In spring 2007, the Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change (IPCC), the leading body to review climate change science, published its Fourth Assessment Report. The report gave a clear signal that climate change is happening and accelerating, that much of it is caused by the continued and increasing emissions of greenhouse gases from human activities and that it can have severe impacts. The IPPC report injected a new sense of urgency into the UN climate change negotiations.

Data submitted to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) shows that emissions of 40 industrialized countries that have greenhouse gas reporting obligations under the Convention remained in 2006 below the 1990 level by about 5%, but rose by 2.3 percent in the time-frame 2000 to 2006. For the smaller group of those industrialized countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, emissions in 2006 were about 17% below the Kyoto baseline, but still growing after the year 2000. The emissions reduction mainly came about through the economic decline of economies in transition (countries in eastern and central Europe) in the 1990s.

The UNFCCC

The UNFCC was adopted at the historical Earth Summit in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro. In December 1997 agreement was reached to add the Kyoto Protocol to the Convention. The ultimate objective of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was approved on behalf of the European Community by Council Decision 94/69/EC of 15 December 1993, is to stabilise greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

In its foreword, the Council Decision sets the framework for this commitment by insisting on the need to do more than ratify the Montreal Protocol on the protection of the Ozone Layer (1987). The Montreal Protocol, which proved to bring significant results in the protection of the ozone layer being the first legally binding international multilateral environmental agreement, paved to way to a more ambitious and holistic way of thinking about global efforts to protect the planet. While keeping in mind the long-term objective of preventing the so-called 'dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system', the UN Convention agrees to start off a new process. This resulted in the adoption on 11th December 1997 of the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The past Conference of the Parties are:

The Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol includes binding emission reduction targets for Annex I Countries (industrialized countries) for the period 2008-2012.  The Kyoto Protocol is the first instrument in the history of the UNFCCC to set quantified commitments to Parties. COP/MOP are high-ranking government representatives from all over the world meet as the governing body of the Protocol and with the single explicit purpose of ensuring its implementation.

Countries' commitments

Annex I countries (industrialized countries): Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation, Slovakia, Slovenia, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, Ukraine, United Kingdom, United States of America (40 countries and separately the European Union).

Annex II countries (developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries)
Australia, Austria, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Luxembourg, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, United Kingdom, United States of America (23 countries and separately the European Union; Turkey was removed from the annex II list in 2001 at its request to recognize its economy as a transition economy).

See list of developing countries on the UNFCCC website

The EU's commitment

Under the Kyoto Protocol, the EU is committed to reducing its GHG emissions by 8% from 1990 levels by 2008-2012. The reductions can be the product of several EC-wide measures and mechanisms, such as the EU ETS, the means to increase the energy efficiency of buildings, or the reduction of pollution emanating from road transport. The EU's and Member States' emission reduction targets are specified in the Ratification Decision that originally dates back to June 2008. This decision is part of the so-called Burden Sharing Agreement which aims at redistributing the reduction targets among Members States. It results from a EU Environmental Council Decision of 16 June, 1998.
The EU greenhouse gas reduction targets are:


                                Source: Europa

The Bali Road Map

Two tracks lead to Copenhagen.

Under the AWG-KP

The next commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol will be negotiated. In the centre of these negotiations stands the strengthening of the climate targets for industrialized countries, with the exception of the USA which didn't ratify Kyoto. The development of an emissions trading mechanism with the developing countries and emerging economies, as under the CDM will also be negotiated during the COP15.

Under the AWG-LCA
Within the framework of the UNFCCC, a complementary agreement will be negotiated, which concerns the USA's reduction targets as well as the climate protection obligations of emerging economies. New instruments to reduce emissions from deforestation and degradation (REDD) will also be discussed in the Mitigation working groups. The Adaptation building block will for its part discuss the obligations of industrialised countries to support adaptation. The third building block in the AWG-LCA should structure the large-scale technology cooperation between industrialised and developing countries for climate protection and adaptation (technology cooperation). The fourth building block ultimately deals with the financing of climate protection and forest conservation, adaptation and technology cooperation (finance). 

The year 2009 will see many so-called 'inter-sessional' meetings to prepare for Copenhagen.

Bonn  (28 March - 8 April 2009)

The Bonn Intersessional (28 March - 8 April) is the seventh session of the AWG-KP and the fifth session of the AWG-LCA.

Under the AWG-KP, it will be preceded by a number of preparatory events, including:
1) In-depth consultations on:
        a) land use, land-use change and forestry
        b) emissions trading and the project-based 
             mechanisms
2) Introduction of the AWG-KP Chair's texts
3) Workshop on issues relating to the scale of emission
     reductions to be achieved by Annex I Parties

More largely, in 2009 the AWG-KP will focus on agreeing on further commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol. Such an agreement will emerge as the Group develops and considers:

A text for any proposed amendments pursuant to Article 3.9 of the Kyoto Protocol: 'Commitments for subsequent periods for Parties included in Annex I shall be established in amendments to Annex B to this Protocol, which shall be adopted in accordance with the provisions of Article 21, paragraph 7. The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to this Protocol shall initiate the consideration of such commitments at least seven years before the end of the first commitment period referred to in paragraph 1 above.' Article 21, paragraph 7 states: 'Amendments to Annexes A and B to this Protocol shall be adopted and enter into force in accordance with the procedure set out in Article 20, provided that any amendment to Annex B shall be adopted only with the written consent of the Party concerned.'

A text on the issues outlined in paragraph 49 of document FCCC/KP/AWG/2008/8 At its seventh session, the AWG-KP will discuss issues identified in paragraph 49 of document FCCC/KP/AWG/2008/8. It will also consider four notes prepared by the Chair with a view to advancing work on the texts referred to above and agreeing on a draft amendment text.

Read the submissions of Parties in 2008.

In 2009 the Group will focus on agreeing on further commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol. Such an agreement will emerge as the Group develops and considers:

* A text for any proposed amendments pursuant to Article 3.9 of the Kyoto Protocol
* A text on the issues outlined in paragraph 49 of document FCCC/KP/AWG/2008/8

At its seventh session, the AWG-KP will discuss issues identified in paragraph 49 of document FCCC/KP/AWG/2008/8. It will also consider four notes prepared by the Chair with a view to advancing work on the texts referred to above and agreeing on a draft amendment text.