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State and Non-State Actors in the Formation and Shaping of Treaty Regimes

Table of Contents and Authorship

Sovereign States (Catherine Hwang)
International Organizations (Almira Sugatan)
Non-Governmental Organizations (Almira Sugatan)
National and Multinational Corporations (Catherine Hwang)
Seeing Patterns of Interaction (Lizbeth Buriel)
Footnotes (Lizbeth Buriel)

Sovereign States and Regime Formation [TOP]

As the negotiations began in 1989 to formulate an international treaty on the issue of global climate change, the Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC) resulted in 1992.  The Climate Change Convention was opened for signature at the Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, which the United States had once been the first to ratify, acknowledging that human activity may be changing the world's climate systems.  At this time, this included legally non-binding, voluntary pledges that the major industrialized and developed nations would reduce their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000.  However, it was apparent that major nations such as the United States and Japan, for example, would not be able to meet the voluntary stabilization target by the year 2000.  

The inability to meet the reduction expectation was due to the fact that human activities were having an impact on the whole global climate systems and could possibly cause a whole Earth warming affect.   It was concluded that this  would in turn, result in a very significant changes in the sea level rise or the changes in the weather patterns and health effects.  Therefore, it was decided in 1995 to legally bind only those developed countries and hence, leaving the under-developed countries to not be affected for the time being.  The United States, the European Union, and Japan are amongst the more advanced industrialized countries, while the bloc of developing countries are called "G77 and China" (http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2001/2001L-04-18-06.html).

Negotiations that eventually led to the Kyoto Conference of the Parties include significant differences among the developed and developing countries.  The extent of specific reductions and how flexible the means to achieve these reductions were amongst the core of the problem between two sides.  One of the arguments sided that the developed countries have caused the problem  by emitting most of the greenhouse gases to date.  The agreement between the two sides brought about the Kyoto Protocol, which would allow the developing countries to start cutting pollution at a slower pace than the developed countries.  However, two developing countries, Argentina and Kazakhstan, have agreed to accept the binding pollution targets.   The result of the 1997 treaty in Kyoto, calls for the developed countries to cut emissions of 5.2 percent from 1990 levels by 2012, in order to slow down the buildup of heat-trapping greenhouse gases.

However, in the recent months, the United States, who is  the world's biggest polluter,  have declared that they now oppose the Kyoto pact "under any circumstances."  The new Bush administration stated that the reason for rejecting the Kyoto Protocol was because the result would seriously harm the United States economy and the developing countries were being unfairly exempted during the first phase.  According to Dutch Environment Minister, Jan Pronk, who is also the president of this ongoing Kyoto Protocol negotiations, said that all parties but one, the United States, declared themselves very strongly in favor of the Kyoto Protocol (http://ens-news.com/ens/apr2001/2001L-04-23-02.html)  

International Organizations and Regimes [TOP]

Some of the International Organizations that have played a major role in the development of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change are United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) and the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Both institutions have provided the necessary scientific information that opened the eyes of the world to the growing problem of climate change. Together, the WMO and UNEP created the IFCC or the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change in 1988.   (http://www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm) 
 

The World Meteorological Organization was created in 1947 through the World Meteorological Convention. WMO operates from its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland and has 185-member organizations comprised of 179 Member States and six Member Territories, all of which maintain their own Meteorological and Hydrological Services. These organizations provide the authoritative scientific voice on the state and behavior of the Earth's atmosphere and climate. WMO created the World Climate Program (WCP) in 1979 to collect and preserve climate data to help governments prepare national development plans and determine their policies in response to the changing climate situation. The objectives of the WCP are: to use existing climate information to improve economic and social planning; to improve the understanding of climate processes through research, so as to determine the predictability of climate and the extent of man's influence on it; and to detect and warn governments of impending climate variations or changes, either natural or man-made, which may significantly affect critical human activities. (http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html)


To asses available information on the science, impacts and the cross-cutting economic and other issues related to climate change, WMO and UNEP established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988. In August 1990, the IPCC completed its first assessment report that indicated with certainty an increase in the concentration of greenhouse gases due to human activity. Through this report, governments were able to make important policy decisions and the implementation of the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change which was signed by 166 countries at Rio de Janeiro, Brazil in 1992. The Convention was ratified in December 1993 and entered into force on March 21, 1994. (http://www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm)

The IPCC has three working groups and a Task Force:

     1.  Working Group I assesses the scientific aspects of the climate system and
          climate change.
     2.  Working Group II addressees the vulnerability of socio-economic and
          natural systems to climate change, negative and positive consequences of
          climate change, and options for adapting to it.
     3.  Working Group III assesses options for limiting greenhouse gas
          emissions and otherwise mitigating climate change.
     4.  The Task Force on National Greenhouse Gas Inventories oversees the
          National Greenhouse Gas Inventories Program.  
          (http://www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm)

The IPCC has continued to provide to provide scientific, technical and socio-economic advice to the world community through its periodic assessment reports on causes of climate change, its effects, and the responses needed to minimize the effects. The Second Assessment Report in 1995 provided key input to the negotiations, which led to the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol to the UNFCCC in 1997. (http://www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm)

Other IGOs concerned about Climate Change:

UNEP Information Unit for Conventions (IUC) 
Global Environment Facility 
International Energy Agency (IEA) 
OECD and Climate Change 

Non-Governmental Organizations [TOP]

Currently, almost 400 non-governmental organizations and about 35 intergovernmental organizations are accredited by UNFCCC. In order to be accredited as observers, non-governmental organizations must be legally constituted entities, "not for profit", and competent in matters related to the Convention. A broad spectrum of NGOs represent different interests, including environmental groups, business and industry associations, local governments and municipal authorities, research and academic institutes, parliamentarians, labor organizations and religious bodies. Three main constituency groupings have emerged to facilitate interaction: Environmental groups; Business and industry associations; and Local governments and municipal authorities. (www.unfccc.int)

Two of the non-governmental organizations concerned with the issue of climate change are the Pew Center on Climate Change and the Center for International Climate and Environmental Research (CICERO).

CICERO , based in Oslo, was founded by the Norwegian government in 1990 to conduct research and provide information about issues of climate change. It has three main areas of research: (1) impacts of climate changes and climate policy, (2) design of, implementation of, and compliance with climate policy instruments, and (3) integrated assessment, that is, the relationship between climate, other environment issues and development. (http://www.cicero.uio.no/about/index_e.html)

CICERO keeps other research communities, decision-makers, and the general public informed about the developments in the political and scientific arenas involved in climate change. It also hosts the Climate Forum, where researchers and representatives from government and business can exchange information and viewpoints away from the media limelight.  (http://www.cicero.uio.no/about/index_e.html)

 The Pew Center on Climate Change was established in 1998 by the Pew Charitable Trusts, and is led by former US Assistant Secretary of State for Oceans and International Environmental and Scientific Affrairs, Eileen Claussen. The Center's objective is to educate the public and key policy makers about the causes and potential consequences of climate change, and to encourage the domestic and international community to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases.  (http://www.pewclimate.org/about/) 

National and Multinational Corporations [TOP]

During the past fifteen years, the prospect of global warming from an increase in greenhouse gases has become one of the most major issues out in the forefront.  For this very reason, there have been a growing number of interest among the policymakers and the corporations.  In October of 1993, President Clinton released his Climate Change Action Plan (CCAP), which was a proposal of voluntary domestic measures to attain greenhouse gas emissions stabilization as outlined under the terms of the UNFCCC.  This plan also includes: partnerships between the government and private sector; future tax incentives and tax credits for companies to be more energy efficient; grants for energy efficient technology; promotion and funding of research on energy efficiency and renewable energy technologies through the U.S. Global Climate Change Research Program; development of educational and training programs; and promotion of diversification of energy sources.  Clinton's action plan, the CCAP, encouraged voluntary actions by industry, utilities, and other large scale energy users.  CCAP also emphasized the importance of energy-efficiency and other ways to improve in generating energy and using technologies more effectively (http://www.usgerp.gov). 

Currently, most U.S. initiatives are asking for voluntary participation of state governments and businesses.  So far, twenty-nine states have developed a state-level GHG inventory and twenty states are committed to developing a state action plan to reduce GHG.  Not only that, but the Iowa State Energy Bureau's Building Energy Management Program promotes cost effective energy management. 

In April, 2001, nearly 300 government and business leaders joined climate experts and other environmentalists at the Pew Center conference on Equity and Global Climate Change in order to discuss how nations can ensure that actions taken to combat climate change are fair for all.   As mentioned by Robert Hill, Australia's Minister for the Environment and Heritage, there should be more focus within the debate for the significant economic opportunity than on the cost of the Kyoto Protocol.  For businesses, global climate change is a source of risk and opportunity to be understood and managed (http://www.pewclimate.org).

 There are also other organizations such as The Global Environmental Management Initiative (GEMI), which is a nonprofit organization of leading companies dedicated to fostering environmental, health and safety excellence worldwide through the sharing of tools and information in order for business to help business achieve environmental excellence.  Although the problem solving of the global warming issue will require the economy to cut back on means to advance forward, some argue that there are policies available to make it possible for the U.S. to meet the Kyoto goals without negatively impacting the U.S. economy (http://www.gemi.org).  

Patterns of Leadership and Interaction [TOP]

The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) established the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) in 1988 in response to an increasing concern over climate change. After the IPCC assessment reports confirmed that climate change could lead to serious implications for the world's environment, the United Nations General Assembly adopted a resolution threat established the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change (INC/FCCC). With the support of the UNEP and the WMO, the mandate of the INC/FCCC began to negotiate the United Nations Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) between February 1991 and May of 1992. The UNFCCC was agreed upon in 1992 and went into force on March 21, 1994 (http://www.iisd.ca/climatefcccintro.html).

In order to take action to cut and control greenhouse emission standards the UNFCCC established different groups to work together to deal with the issue of climate change. The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the supreme body of the Convention. This group is the highest decision-making authority. The COP is responsible for keeping international efforts on track. Among its duties, it reviews the implementation of the Convention and examines the commitment of the parties involved. It also reviews new scientific findings and experience that is gained in implementing climate change. The COP has met six times and during COP 3 the Kyoto Protocol was adopted. The UNFCCC also established a secretariat. The main functions of the secretariat are to make practical arrangements for sessions of the Convention bodies, to assist Parties in implementing their commitments, to provide support to on-going negotiations. The Convention also established two standing subsidiary bodies. They are the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice (SBSTA) and the Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI). They were created to give advice to the COP. The SBSTA serves as the link between the scientific information provided by expert sources and the policy-oriented needs of the COP. The SBI helps with the assessment and review of implementation. It examines the National Communications and Emission Inventories that are submitted by the parties. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change works closely with the SBSTA and provides expert scientific information. With the advice of these branches, the COP is able to continue the on-going negotiation of the convention (http://www.unfccc.de/resource/process/components/institution/sb.html). 

The sixth conference of the parties (COP-6) met on November 13-25, 2000. Representatives from 182 governments, 323 intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations attended this conference. The goal of this meeting was to reach an agreement on actions to implement the commitment to reduce emissions of  greenhouse gases that was agreed to under the Kyoto Protocol. It was to bring to a close more than two ears of preparation and negotiation set out in the UNFCCC's Buenos Aires Plan of Action. Yet despite the parties willingness for implementation to reduce emissions levels of greenhouse gases, they were unable to agree to the terms and actions that would be used enforce it.  The Delegate agreed to suspend COP-6 and reconvene in July of 2001. People were optimistic that the Kyoto Protocol standards could be implemented as soon as 2002, but recent development have put into question the future of the Kyoto Protocol (http://www.iisd.ca/vol12/enb12163e.html).

President Bush recently shocked the international community by refusing to ratify the treaty because he believes that it would place economic burden on the United States, while it demands nothing from developing countries. The decision by President Bush has drastically affected the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol. In order to be enforce, it needs to be ratified by 55 Annex I or developing countries. The United States and the European Union were viewed as the leaders of the ratification of the Kyoto Protocol by Annex I countries. Despite this setback, the European Commission president, Romano Prodi agreed that Europe will implement the Kyoto Protocol despite what the United States does. Ambassadors from several countries have tried to convince President Bush to reconsider his position. Now the international community awaits to see the outcome of the next Conference of the Parties which will reconvene in July and how the United States decision will affect the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol (http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1263000/1263888.stm).

Footnotes [TOP]

"About CICERO".  http://www.cicero.uio.no/about/index_e.html (7 May 2001)

"About IPCC". http://www.ipcc.ch/about/about.htm (7 May 2001).

"About the Pew Center". http://www.pewclimate.org/about/ (7 May 2001).

"A Brief Introduction to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)". http://www.iisd.ca/climate/fcccintro.html (29 April 2001).

"Basic Facts about WMO". http://www.wmo.ch/index-en.html (7 May 2001).

"The Conference of the Parties". Guide to the Climate Change Negotiation Process. http://www.unfccc.de/resource/process/components/institutioin/cop.html (29 April 2001).

Kirby, Alex. "Prodi 'shocked' by Bush climate stand".  BBC News. http://news.bbc.co.uk/hi/english/sci/tech/newsid_1263000/1263888.stm (7 May 2001).

"Observers".  Guide to the Climate Change Negotiation Process. http://www.unfccc.int/resource/process/components/participants/observ.html (7 May 2001).

"The Subsidiary Bodies". Guide to the Climate Change Negotiation Process. http://www.unfccc.de/resource/process/components/institution/sb.html (29 April 2001).

"Summary of the Sixth Conference of the Parties to the Framework Convention on Climate Change:  13-25 November 2000" Earth Negotiations Bulletin.  27 November 2000. http://www.iisd.ca/vol12/enb12163e.html (7 May 2001).