International Agreement on Climate Change: Exploring Global Commitments under the Kyoto and Paris Protocols
Global Climate Action at a Crucial Juncture: Challenges and Opportunities in the UNFCCC Framework
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), along with its related agreements—the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement—remain the core international frameworks for global climate action. As we approach COP30 in late 2025, the focus shifts from negotiation and institutional buildup to implementation and progress.
Decision-making Bodies and Implementation
The UNFCCC's governance is exercised through the Conference of Parties (COP), Subsidiary Bodies, and the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to the Paris Agreement (CMA). These bodies play a crucial role in tracking Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and ensuring accountability. About 20-30 Parties are expected to complete Facilitative Multi-Party Climate Process (FMCP) reviews per session, maintaining a two-year cycle.
Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs)
NDCs remain central to global climate action, with many countries, including major emitters, strengthening their commitments. However, collective pledges still fall short of limiting warming to 1.5°C. Current trajectories predict approximately a 2°C or higher rise by 2100, even with full implementation of current pledges. The Paris Agreement anticipates incremental ambition, but experts note that stronger, faster action is critically needed.
Financing
Significant gaps persist in climate finance, especially regarding adaptation. Though reducing emissions receives substantial funding, financing for adaptation measures, particularly for the most vulnerable, remains underfunded. The balance between mitigation and adaptation financing, a goal since 2009, is still not realized, posing a systemic obstacle to meeting the Paris Agreement’s adaptation goals.
Loss and Damage Fund
Recognizing that some climate impacts are now unavoidable, COP27 formally established a loss and damage fund to support vulnerable countries. By 2025, this fund exists but is critically underfunded, limiting its effectiveness. The establishment marks a political breakthrough after decades of debate, but operationalization and adequate financing remain major challenges.
Legal and Political Status
The July 2025 International Court of Justice advisory opinion underscored the legally binding nature of the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C target and confirmed states’ obligations under international law to take ambitious mitigation measures and prevent significant climate harm. This adds substantial legal and political pressure on states to meet their commitments and act on loss and damage.
Emerging Priorities
The incoming COP30 presidency in 2025 emphasizes reinforcing multilateralism, connecting climate action to people’s real lives, and advancing nationwide climate plans and transparency, reflecting a renewed focus on concrete solutions and social dimensions of climate policy.
In summary, the UNFCCC system is at a crucial implementation stage with enhanced transparency and reporting frameworks active; however, ambition gaps in NDCs, insufficient adaptation finance, and underfunded loss and damage mechanisms continue to challenge effective global climate governance. The ICJ’s recent legal opinion strengthens the obligation backdrop, potentially catalyzing more urgent state action ahead of and during COP30.
A detailed list of indicators for transparency and accountability in achieving the Global Adaptation Goal (GGA) is currently under development. International climate finance is a central element of the climate framework convention and the Paris Agreement, with developed countries obligated to financially support the global South. The influence of emerging economies like China, Brazil, and India, and wealthy Gulf states in international climate diplomacy is increasing due to the absence of the United States in climate negotiations. Pressure is mounting for comprehensive reforms within the UNFCCC, including demands for COP majority decisions instead of consensus decisions by all member states, clear rules to prevent conflicts of interest that curb the influence of the fossil industry and private sector, transparency, and participation opportunities for civil society actors and particularly affected population groups.
Current climate protection efforts under existing NDCs would lead to 2.7°C (2.2°C-3.4°C) of global warming, which is unlikely to change significantly with the new round of NDCs due by COP30 in Belém. The Paris Agreement collectively commits nations to limit global warming to 1.5°C, but at least to well below 2°C.
- As the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) prepares for COP30 in 2025, the focus on policy-and-legislation, particularly the strengthening of Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs), has become crucial for meeting the 1.5°C target.
- The role of science, and specifically environmental-science, in informing these policy decisions is paramount, as current trajectories predict a 2°C or higher rise in temperature, even with full implementation of current pledges.
- In the midst of this, economic and social policy must address significant gaps in climate finance, particularly in funding for adaptation measures, to ensure a balanced approach and meet the Paris Agreement’s adaptation goals by 2025.
