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International Forums and Agreements

The world, through the United Nations, has recognised that we must take steps immediately to reduce the greenhouse gas emissions which cause global warming and climate change.

Key International fora and Agreements are;

The international response to climate change has included the following:

  • the first World Climate Conference recognised climate change was a serious problem in 1979
  • a number of intergovernmental conferences focusing on climate change were held in the late 1980s and early 1990s
  • the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released its First Assessment Report in 1990
  • the United Nations General Assembly approved the start of treaty negotiations in December 1990
  • the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was signed by over 185 nations (including New Zealand) at Rio de Janeiro in 1992
  • the UNFCCC entered into force on 21 March 1994
  • the Conference of the Parties (COP - the UNFCCC's ultimate authority) held its first session in Berlin from 28 March to 7 April 1995
  • the IPCC finalised its Second Assessment Report in December 1995
  • the Kyoto Protocol was adopted at COP-3 in December 1997
  • a political agreement on the operational rulebook for the Protocol was reached at COP-6 in November 2000
  • the IPCC finalised its Third Assessment Report early in 2001
  • The Kyoto Protocol entered into force on 16 February 2005.
  • The IPCC finalised it Fourth Assessment Report in 2007.

Last updated: 20 March 2008