Looking Forward
The Challenge of Climate Change
By Joke Waller-Hunter
On 9 May 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted in New York after tedious negotiations throughout the night, in the best of UN traditions. On 1 May 2002, I took up my position as Executive Secretary of the Convention.
In those ten years, negotiations have continued, often making headlines, e.g. when the Kyoto Protocol that sets out binding commitments for industrialized countries and economies in transition was adopted in 1997 and further elaborated, again through often heated negotiations, in the years thereafter. Negotiators were taken to Buenos Aires, Bonn, The Hague and Marrakech, where final agreement on the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol was reached. Now, we are looking forward to its entry into force. It may be a fair statement that the rule books needed to make both the Convention and the Protocol work are largely in place, and that the focus will now be on implementation.
For us in the UNFCCC secretariat in Bonn, this presents a new challenge-supporting implementation is not the same as supporting negotiations! Quite an interesting challenge: will the rules deliver the required results? How do we measure and assess success?
New mechanisms have been created. They allow countries to meet their commitments in a cost-effective manner through trading emissions, and they enhance international cooperation by encouraging investments in projects in developing countries that aim at both sustainable development and emission reduction. Sharing information, e.g. through national reports and inventories that countries have to provide regularly, documenting and disseminating practices of Governments, business and civil society, maintaining an authoritative database on greenhouse gas emissions, keeping track of the trading - all these will be important elements of the secretariat’s work.
Based on the current and foreseeable levels of emissions, there is evidence that some amount of climate change is inevitable. Countries, especially those most vulnerable which are often the least developed, must start preparing for adaptation.
Facilitating international cooperation among countries and international organizations on adaptation under the Convention and the Protocol is another new task facing the UNFCCC secretariat. But while the focus must be on implementation, we should not forget that climate change is a long-term “creeping” problem. Starting action today, we must continue to work on long-term solutions beyond the first commitments under the Kyoto Protocol.
I was pleased to find upon my arrival in Bonn that the secretariat staff had adopted a strong vision statement:
“We support cooperative action by States to combat climate change and its impacts on humanity and ecosystems. This is our contribution to a sustainable world and to realizing the vision of peace, security and human dignity on which the United Nations is founded.
“Guided by the Parties to the Convention, we provide organizational support and technical expertise to their negotiations and institutions, and facilitate the flow of authoritative information on the implementation of the Convention. We are committed to performing these tasks to the highest standards of professionalism and objectivity.
“We strive to be a dynamic team, committed to the promotion of a participatory and caring work environment. Our respect for each other and our blend of diverse cultures, gender and backgrounds enrich and enhance our work.”
I am proud to head a team with such a mission.
 |
Links:
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
|
Joke Waller-Hunter is Executive Secretary of UNFCCC since May 2002. She was formerly Director of the Environment Directorate of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, and also Director of the UN Division for Sustainable Development, the secretariat to the UN Commission on Sustainable Development.
|
 |
|
