Friday, April 1, 2016

A Brief Analysis of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)


Seeing as how the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is referenced multiple times throughout the various Connecticut climate change documents, I felt the need to take the time out and read the original treaty, from 1992, myself.  Having read several United Nations documents in the past, I pretty much knew what I was in for; there is a global problem that cannot be fixed by any one nation therefore all nations need to come together, come up with a comprehensive global plan, go back home, and implement it.  Instead of offering a comprehensive analysis as I have done with other United Nations documents, I will just present a few quotes from the document with my brief opinion.

The first part of the UNFCCC that should be noted is their definition of climate change.
“Climate change” means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over comparable time periods." [emphasis added]
By defining "climate change" as something that may or may not be caused by human activity they are able to avoid the debate over whether climate change is caused by humans when putting forth ideas in fighting climate change.  It may seem ridiculous to take action on a problem that you are unsure is even a problem but that is exactly what the UNFCCC proposes:
"The Parties should take precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent or minimize the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing such measures, taking into account that policies and measures to deal with climate change should be cost-effective so as to ensure global benefits at the lowest possible cost." [emphasis added]
Therefore, even when the science is not clear on an issue, it is recommended that governments take action anyway.  A similar view would eventually go on to be used in the Connecticut climate change documents.  In part 1 of a series titled "The Problems with Connecticut Climate Change Policy" the inconclusiveness of man made climate change is discussed and can be found being presented in state documents.  Quite similarly, in Part 2 of the same series, the inaccuracy of the data being used by the state to propagate climate change policy is also revealed and discussed.

There are other sections of the UNFCCC that have come to pass in the state such as the idea to create "inventories of anthropogenic emissions".  Developing an inventory of greenhouse gas emissions would eventually become the first step taken by Connecticut as recommended in the 2001 Regional Climate Change Action Plan.

Another principle of the UNFCCC that would go on to be adopted by the state of Connecticut is the plan to reduce greenhouse gas emission (GHG) to a level that equals the GHG emission of the previous decades.  From the UNFCCC document:
"These policies and measures will demonstrate that developed countries are taking the lead in modifying longer-term trends in anthropogenic emissions consistent with the objective of the Convention, recognizing that the return by the end of the present decade to earlier levels of anthropogenic emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol would contribute to such modification" 
Quite similarly, the state, in 2014, announced that "Connecticut has met its initial GHG emission reduction goal of returning to 1990 levels by 2010".

Important to mention is that the UNFCCC recommends referring to the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) for "objective scientific and technical advice".  The IPCC operates under the auspices of the United Nations, and has come under heavy scrutiny in the past, as there have been many documented errors with information put out by the organization.  The IPCC is cited several times throughout the Connecticut climate change papers .

Also important to mention is that the UNFCCC was presented at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio, the same Earth Summit that brought us United Nations Agenda 21, a much larger and detailed global plan designed to fight climate change.  Agenda 21 is relevant because, being 300 plus pages, it gives a more detailed explanation of how the articles of the UNFCCC, a much smaller document, will be carried out.  The entire Agenda 21 plan revolves around the concept of sustainable development and Article 3, Principle 4 of the UNFCCC says "The Parties have a right to, and should, promote sustainable development."  (To get a better understanding of sustainable development and Agenda 21, it is highly recommended to any interested reader to read "A Critical Analysis of Agenda 21 - United Nations Program of Action")  Both Agenda 21 and the UNFCCC were agreed to by the President of the United States at the time, George Bush.

Finally, the UNFCCC reveals the United Nations goal of creating a "supportive and open international economic system".  This new global economic system that is being set up by the United Nations and related organizations deserves its own in depth analysis but the work of Patrick Wood, specifically his book "Technocracy Rising" has done the best work that I have come across explaining and documenting this system.

The UNFCCC is just one small piece of an enormous puzzle that we are trying to put together here at TheGoodmanChronicle.com.  Read the related work and stay tuned for more.

Related Analyses:
  • A Critical Summary of the Nairobi Forward-looking Strategies for the Advancement of Women - August 22, 2014 (link)
  • Children's Edition of United Nations Agenda 21: Blatant Anti-Human Propaganda - February 02, 2014 (link)
  • Parents Beware: The United Nations Looking To Give Children of Connecticut Special "Rights" - December 28, 2013 (link)
  • A Critical Analysis of Agenda 21 - United Nations Program of Action - November 01, 2013 (link)

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