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Global Warming is probably the single biggest challenge to mankind has come up because of our unhindered and excessive exploitation and consumption of natural resources, our unabated creation of waste and pollutants, our unchecked emissions to the environment and our delayed awakening to the gravity of the problem. Global warming is the direct result of the greenhouse effect where the concentration of
Greenhouse Gases (GHG) in the atmosphere prevents heat to be reflected off the Earth.
The implications of global warming have been predicted to reach catastrophic levels if counter measures are not brought into effect at the soonest. It is believed to be responsible for phenomena such as the melting of ice caps, the rise in sea levels, the destruction of coral reefs, the alteration of climatic patterns and ecosystems.
It was not until the 1980's that Nations decided to come under one roof to jointly address this issue and decide on actions to counter this threat.
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Important Events that preceded the Kyoto Protocol |
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The Montreal Protocol
The Montreal Protocol on Substances That Deplete the Ozone Layer was signed in 1987 and amended in 1990 and 1992. It is a landmark international agreement designed to protect the stratospheric ozone layer, stipulating that the production and consumption of compounds that deplete ozone in the stratosphere--chlorofluorocarbons (CFCs),
halons, carbon tetrachloride, and methyl chloroform--are to be phased out by 2000.
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The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED)
The UNCED was held in 1992 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. Five major agreements on global environmental issues were signed. Two of these, The Framework Convention on Climate Change and The Convention on Biological Diversity, are formal treaties whose provisions are binding on the parties. The other three UNCED agreements, Agenda 21, The Rio Declaration and the Statement on Forest Principles, are non-binding statements on the relationship between sustainable environmental practices and the pursuit of social and socioeconomic development.
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The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
The UNFCCC was one of two binding treaties opened for signature at the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development
(UNCED) in 1992. In 2005, 189 countries had ratified the UNFCCC. The treaty, also known as the Climate Convention, addresses potential human-induced global warming by pledging countries to seek "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system." Though stated only in general terms, the Climate Convention parties agreed to attempt to limit emissions of greenhouse gases, mainly carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane (CH4).
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The Marrakech Accords
The Marrakech Accords set out the rules for projects elaborated under the Clean Development Mechanism, with the exception of those involving forestry projects, although they did determine that forestry projects are restricted to afforestation and reforestation projects and set a limit on their use (see sinks). The Accords are named after the meeting at which they were agreed - the 7th Conference of Parties to the Climate Convention in Marrakech, Morocco, in 2001.
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