Key facts

  • UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change) — Signed at Rio Earth Summit 1992, entered into force 1994
  • Paris Agreement (COP21, December 2015, Paris) — Legally binding treaty for all parties
  • NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution) — Each country submits its own climate action plan — "bottom-up" approach
  • COP28 (Dubai, UAE, November–December 2023) — First Global Stocktake concluded — finding world is "not on track" to meet 1.5°C goal
  • COP29 (Baku, Azerbaijan, November 2024) — Agreed New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)

Key Points at a Glance

  1. 1

    UNFCCC (United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change)

    • Signed at Rio Earth Summit 1992, entered into force 1994
    • Foundational international climate treaty with 196 parties
    • Headquarters in Bonn, Germany
    • Annual COP (Conference of Parties) is its supreme decision-making body
  2. 2

    Paris Agreement (COP21, December 2015, Paris)

    • Legally binding treaty for all parties
    • Commits to limit global warming to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels
    • Pursues efforts to limit it to 1.5°C
    • Entered into force 4 November 2016 (196 parties ratified)
  3. 3

    NDC (Nationally Determined Contribution)

    • Each country submits its own climate action plan — "bottom-up" approach
    • Must be submitted every 5 years (2020, 2025, 2030...)
    • India's 2022 updated NDC: 50% cumulative electric power from non-fossil fuels by 2030
    • Also commits to 45% reduction in emissions intensity of GDP by 2030 (from 2005 base)
  4. 4

    COP28 (Dubai, UAE, November–December 2023)

    • First Global Stocktake concluded — finding world is "not on track" to meet 1.5°C goal
    • Historic "transition away from fossil fuels" language agreed (not "phase out")
    • Loss and Damage Fund operationalised — $475 million pledged in first round
    • UAE's Sultan Al Jaber served as COP28 President
  5. 5

    COP29 (Baku, Azerbaijan, November 2024)

    • Agreed New Collective Quantified Goal (NCQG)
    • $300 billion per year to developing nations by 2035 from developed countries
    • In addition to existing $100 billion pledge
    • India strongly pressed for $1 trillion floor
  6. 6

    International Solar Alliance (ISA)

    • Co-founded by India and France at COP21 (Paris, 2015)
    • Headquarters in Gurugram, India; 120 member countries
    • Mission: mobilise $1 trillion in solar investments by 2030
    • Target: deploy 1,000 GW of solar capacity globally
    • First intergovernmental organisation headquartered in India
  7. 7

    CDRI (Coalition for Disaster Resilient Infrastructure)

    • Co-launched by India and UK at COP26 (Glasgow, 2021)
    • 39 national governments + 7 international organisations
    • Aim: make infrastructure resilient to climate and disaster risk
    • HQ: New Delhi; includes Small Island Developing States (SIDS) initiative
  8. 8

    Mission LiFE (Lifestyle for Environment)

    • Launched by PM Modi at COP26 (Glasgow, November 2021); formally established July 2022
    • Advocates shifting from "use and throw" to "reduce, reuse, recycle" lifestyle
    • Calls on individuals, communities, businesses, and governments to be "pro-planet people"
    • 75 actions across 7 key behaviours (energy, water, food waste, single-use plastic, waste, e-waste, healthy lifestyles)
  9. 9

    Panchamrit Commitments (COP26, November 2021)

    • Five climate pledges by India announced by PM Modi
    • (1) 500 GW non-fossil energy by 2030; (2) 50% total energy from renewables by 2030
    • (3) 1 billion tonne CO₂ reduction by 2030; (4) 45% emissions intensity reduction by 2030
    • (5) Net zero by 2070
  10. 10

    Loss and Damage Fund

    • Created at COP27 (Sharm el-Sheikh, Egypt, 2022)
    • Compensates climate-vulnerable nations for losses beyond adaptation capacity
    • Operationalised at COP28 (Dubai, 2023) with World Bank as interim trustee
  11. 11

    India's Renewable Energy Achievement (2024-25)

    • Installed renewable energy capacity: over 200 GW (wind + solar + hydro + others)
    • Solar: 90 GW+; India is 4th globally in installed renewable capacity
    • On track for 500 GW by 2030
    • India added 18.5 GW solar in FY2024-25 (a record)
  12. 12

    "Common But Differentiated Responsibilities and Respective Capabilities" (CBDR-RC)

    • The foundational principle of international climate justice
    • Developed countries caused most historical emissions and must lead on mitigation and finance
    • Developing nations like India retain the right to growth while taking nationally appropriate actions

How did international climate negotiations evolve from Rio to Paris?

International climate negotiations evolved from broad environmental cooperation in the 1970s to the UNFCCC framework at Rio, binding developed-country targets under Kyoto, and finally the universal NDC-based Paris Agreement in 2015. According to UNFCCC, the Convention currently has 198 parties: 197 states and 1 regional economic integration organisation.

1.1 From Rio to Paris

1972 Stockholm Conference

The first global environmental conference led to the creation of UNEP (UN Environment Programme). The concept of "spaceship Earth" was popularised here, marking the start of international environmental cooperation.

1987 Brundtland Report ("Our Common Future")

This report defined sustainable development as "development that meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs." This definition remains the authoritative global standard.

1992 Rio Earth Summit (UNCED)

  • UNFCCC signed as a framework treaty, with no binding targets initially
  • CBD (Convention on Biological Diversity) signed
  • UNCED Agenda 21 adopted as an action plan for sustainable development
  • Forest Principles adopted as a non-legally binding instrument

1997 Kyoto Protocol (COP3, Kyoto, Japan)

The Kyoto Protocol established the first binding quantified emission reduction targets. Only Annex I (developed) countries had binding targets: the US, EU, Japan, and other developed economies. Three flexible mechanisms were created: Emissions Trading, Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), and Joint Implementation.

The US never ratified the Kyoto Protocol; Canada withdrew; Trump withdrew the US from the Paris Agreement in 2017 but Biden rejoined in 2021. The Protocol's second commitment period ran from 2013 to 2020.

2009 Copenhagen Accord (COP15)

An attempt to create a post-Kyoto framework failed to produce a legally binding agreement; only a political declaration resulted. The US-BASIC group (Brazil, South Africa, India, China) negotiated the Accord directly, bypassing the formal UNFCCC process. A pledge of $100 billion/year from developed to developing nations by 2020 was made but only partially fulfilled.

2015 Paris Agreement (COP21)

  • Legally binding under international law; universal, applying to all parties unlike Kyoto
  • NDC-based, using "bottom-up" nationally determined targets rather than top-down binding numbers
  • Ratchet mechanism: NDCs must be progressively more ambitious every 5 years
  • Global Stocktake every 5 years to assess collective progress
  • 1.5°C goal as the higher-ambition ceiling, plus the well below 2°C temperature goal
  • Finance: continued $100 billion/year commitment; new quantified goal for post-2025 finance, later agreed as the NCQG

PREDICTED Predicted RAS Questions

Based on PYQ trends and 2026 syllabus analysis

1 5M What is Mission LiFE? Who launched it and when? 5 marks · 50 words

Model Answer

~50 words • 5 marks