Rio, Kyoto, Paris: these have been the key moments in the fight against the climate crisis so far

From Thursday, the fight against the climate crisis will be discussed again at the UN Climate Conference in Dubai (COP28). The fact that the Earth is warming as a result of human activities has been a topic in international politics for decades:

Following warnings from scientists that the Earth’s surface appears to be continuously warming, the United Nations launches the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC). Two years later, the international panel of scientists reported that emissions produced by humans have a greenhouse effect that could further increase global warming. A number of studies are gathering evidence that human activities such as burning coal, oil and natural gas and clearing rainforests are warming the Earth and disrupting its climate systems.

At the so-called Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was concluded with the aim of reducing global greenhouse gas emissions. For this purpose, the Contracting States have met annually since 1995 in various cities for a conference, the “Conference of the Parties”, COP for short. This year it takes place for the 28th time.

In 1997, it was agreed in Kyoto, Japan, that industrialized countries must reduce their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5.2 percent compared to 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. The so-called Kyoto Protocol does not set binding emission reduction targets for emerging countries such as China, India and Brazil.

The US, then the world’s largest CO2 emitter, refused to ratify the treaty in 2001. Nevertheless, the Kyoto Protocol came into force in 2005. Just a year later, China has become the world’s largest emitter of greenhouse gases.

The participants of the COP15 in Copenhagen are unable to negotiate a climate agreement for the period after 2012. Several dozen major emitters, such as the US and China, declare that they want to limit global warming to two degrees above average. pre-industrial era, but remain vague about how this will be ensured.

At COP21 in Paris, almost all countries in the world committed to the goal of limiting global warming to well below two degrees, and if possible to 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial times. To do this, they must present national climate targets, which should be reviewed regularly and only increased, but not weakened.

In August 2018, 15-year-old Swede Greta Thunberg stopped going to class on Fridays and instead called for more decisive climate protection measures in parliament in Stockholm. With her ‘School Strike for the Climate’ she founded the global climate protection movement Fridays for Future, with mass protests around the world.

The International Energy Agency (IEA) warns in a report that global greenhouse gas emissions will rise to a new record level in 2022. Nevertheless, participants at the COP27 in Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, cannot agree on more ambitious reduction targets and the complete phase-out of fossil fuels.

In Montreal, Canada, the international community will agree on a species protection agreement in December 2022. It plans to place a total of 30 percent of the Earth’s land and sea areas under protection by 2030. The rapid extinction of species, which is closely linked to the climate crisis, must be stopped.

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change warns in its sixth assessment report that the 1.5 degree limit will be reached between 2030 and 2035 – with correspondingly devastating consequences. The European Earth Observation Service Copernicus recorded that the months June to October were the warmest months worldwide since measurements began. On November 20, a UN report shows that even if all international climate protection obligations are met, the Earth is on track for dangerous warming of 2.5 to 2.9 degrees by the year 2100. (lak/sda/afp)