United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international response to our planet's changing climate. Serving as a means through which governments have opted to deal with the threat of global warming, the UNFCCC was adopted at the 1992 Earth Summit in Rio de Janeiro. The ultimate objective of the convention is to stabilize greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous interference with Earth's climate.

As of May 2000, 184 countries had ratified the UNFCCC. Since 1994, when the UNFCCC entered into force, the Conference of the Parties, the decision making body of the convention, has met 5 times. In addition, the have met 12 times, and various workshops have been held to help climate change goals in such areas as agriculture, energy, and national resources. By sharing technology, such programs help to slow climate change caused by energy production, transportation, industry, agriculture, forestry, and waste management.

The UNFCCC's home page is located at http://www.unfccc.int/. The site introduces five main programs of the convention: Planning, Coordination and Emerging Issues; Implementation; Science and Technology; Intergovernmental and Conference Affairs; and Information, Outreach and Administration Services. These UNFCCC programs work to further develop the commitments individual countries have to lessening climate change. There are also links to resources such as a greenhouse gas inventory database under the What's New? box on the opening page. Within this database, tables include an analysis of each country's greenhouse gas emissions by gas, source, and year. Clicking on Resources under the opening page's sidebar leads to an index of official documents including detailed information about sessions of the Conference of the Parties, the subsidiary parties, and workshops.

The UNFCCC requires industrialized countries to achieve quantified targets for decreasing greenhouse gas emissions. In order to strengthen the international response to climate change, the Kyoto Protocol was adopted under the convention in 1997. Under the Kyoto Protocol, countries agree to cuts in emissions of three of the most important gases: carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The site features the latest ratification lists on the convention and the Kyoto Protocol, as well as the full texts of the convention and the protocol, under the Resources link. By following the Country Information link under Resources, users can click on a country's name for its individual data, such as the date that it ratified the convention.

The convention lists participating countries in two designations: the Annex I and Annex II Parties. The Annex I Parties include both the 24 relatively wealthy countries that were members of the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 1992, the European Union, and countries with economies in transition, such as the Russian Federation and several other Central and Eastern European counties. These countries are committed to adopting national policies and measures aimed at returning their greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. They must also submit regular reports, known as national communications, detailing their climate change policies and annual inventories of their greenhouse gas emissions. The Annex II Parties, a subset of the Annex I Parties, include wealthier countries--the 24 OECD countries and the European Union--which have a special obligation to help developing countries with financial and technological resources. The third national communication from Annex I Parties is due 30 November 2001. These national communications are reviewed by a team of experts and are available by clicking the National Communication heading under the Resources link.

Finally, also included under the Resources link are the Climate Change Information Kit and the Guide to the Climate Change Process. These two documents Provide an introductory look at the climate change problem itself and answer frequently asked questions about climate change.