AN ASSESSMENT OF GLOBAL CLIMATE NEGOTIATIONS OF THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE.

DAIYABU, M.H.

This paper examined the factors that are responsible for the long-drawn-out efforts towards achieving globally binding long-term agreement on reducing the emissions of greenhouse gases. The paper argues that the economic consideration of the contending countries is the main reason for the failure to achieve a long term globally binding agreement on the reduction of the emissions of greenhouse gases. Yet, an examination of the politics of global climate negotiations cannot be comprehensive without looking into the scientific basis that in part influences the positions of the negotiating parties. The paper is therefore divided into three sections. The first section provides an exploration of the issues in contention over the science of climate change and the major conclusions of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) on the climate questions. The second section explores the history of the global climate negotiations under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC).While the third section examines the link between the political/economic considerations and the failure to achieve globally binding agreement to cut the emissions of greenhouse gases. The findings revealed that, although the economic consideration of the developed industrialized countries takes precedence over environmental security challenges, the contention over the science of climate change also play a significant role in playing down the urgency with which the threats posed by climate change need to be treated. Consequently one of the recommendations of the study is that, the most vulnerable countries to the impacts of climate change must reconsider their strategies before the next climate negotiation in Paris in 2015.

Key words: Climate change, United Nations, Framework convention.