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First World Climate Conference
This event was held between 12th and 23rd February, 1979. It was held in Geneva and sponsored by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO). It was one of the first major international meetings on climate change. This conference lead to the establishment of world climate programme and the world climate research programme. It also lead to the creation of the inter governmental panel on climate change (IPCC) by the WMO and UNEP in 1988. -
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change(IPCC)
This was created by the UNEP and WMO -
Basel Covention
183 countries adopt the Basel Convention, which convention regulates the movement and disposal of hazardous waste -
First IPCC Report and Second Climate Conference
The Second Climate Conference was held in Geneva between 29th October, 1990 to 7th November, 1990. It was an import step towards a global climate treaty and somewhat more political than the first conference. The main task of the conference was to review the World Climate Program (WCP) which was set up in the first conference. The First IPCC report was placed before this conference. Scientists were unhappy with the soft commitments at the conference. -
Setting up of the Global Environmental Facility
The UN members states set up the Global Environmental Facility (GEF). This is currently situated in Washington D.C., U.S.A. Since its inception the GEF has provided 14.5 Billion US$ in grants and mobilised US$75.4 Billion in additional financing for nearly for nearly 4000 environmental projects around the world -
Rio Earth Summit/United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
This was held from 3rd to 14th June, 1992. Here several major international environmental agreements were framed, including Agenda 21A and opened two multilateral treaties for signature: (a) the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change ("UNFCCC") and (b) the Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD). -
First UNFCCC Conference and Second IPCC Report
The first UNFCCC conference was held in Berlin, Germany from 28th March, 1995 to 7th April, 1995. Parties agreed mechanisms under the UNFCCC were inadequate and agreed to what would be popularly known as the Berlin mandate, which allows parties to make specific commitments. The second assessment report was also placed at this conference, which provided important materials for governments to draw from in the run-up to adoption of the Kyoto Protocol -
UNFCCC COP2
The UNFCCC conference of the Parties was held in Geneva. Attendees endorsed the results of IPCC 2nd report. The Geneva ministerial declaration which in part called on parties to accelerate negotiations on a legally binding protocol was noted but not adopted. -
UNFCCC COP3 - Kyoto Protocol
This 3rd conference of parties of the UNFCCC was held in Kyoto, Japan. On December 11, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted by consensus of more than 150 signatories. The protocol included legally binding emissions, targets for developed country parties for the six major green house gases (GHG), i.e. carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride. -
UNFCCC COP 4
The Fourth Conference of the Parties was held in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Parties adopted the Buenos Aires Plan of Action allowing the two year period to develop mechanisms for implementing the Kyoto Protocol. The COP also decided to review the financial mechanism of UNFCCC every four years. -
COP 5
The Fifth Conference of the Parties was held in Bonn, Germany. According to the UNFCCC, parties continued negotiation efforts with the focus on "The adoption of the guidelines for the preparation of national communications by [Developed] countries, capacity building, transfer of technology and flexible mechanisms." -
COP 6
The Sixth Conference of the Parties Part-I was held in The Hague, Netherlands. Negotiations faltered, and parties agreed to meet again. The Sixth Conference of the Parties Part-II was held in Bonn, Germany. Consensus was reached on what was called The Bonn Agreement. All nations except the US agreed on the mechanisms for implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. The US participated in observatory status only. -
Third IPCC Report and Stockholm Convention
The Third Assessment Report focused attention on the impacts of climate change and the need for adaptation.
The Stockholm Convention aims to protect human health and the environment from chemicals that persist for long periods in the environment. -
COP 7
The Seventh Conference of the Parties was held in Marrakesh, Morocco. The detailed rules for the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol were adopted and were called The Marrakesh Accord. The Special Climate Change Fund (SCCF) and the Least Developed Countries Fund was established. -
COP 8
The Eighth Conference of the Parties was held in Delhi, India. Parties adopted the Delhi Ministerial Declaration that, among other things, called for developed countries to transfer technology to developing countries. -
Champions of the Earth
UNEP launches Champions of the Earth, the United Nations flagship global environmental award. Its aim is to celebrate outstanding figures from the public and private sectors and from civil society whose actions have had a transformative, positive impact on the environment. -
Fourth IPCC Report
The Fourth Assessment Report laid the groundwork for a post Kyoto Agreement, focusing on limiting warming to 2 degrees Celsius. -
Global Economic Crisis
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COP 15
The Fifteenth Conference of the Parties was held in Copenhagen, Denmark. At the last minute a few countries including US and India agreed to reduce the temperature rise to 2 degrees Celsius. -
Fifth IPCC Report
The fifth Assessment Report was finalised between 2013-14 which provided the scientific inputs needed to finalise the Paris Agreement in 2015. -
The Paris Agreement
The Paris Agreement is a legally binding international treaty on climate change. It was adopted by 196 Parties at COP 21 in Paris, on 12 December 2015 and entered into force on 4 November 2016. -
Wild for Life and BreatheLife
In response to the global trafficking crisis, UNEP launches wild for life, a campaign to protect endangered wild life species. UNEP and partners launch the BreatheLife campaign to raise awareness of the impact and solutions to air pollution -
The Minamata Convention on Mercury
This Convention comes into force with the objective of protecting human health and the environment from anthroprogenic emissions and releases of mercury compound. The Convention contains provisions that relate to the lifecycle of mercury including controls and reductions across the range of products, processes and industries where mercury is used, released or emitted. -
UN Decade on Ecosystem Restoration(UNDER) and UN Climate Action Sumit (UNCAS)
The UN General Assembly declared 2021 - 2030 as the UNDER which aims to scale up the restoration of the degraded and destroyed eco systems as a proven measure to fight the climate crisis and enhance food security, water supply and bio diversity. The UNCAS was convened and aimed to deliver new pathways and practical actions to shift global response into higher gear in confronting climate change as well as to boost ambition and accelerate action to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.