The EU Legal Frameworks - The Sustainability of Renewable Energy in Europe - page 24

This organization has been mainly engaged in two activities such as the publica-
tion of a five-year assessment report on global emissions of GHG with an evalu-
ation of their impact on the climate and a constantly updated publication of IPCC
Guidelines for the assessment of GHG emissions. Another important element of in-
ternational cooperation in climate, environment, and development is represented by
the UNFCCC. The convention has been trying to decide on a level of stabilization
of GHG emissions in a way that would prevent dangerous interference with human
life, ensuring sustainable economic development. The convention, which entered
into force on 21 March 1994, has been ratified by 190 of the 195 states recognized
by the UN (signatory countries are defined parties). The main obligations on the
parties with respect to the UNFCCC have focused on the estimation and reporting
of GHG emissions, their reduction within certain levels and within certain times,
and the promotion of access to relevant information on the relating subject. The
convention divides countries into three main groups according to differing com-
mitments, and they are listed as Annex I parties, Annex II parties, and non-Annex I
parties (Conference of Parties 1997 ).
Annex I parties include the industrialized countries that were members of the
OECD in 1994, plus the Russian Federation, Ukraine and Belarus, and the Central
and Eastern Europe countries defined as economies in transition. Annex II parties
are Annex I countries excluding countries with economies in transition. These coun-
tries are required to provide financial resources to developing countries to help
them to reduce emissions and respond to climate change.
The non-Annex I parties are all signatory countries of the convention that are
not part of Annex I. The distinction between these groups is not only bureaucratic,
but respond to roles, mechanisms, and different instruments. The Conference of the
Parties (COP) is the supreme governing body of the UNFCCC. The formal objec-
tive of the COP focused on the evaluation of the implementation of the convention,
resolutions about the development of new standards of the COP, and the negotiation
of new commitments. All binding policies and the relating methods of implementa-
tion, including the Kyoto Protocol, have been formally approved by the COP.
The UNFCCC and the COP have been supported by an international secretariat
that provides practical and organizational supports, managing all the information
related to the convention, including information direct to the public, through a data-
base accessible via web. The work of the COP is supported by two subsidiary bodies
that are the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advice, a subsidiary
body of scientific and technical advice, and the Subsidiary Body for Implementa-
tion, a subsidiary body of implementation, assisting the COP in the assessment and
revision of an efficient implementation of the convention.
Finally, the Global Environment Facility (GEF) was established in 1991 by the
World Bank and the environmental and development programs of the UN in order
to finance projects in developing countries. Currently, the GEF includes 183 coun-
tries that, through the government institutions, the civil society, and the private sec-
tor, deal with environmental issues by supporting national initiatives for sustainable
development. In particular, the GEF supports projects in biodiversity, land degrada-
tion, climate change, etc.