2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference

2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference
Name	2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference
Date	2012-11-26 – 2012-12-08
Location	Doha, Qatar
Type	International climate conference
Participants	Parties to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change

2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference was the 18th session of the Conference of the Parties (COP18) to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and the 8th session of the Meeting of the Parties to the Kyoto Protocol held in Doha, Qatar from 26 November to 8 December 2012. The conference brought together representatives from United States, China, India, European Union, Japan, Russia, Brazil, Canada, South Africa, Australia, Mexico, Indonesia, Nigeria, Saudi Arabia, Norway, Switzerland, United Arab Emirates, Argentina, Bangladesh, Pakistan, Egypt, Kenya, Ethiopia, Philippines, Vietnam, Chile, Colombia, Peru, New Zealand, South Korea, North Korea, Turkey, Poland, Germany, France, United Kingdom, Italy, Spain, Greece, Belgium, Netherlands, Sweden, Denmark, Finland, Portugal, and delegations from Small Island Developing States, Least Developed Countries and regional groups such as Alliance of Small Island States, Group of 77, European Commission, and Association of Southeast Asian Nations.

Background and Objectives

The meeting followed the outcomes of COP17 in Durban and the ongoing negotiations under the Ad hoc Working Group on Further Commitments for Annex I Parties under the Kyoto Protocol and the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action, with objectives linked to implementing the Durban Platform and advancing the Kyoto Protocol second commitment period. Key actors included the United Nations, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, Green Climate Fund, and negotiating blocs such as Umbrella Group, Environmental Integrity Group, African Group, Latin American and Caribbean Group, Arab Group, AOSIS, and the Least Developed Countries Expert Group. The agenda aimed to address mitigation, adaptation, finance, technology transfer, capacity building, and the operationalization of the Green Climate Fund and the Adaption Fund.

Negotiations and Key Issues

Principal disputes concerned extension of the Kyoto Protocol commitments, the legal form of a future global agreement anticipated from the Durban Platform, and levels of climate finance, with tensions between major emitters including China, United States, India, Brazil, Russia and developed parties such as Japan, European Union, Canada and Australia. Delegations debated accounting rules for carbon markets involving mechanisms under the Clean Development Mechanism and emissions trading discussions referencing the International Civil Aviation Organization and the Maritime Organization indirectly. Contested items included measurement, reporting and verification modalities affecting Annex I and Non-Annex I parties, the status of Australia vis-à-vis the Kyoto Protocol, the role of carbon capture and storage technologies, and the scope of the Green Climate Fund capitalization, with interventions from United Nations Development Programme, United Nations Environment Programme, World Meteorological Organization, International Renewable Energy Agency, and advocacy appearances by Greenpeace International, World Wildlife Fund, Friends of the Earth, 350.org, and Sierra Club.

Outcomes and Agreements

The conference resulted in the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol, agreeing on a second commitment period with specified greenhouse gas emissions targets for some Annex I parties and timelines for ratification, while launching work to operationalize the Green Climate Fund governance and capitalization. Parties adopted decisions on loss and damage linked to the Warsaw International Mechanism and recognized the need for strengthened peaking and reduction trajectories under the Durban Platform negotiations leading toward the 2015 agreement track. Financial pledges and modalities for fast-start finance and long-term finance were discussed with reference to pledges by United Kingdom, Germany, France, Japan, Norway, United Arab Emirates, and multilateral institutions like the World Bank. The conference produced decisions on technical issues including methodologies under the Clean Development Mechanism and new procedures for measurement, reporting and verification applicable to developed and developing parties.

Participation and Notable Delegations

High-level participants included ministers and envoys from United States Department of State, Ministry of Environment and Forests (India), Ministry of the Environment (Japan), Ministry of Climate Change (Pakistan), the European Commission's commissioners, and representatives from heads of state offices of Brazil, China, South Africa, Mexico, Indonesia, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Qatar. Notable delegates included climate negotiators previously engaged in COP15 in Copenhagen and COP16 in Cancún such as representatives from Marshall Islands, Tuvalu, Maldives, Palau, and leaders of negotiating teams from New Zealand, Norway, Switzerland, Belgium, Austria, Ireland, Luxembourg, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, and Croatia. Observers from international NGOs, research institutions like Carbon Disclosure Project, Rocky Mountain Institute, Stockholm Environment Institute, Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research, and private sector entities including major energy companies attended.

Reactions and Criticism

Reactions ranged from cautious approval by proponents of incremental progress including several European Union members and small island delegations, to criticism from activists and some developing country representatives who argued outcomes were insufficient relative to science presented by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and endorsements from organizations such as Friends of the Earth International, Greenpeace International, 350.org, and Oxfam. Critics cited concerns echoed by analysts from International Energy Agency, World Resources Institute, Climate Analytics, E3G, and think tanks in United States, United Kingdom, Germany, and Australia that the Doha Amendment left significant emissions unaddressed and that finance commitments fell short of the pathways recommended by scientific bodies and civil society coalitions.

Legacy and Impact on Subsequent Climate Policy

The Doha outcomes influenced later processes culminating in the Paris Agreement negotiations at COP21 in Paris, shaping debates on legally binding obligations, differentiation between Annex I and Non-Annex I parties, and the operational rules for climate finance and transparency. The Doha Amendment's second commitment period prompted legal and ratification actions in parliaments and national policy adjustments in countries including Canada, Russia, Japan, New Zealand, and European Union member states, while the institutional progress on the Green Climate Fund contributed to capitalization efforts and governance structures that affected multilateral climate finance flows involving institutions like the Asian Development Bank, African Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, and bilateral funders. The conference is referenced in analyses by United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Secretariat, Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, World Bank, International Monetary Fund, and academic centers such as Harvard University, University of Oxford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Stanford University, University of Cambridge, University of California, Berkeley, and London School of Economics for its role in bridging Durban outcomes toward the Paris negotiations.

Category:United Nations climate change conferences