of proof

 The process of applying the Precautionary Principle

must be open, informed and democratic, and must
include the parties that are potentially affected. It
must also involve an examination of the full range of
alternatives, including no action.
 Make use of "How little harm is possible?” instead of
“How much harm is allowable?”