Climate Change

While weather refers to short-term changes in the atmosphere, climate refers to atmospheric changes over
longer periods of time, usually defined as 30 years or more.

 Climate Change – Natural & Anthropogenic (Human) Factors

 Natural Climate Change – Slow – Paced
 Artificial Climate Change – Fast – Paced

Effects:
Hotter temperatures, more severe storms, Increased drought, A warming, rising ocean, Loss of species, not
enough food, poverty and displacement.

Our Common Future, also known as the Brundtland Report, was published on October 1987 by the United
Nations through the Oxford University Press.
Brundtland Commission was founded in 1983 when Javier Pérez de Cuéllar, the Secretary-General of the
United Nations, appointed Gro Harlem Brundtland, former Prime Minister of Norway, as chairperson of
the commission. – 300 pages report
Background:
Sweden first suggested to the United Nations Economic and Social Council ECOSOC in 1968 the idea of having
a UN conference to focus on human interactions with the environment. ECOSOC passed resolution 1346
supporting the idea. General Assembly Resolution 2398 in 1969 decided to convene a conference in 1972

The United Nations Conference on the Human Environment was held in Stockholm, Sweden, during June
5–16, 1972. UN Secretary-General U Thant invited Maurice Strong to lead it as Secretary-General of the
Conference. {Man- Environment Summit/ Stockholm Declaration} – Environment and Wildlife (Major Talk).
Contained 26 principles

 India- This led to the Wildlife Protection Act,1972 and Project Tiger - 1973
 Led to Formation of United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) – Head Office - Nairobi, Kenya.
 June 5 – World Environment Day
 World Meteorological Organisation – 23 March 1950; Head Office – Geneva, Switzerland
President : Abdulla Al Mandous; Secretary General : Jukka Petteri Taalas

1979 — The first World Climate Conference (WCC) takes place.

1988 – IPCC formed. (The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is an intergovernmental body
of the United Nations. Its job is to advance scientific knowledge about climate change caused by human
activities.)
 Chaired by Jim Skea and vice-chaired by Youba Sokona.. The IPCC shared the 2007 Nobel Peace
Prize with Al Gore for contributions to the understanding of climate change.

1990 -- First IPCC Assessment Report (FAR) underlined the importance of climate change as a challenge with
global consequences and requiring international cooperation. It played a decisive role in the creation of the
UNFCCC.
 1995 -- The Second Assessment Report (SAR) provided important material for governments to draw from in
the run-up to adoption of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997.
2001 -- The Third Assessment Report (TAR) focused attention on the impacts of climate change and the
need for adaptation.
2007 -- The Fourth Assessment Report (AR4) laid the ground work for a post-Kyoto agreement, focusing on
limiting warming to 2°C.
2013-14 -- The Fifth Assessment Report (AR5) provided the scientific input into the Paris Agreement.
In May 2019, the IPCC finalised the 2019 Refinement – an update to the 2006 IPCC Guidelines on National
Greenhouse Gas Inventories. The Special Report on Climate Change and Land (SRCCL) was in August 2019
and the Special Report on the Ocean and Cryosphere in a Changing Climate (SROCC) in September 2019.
2023 -- The Sixth Assessment Report (AR6) was finalized in March 2023 in time for the first global stocktake
at the end of 2023.

1992 Earth Summit : Rio Summit : UNCED : United Nations Conference on Environment & Declaration -- 3
Jun 1992 – 14 Jun 1992
 Agenda 21 – To achieve in 21st century – SDG 17
 Forest principles
 CBD – Convention on Biological Diversity
 UNCCD -- United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification
 UNFCCC – United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

UNFCCC – 1995 : Conference of parties i.e. Signatories Also called COP. The UNFCCC entered into force in
1994 and has been ratified by 197 countries.
As of 2022, the UNFCCC has 198 parties including all United Nations member states

 1995 – COP 1 in Berlin, Germany :: COP 1 agreed on “Activities Implemented Jointly”, first joint measures in
international climate action.
 1996 – COP 2 in Geneva, Switzerland :: It rejected uniform “harmonized policies” in favor of flexibility and
called for “legally binding mid-term targets”.
 1997 – COP 3 in Kyoto, Japan :: Reduce Greenhouse Gases emissions to 5.2 & below 1990 level. To be
achieved by developed countries by 2015. The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were
adopted at COP-7 in Marrakesh, in 2001 and are referred to as the Marrakesh Accords.
o Kyoto Protocol Phase-1 (2005-12) gave the target of cutting down emissions by 5%.
o Phase- 2 (2013-20) gave the target of reducing emissions by at least 18% by the industrialized countries.
Pay fine through:
 Clean Development Mechanism
 Emissions Trading
 Joint Implementation
*2011 – Canada became the first signatory to announce its withdrawal from the Kyoto Protocol

Agenda 2030, also known as the Sustainable Development Goals, was a set of goals decided upon at the
UN Sustainable Development Summit in 2015.
 The Copenhagen Accord, established during 2009 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP-15)
mentioned "Copenhagen Green Climate Fund".
 From 2020 add 100 billion dollars for technological development of small countries by Developed
Countries
COP 21:
Intended Nationally Determined Contribution – India set 3 targets; (NDCs) - every five years as part of the
Paris Climate Agreement.
Ratchet Mechanism -- A 'ratchet mechanism' is an informal term used to describe the requirement that
countries will revise and communicate their emission targets - known as nationally determined contributions

ISA – International Solar Alliance

Founded: 30 November 2015
Head Office: Gurugram
President: R. K. Singh (Union Minister for Power and New & Renewable Energy)
Director-General – Ajay Mathur
Founders: Narendra Modi, François Hollande
Latest ISA Member ratified it - Singapore

Purpose:
o Analytics & Advocacy, Capacity Building, Programmatic Support, Readiness and enabling activities

Some ISA Projects:

ISA Solar Technology and Application Resource Centre (ISTAR C):
 To build a network of technical training, entrepreneurship, and research and innovation centres in order
to exchange best practices and promote knowledge dissemination and capacity-building.

Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Scheme:

 The Government of India has been supporting the ISA by providing training to master trainers in the field
of solar energy through the Indian Technical and Economic Cooperation (ITEC) Scheme. The duration of
the training is 21 days and all costs are borne by the Government of India.

 Earth currently has an axial tilt of about 23.44°.