United Nations: Environment

The following links provide background information and summaries of the UN's major conferences addressing Climate Change.  

Bali Road Map.  Sets out tracks for reaching a secure climate future. Includes the Bali Action Plan which planned for a negotiating process designed to tackle climate change.

Cancun Agreements.Included an agreement calling for a Green Climate Fund and Climate Technology Centre to assist developing countries meet Climate Change targets.

Doha Climate Gateway. Information sources from the 2012 UN Climate Change Conference in Doha, Qatar

Durban Outcomes. Governments agreed to draw up a blueprint for a universal, legal agreement to deal with climate change beyond 2020.

Framework Convention on Climate Change. Framework for intergovernmental efforts to tackle challenge posed by climate change, recognizing that the climate is a shared resource whose stability can be affected by emissions of greenhouse gases.

The Kyoto Protocol. International agreement linked to the UNFCCC which commits parties by setting internationally binding emission reduction targets. Entered into force in 2005.

Paris Conference Information Hub. Information from the twenty-first session of the Conference of the Parties (COP) and the eleventh session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol (CMP), which took place from November 30 to December 11, 2015, in Paris, France.

Warsaw Outcomes. Agreement where governments agreed to communicate contributions towards agreement in advance of the meeting in Paris in 2015. Included arule-book for reducing emissions from deforestation and forest degradation.

Intergovernmental Oceanographic Commission. International autonomous agency of UNESCO that promotes the scientific investigation of the nature and resources of the oceans. 

Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.International body assessing climate change established by the UN Environment Programme and the World Meteorological Organization to provide scientific knowledge about climate change and its potential impacts.

Inter-Organization Programme for the Sound Management of Chemicals. Pre-eminent organization coordinating action to achieve international goals for the management of chemicals.

Multilateral Fund for the Implementation of the Montreal Protocol. Multilateral funding agency providing assistance to help developing countries phase out the use of ozone-depleting substances.

Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform. Portal of information sources relating to all aspects of the UN's work on Sustainable Development.

United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification (UNCCD). UN convention based agency dedicated to combating desertification.

United Nations Environment Programme. Principal body of the United Nations for the environment. UNEP plays an important role in developing international environmental conventions and assisting countries implement environmentally sound policies.

United Nations Forum on Forests. UN subsidiary body promoting the management, conservation and sustainable development of forests.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat. United Nations office supporting the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change, the international treaty signed at the United Nations Conference on the Environment and Development (UNCED).

World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Specialized agency of the United Nations in the fields of meteorology, operational hydrology and related geophysical sciences.

World Tourism Organization.   United Nations agency for the promotion of responsible, sustainable and universally accessible tourism.

Below are selected international environmental treaties by subject. Not all are UN treaties but many were negotiated with UN involvement. See also the ECOLEX database on international environmental law for information on treaties, policy, national legislation, judicial decisions, and related literature.

Atmosphere

• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
• United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Includes information on the binding Kyoto Protocol.
• Vienna Convention for Protection of the Ozone Layer. 

Biodiversity and Land 

• Bonn Convention on Migratory Species.
• Cartagena Protocol on Biosafety.
• Convention on Biological Diversity.
• Convention for the Conservation of Antarctic Marine Living Resources and Madrid Protocol on the Protection of the Antarctic Environment.
• Convention on International Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Flora and Fauna.
• Ramsar Convention on Wetlands.
• United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification.

Chemicals and Wastes 

• Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes.
• Bonn Agreement for Cooperation in Dealing with Pollution of the North Sea.
• Convention on Long-Range Transboundary Air Pollution.
• Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer
• Stockholm Convention on Persistent Organic Pollutants

Oceans Sea and Water 

• Arctic Council for the Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment
• Global Programme of Action for the Protection of the Marine Environment from Land-based Activities
• International Convention for the Regulation of Whaling
• Nairobi Convention for the Protection, Management and Development of the Marine and Coastal Environment of the Eastern Africa Region
• United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS).