Framework Convention on Climate Change (FCCC)

The framework convention on Climate Change (FCCC), which became effective in 1994, is a voluntary and nonbinding declaration of standards, goals, and objectives that represents international cooperation to reduce human-made greenhouse gas emissions that contribute to climate change (known also as “anthropogenic emissions”). This convention—modeled [Page 709]after the Vienna Convention on Protection of the Ozone Layer—established a general framework for emissions reductions.

The text begins with a series of declarations. The first states that “Parties” (participating countries) in the FCCC, “Acknowledge that change in the Earth's climate and its adverse effects are a common concern of humankind.” The FCCC document is comprised of 26 Articles, ranging in issues from defining terms to the financial mechanism to requirements for the entry of the FCCC into force.

The objective ...