That conference was held in Vienna, Austria, and its main outcome was the Vienna Declaration and Programme of Action. This document affirms that the universality of all human rights and fundamental freedoms is undeniable and that all human rights are universal, indivisible, interdependent and interconnected. At the same time, world leaders reaffirmed that international measures were being taken to promote and protect human rights. Two years later, in 2002, representatives of 190 countries attended the United Nations World Summit on Sustainable Development in Johannesburg to continue the commitments of the Rio Summit. On that occasion, they adopted the Declaration on Sustainable Development, which emphasized development and poverty reduction with a legal-economic approach to “public-private partnerships”. The Stockholm Declaration (1972), a product of the first United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, was the first international document to recognize the right to a healthy environment through 26 principles, many of which played an important role in the further development of the IEL. Today, much of the hope for change lies in the strength of civil society, especially in the young people who woke up and came to defend the planet. This force finds in the IEL a fulcrum to demand what we need: a resounding change in the development model that still guides the affairs of the planet and does so much damage. In 2015, the 193-member United Nations General Assembly in New York adopted the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. This program is a plan of action for people and the planet to thrive in a peaceful and prosperous world. World leaders have recognized that poverty eradication is the world`s greatest challenge to sustainable development. They said all nations and stakeholders should work together to implement the new agenda. This programme is divided into 17 Sustainable Development Goals and 169 Goals.
All these goals and targets are integrated into the social, environmental and economic dimensions of sustainable development. During successive conferences of the Parties – known as the COP – new elements have been added to the international structure of the climate change negotiations. These elements address specific challenges such as climate change financing, climate change adaptation and technology transfer. At COP21, the parties to the United Nations Climate Change Framework reached a historic agreement. They agree to accelerate and intensify the measures and investments needed for a sustainable low-carbon future. In fact, for the first time, the Paris Agreement brought all nations into a common cause: courageous efforts to fight and adapt to climate change. It marks a new path in global climate efforts. One that aims to keep the increase in global temperature below 2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels. In addition, the agreement also aims to strengthen the capacity of nations to cope with the consequences of climate change. The history of the IEL can be divided into three phases, separated by two of the most important international conferences held so far: the Stockholm Conference (1972) and the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit (1992).
And in 2016, with the signing of the Paris Agreement, a new phase began to address humanity`s most important natural challenge: the current climate emergency. Before the 1960s, there was little environmental awareness and few isolated international environmental regulatory initiatives. One of them was the London Convention of 1900, which aimed to protect African wildlife. It never entered into force because it was not signed by the minimum number of parties. It was replaced 33 years later by the London Convention of 1933, which was implemented in much of colonized Africa through the creation of natural parks and species conservation. The 2005 World Summit had been held in New York, and the international community had considered concrete ways to combat poverty and all forms of terrorism and had reaffirmed its readiness to protect civilians from all crimes against humanity, such as genocide or war crimes. In this way, the Peacebuilding Commission and the Human Rights Council were established to support the transition from war to peace. The Kyoto Protocol can be defined as the implementation of the UNFCCC in practice. At that time, it was the first global commitment to control emissions responsible for global warming and to lay the groundwork for subsequent international agreements on climate change.
Although the Protocol was signed on 16 March 1998, it did not enter into force until 16 February 2005. The Copenhagen conference marked the culmination of a two-year negotiation that began at COP13 in Bali and aimed to improve international cooperation on climate change. It was expected that the Copenhagen climate conference would reach an agreement. And the hope was that this agreement would put the world on the path to preventing and combating climate change after the Kyoto Protocol deadline. Nevertheless, no specific consensus was reached and this was not really the case. Although many countries have promised to act, the Copenhagen Accord was not formally adopted after the negotiations. During this conference, important announcements were made, starting with the Director-General of the United Nations. Guterres warned that humanity is not on the desired path in the fight against climate change. He also pointed out that most of the countries responsible for greenhouse gas emissions are lagging behind in their efforts to deliver on the Paris promises. World leaders set the rules for implementing the Paris Agreement in December 2018. At the same time, they are also setting guidelines to combat climate change in the coming years. More than 160 countries have submitted their plans to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and the disappeared countries must do so by 2020.
The international community has also created rules to check whether nations` goals will be met after 2024. The idea is that every two years, each country submits reports on its climate action. And these are then checked by specialists. Nevertheless, nations that do not comply will not be punished (they will not be). In addition, on a 5-year basis, global efforts to keep the Earth`s temperature below 2°C are evaluated. This evaluation will begin in 2023. Photo credits at the United Nations on Shutterstock, UN conference on Shutterstock, COP24 Katowice on Shutterstock and COP21 Paris on Shutterstock After the tragedy of the commons and the limits of growth theories, the world has organized itself in terms of global politics. The first historic conference on environmental issues was held in Stockholm in 1972.
This is where world leaders gather to discuss the human impact on the environment and its relationship to economic development. One of the main objectives of this meeting was to find a common perspective and common principles to inspire and guide the world`s population to preserve the “human environment”. The United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development – Rio+20 for short – was held in Rio de Janeiro. World leaders decided to launch a process to develop a set of Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) based on the Millennium Development Goals set at the United Nations Conference in NEW York in 2000. The objective of these goals was to promote sustainable development in an organized, integrated and comprehensive manner. Nations agreed to consider measures of prosperity other than GDP that take into account environmental and social factors. It was a clear attempt to do justice to nature`s environmental services such as carbon absorption or biodiversity – and recognised these services as crucial for sustainable development. Other outcomes of the conference were that the United Nations Environment Programme would increase its financial resources. Its governance would also be strengthened by a more universal membership, as the main coordinating bodies of the United Nations would be more engaged. .