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18 Yale J. Int'l L. 451 (1993)
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: A Commentary

handle is hein.journals/yjil18 and id is 459 raw text is: The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change: A Commentary Daniel Bodanskyt ' I. INTRODUCTION ................................................ 453 II. BACKGROUND ................................................. 455 A. Overview of the Problem ....................................... 455 B. Global Warming: The Evolution of an Awareness . ...................... 458 1. The Development of Scientific Consensus ........................... 458 2. The Climate Issue Comes of Age ................................ 460 3. Early International Responses .................................. 461 C. Prologue to the Climate Convention ................................. 471 III. NEGOTIATING HISTORY OF THE INTERGOVERNMENTAL NEGOTIATING COMMITTEE FOR A FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE ......................... 474 A. Obstacles to Agreement ......................................... 475 B. State Interests and General Positions ............................... 478 1. OECD Countries ......................................... 478 2. Developing Countries ...................................... 479 C. The INC Sessions ............................................ 481 1. INC I: Chantilly, Virginia, February 4-14, 1991 ..................... 481 2. INC 2: Geneva, June 19-28, 1991 .............................. 484 3. INC 3: Nairobi, September 9-20, 1991 ........................... 487 4. INC 4: Geneva, December 9-20, 1991 ............................ 488 5. INC 5: New York, February and May 1992 ......................... 489 a. Part I February 18-28, 1992 .............................. 489 b. Extended Bureau Meeting: Paris, April 1992 ..................... 490 c. Part 1I: April 30-May 9, 1992 ............................... 491 IV. COMMENTARY ................................................ 492 A. Framework vs. Substantive Approach ............................... 493 B. Definitions (Article 1) ......................................... 496 C. Preamble, Objective, and Principles ................................ 497 1. Preamble ............................................. 497 2. Objective (Article 2) ........................................ 499 3. Principles (Article 3) ....................................... 501 t Assistant Professor, University of Washington School of Law; J.D. 1984, Yale Law School; M.Phil. 1981, Cambridge University; A.B. 1979, Harvard College. The author attended the third session of the Intergovernmental Negotiating Committee for a Framework Convention on Climate Change (INC) as an observer for the International Council of Environmental Law (ICEL), and the fourth session as an observer for the World Conservation Union (IUCN). He served as a special adviser to the INC Secretariat from January to June 1992, and attended the final sessions of the negotiations in that capacity. His research has been made possible by an International Affairs Fellowship from the Council on Foreign Relations. The views expressed are personal, and do not necessarily reflect those of the INC Secretariat, ICEL, IUCN, or the Council on Foreign Relations. The author would like to express his thanks to Sue Biniaz, Jo Butler, Charles Cowan, Joan Donoghue, Alia Jamal, Richard Kinley, and Seth Osafo for reading all or portions of this article and providing comments and corrections. They are, of course, not responsible for any remaining mistakes or misinterpretations. Earlier versions of portions of this article appeared in Managing Climate Change, 3 Y.B. INT'L ENVTL. L. 60 (G. Handl ed., 1993) and INC 3 & 4: Draft Convention on Climate Change, 22 ENVTL. POL'Y & L. 5 (1992).