1.

EARTH SUMMIT
The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as
the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, and Earth Summit(Portuguese: ECO-92 [sku no, vte j doj[]),
was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from 3 June to 14 June 1992.
In 2012, the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development was also held in Rio, and is
also commonly called Rio+20 or Rio Earth Summit 2012. was held June 20 to 22nd.
172 governments participated, with 108 sending their heads of state or government.
[1]
Some 2,400
representatives of non-governmental organizations (NGOs) attended, with 17,000 people at the
parallel NGO "Global Forum" (a.k.a. Forum Global), who had Consultative Status.
The issues addressed included:
systematic scrutiny of patterns of production particularly the production of toxic components,
such as lead in gasoline, or poisonous waste including radioactive chemicals
alternative sources of energy to replace the use of fossil fuels which are linked to global climate
change
new reliance on public transportation systems in order to reduce vehicle emissions, congestion in
cities and the health problems caused by polluted air and smoke
the growing scarcity of water
1.1 The Earth Summit resulted in the following documents:
i. Agenda 21 is a non-binding, voluntarily implemented action plan of the United
Nations with regard to sustainable development.
[1]
It is a product of theUN
Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) held in Rio de
Janeiro, Brazil, in 1992. It is an action agenda for the UN, other multilateral
organizations, and individual governments around the world that can be executed
at local, national, and global levels. The "21" in Agenda 21 refers to the
21st century. It has been affirmed and modified at subsequent UN conferences.
agenda 21 is a 300-page document divided into 40 chapters that have been grouped into 4 sections:
Section I: Social and Economic Dimensions [edit] This section is directed toward combating
poverty, especially in developing countries, changing consumption patterns, promoting health,
achieving a more sustainable population, and sustainable settlement in decision making
Section II: Conservation and Management of Resources for Development [edit] Includes
atmospheric protection, combating deforestation, protecting fragile environments, conservation of
biological diversity (biodiversity), control of pollution and the management ofbiotechnology,
and radioactive wastes. Section III: Strengthening the Role of Major Groups [edit] Includes the
roles of children and youth, men,women, NGOs, local authorities, business and workers and
strengthening the role of indigenous peoples, their communities, and farmers
Section IV: Means of Implementation [edit] Implementation includes science, technology
transfer, education, international institutions and financial mechanisms.
Rio+5 (1997) [edit]
In 1997, the UN General Assembly held a special session to appraise the status of Agenda 21 (Rio
+5). The Assembly recognized progress as "uneven" and identified key trends, including
increasing globalization, widening inequalities in income, and continued deterioration of the global
environment. A new General Assembly Resolution (S-19/2) promised further action.
Rio+10 (2002) [edit]
Main article: World Summit on Sustainable Development
The Johannesburg Plan of Implementation, agreed at the World Summit on Sustainable
Development (Earth Summit 2002) affirmed UN commitment to "full implementation" of Agenda 21,
alongside achievement of the Millennium Development Goals and other international agreements.
Agenda 21 for culture (2002) [edit]
Main article: Agenda 21 for culture
The first World Public Meeting on Culture, held in Porto Alegre, Brazil, in 2002, came up with the idea
to establish guidelines for local cultural policies, something comparable to what Agenda 21 was for
the environment.
[2]
They are to be included in various subsections of Agenda 21 and will be carried
out through a wide range of sub-programs beginning with G8 countries.
[citation needed]

Rio+20 (2012) [edit]
Main article: United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development
In 2012, at the United Nations Conference on Sustainable Development the attending members
reaffirmed their commitment to Agenda 21 in their outcome document called "The Future We Want".
ii. the Rio Declaration on Environment and Development, often shortened to Rio
Declaration, was a short document produced at the 1992 United
Nations "Conference on Environment and Development" (UNCED), informally
known as the Earth Summit. The Rio Declaration consisted of 27 principles
intended to guide future sustainable development around the worlds.

iii. The Forest Principles is the informal name given to the Non-Legally Binding
Authoritative Statement of Principles for a Global Consensus on the
Management, Conservation and Sustainable Development of All Types of
Forests (1992), a document produced at the United Nations Conference on
Environment and Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth
Summit.
[1]
It is a non-legally binding document that makes several
recommendations for conservation and sustainable development forestry.

United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC or FCCC)

the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC) is an
international environmental treaty negotiated at theUnited Nations Conference on Environment and
Development (UNCED), informally known as the Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to
14, 1992. The objective of the treaty is to "stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere
at a level that would prevent dangerousanthropogenic interference with the climate system.
The treaty itself set no binding limits on greenhouse gas emissions for individual countries and
contains no enforcement mechanisms. In that sense, the treaty is considered legally non-binding.
Instead, the treaty provides a framework for negotiating specific international treaties (called
"protocols") that may set binding limits on greenhouse gases.
The UNFCCC was opened for signature on May 9, 1992, after an Intergovernmental Negotiating
Committee produced the text of the Framework Convention as a report following its meeting in New
York from April 30 to May 9, 1992. It entered into force on March 21, 1994. As of May 2011, UNFCCC
has 194 parties.
The parties to the convention have met annually from 1995 in Conferences of the Parties (COP) to
assess progress in dealing with climate change. In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was concluded and
established legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions.
[3]
The 2010 Cancn agreements state that future global warming should be limited to
below 2.0 C (3.6 F) relative to the pre-industrial level.
[4]


MONTREAL PROTOCOL
The Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer (a protocol to the Vienna
Convention for the Protection of the Ozone Layer) is an international treaty designed to protect
the ozone layer by phasing out the production of numerous substances believed to be responsible for
ozone depletion. The treaty was opened for signature on September 16, 1987, and entered into force
on January 1, 1989, followed by a first meeting inHelsinki, May 1989. Since then, it has undergone
seven revisions, in 1990 (London), 1991 (Nairobi), 1992 (Copenhagen), 1993 (Bangkok), 1995
(Vienna), 1997 (Montreal), and 1999 (Beijing). It is believed that if the international agreement is
adhered to, the ozone layer is expected to recover by 2050.
[1]
Due to its widespread adoption and
implementation it has been hailed as an example of exceptional international co-operation, with Kofi
Annan quoted as saying that "perhaps the single most successful international agreement to date has
been the Montreal Protocol".
[2]
The two ozone treaties have been ratified by 197 states and the
European Union
[3]
making them the most widely ratified treaties in United Nations history.
MONTREAL PROCESS
The Montreal Process, also known as the Working Group on Criteria and Indicators for the
Conservation and Sustainable Management of Temperate and Boreal Forests, is a voluntary
agreement on sustainable forest management. It was formed in Geneva, Switzerland in June 1994 as
a result of the Forest Principles developed at the 1992 Earth Summit. As of 2012the member
countries are Argentina, Australia, Canada, Chile, China, Japan, South Korea, Mexico, New
Zealand, Russia, United States and Uruguay.
[1]

The member countries account for:
[2]

90% of the world's temperate and boreal forests (as well as areas of tropical forests)
60% of all forests of the world
35% of the world's population
45% of the world's trade in wood and wood products

KYOTO PROTOCOL
The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate
Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty that sets binding obligations on industrialised countries
to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases. The UNFCCC is an environmental treaty with the goal of
preventing "dangerous" anthropogenic (i.e., human-induced) interference of the climate
system.
[10]
190 countries (all UN members, except Andorra, Canada, South Sudan and the United
States), as well as the European Union are Parties to the Protocol.
[11]
The United States signed but
did not ratify the Protocol and Canada withdrew from it in 2011.
[2]
The Protocol was adopted by
Parties to the UNFCCC in 1997, and entered into force in 2005.
[6]

As part of the Kyoto Protocol, many developed countries have agreed to legally binding
limitations/reductions in their emissions of greenhouse gases in two commitments periods. The first
commitment period applies to emissions between 2008-2012, and the second commitment period
applies to emissions between 2013-2020. The protocol was amended in 2012 to accommodate the
second commitment period,
[12][13][14]
but this amendment has (as of January 2013) not entered into
legal force.
[7]