New Delhi Conference on Climate Change. (Recent Trends).

The Eighth Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change concluded in New Delhi, India, with 185 countries adopting the Delhi Ministerial Declaration on climate change and sustainable development. The Declaration asserts that in addition to mitigation, high priority must be given to adapting to the adverse impacts of climate change.

The New Delhi Conference adopted a number of decisions on institutions and procedures of the Kyoto Protocol, expected to enter into force in 2003, which commits developed countries to reducing overall emissions of carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases during 2008-2012. A major accomplishment was making the Protocol's Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) fully operational. By channelling private-sector investment into emission reduction projects in developing countries, CDM will promote sustainable development while offering industrialized countries credits against their Kyoto targets.

The Conference concluded three years of work on the procedures for reporting and reviewing emissions data from developed countries. The result is an unprecedented international system for ensuring that national data on greenhouse gas emissions are comparable and credible. This is vital for safeguarding the integrity of the Kyoto agreement and promoting compliance with its emissions targets.

"The New Delhi Conference has achieved its main goals of further strengthening international collaboration on climate change while meeting the requirements of sustainable development", said Joke Waller-Hunter, the Convention's Executive Secretary (see UN Chronicle, Issue 3, 2002). "Now the spotlight must focus on action to accelerate the transitions to climate friendly economies. Industrialized countries have only ten years to reach their Kyoto emissions targets--and the evidence today is that most of them still have a great deal of work to do to reduce their greenhouse gases", she said.