Image retrieved from climatalk.org
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that is an integral part of the global fight against the climate crisis. The UNFCCC’s main objective is to reduce the amount of greenhouse gas emissions and stabilise the concentrations within the atmosphere to prevent further deregulations of the climate [1].
Furthermore, the convention intends to enact change in a manner that ensures that critical aspects of infrastructure – such as food production and economic growth – are not threatened, while promoting more sustainable development models [1]. This has been reflected by the various policies enacted through the UNFCCC, including but not limited to: the Kyoto Protocol (1996), the Warsaw Mechanism (2013), and the Paris Agreement (2015) [2,3].
Negotiated in 1992 during the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit, the Convention was signed by 154 countries and the European Union with the aim of mitigating the wide-ranging issues caused by climate change, and uniting global governments to find workable solutions [4]. Since entering into force in 1994, the UNFCCC has grown to include 197 parties which have assembled every year since – barring major incidents – to discuss their progress on objectives and how to build upon them.