The first Conference ever took place in Stockholm in 1972, it was the first conference that treated the subject of environment in an international way. During this meeting all the heads of state engaged themselves to reunite every 10 years to discuss about the topic of pollution in the world.They also agreed upon a Declaration containing 26 principles concerning the environment and development, an action plan with 109 recommendations and a resolution. This meeting had a huge impact on environmental politics as in 1972 there were no more than 10 Ministry of Environment when in 1982 there were as many as 110 Ministry or secretariat dedicated to environment.
In 1982, the World Charter for Nature was adopted by the U.N on October 28, 1982, it proclaims "five principles of conservation by which all humans conduct affecting nature is to be guided and judged".
Then, in 1992, the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was adopted during the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit followed by the Kyoto protocol in 1997 which is an extension of the UNFCCC.
The goal in the Kyoto protocol was to reduce greenhouse gas reduction which was a milestone in environment politics as well as fighting global warming, the Kyoto protocol was adopted on 11 December 1997 and was effective on 16 February 2005 and as of June 2012 192 parties signed the protocol. On 31 December 2012 the commitment period of the protocol expired and was extended by the Doha amendment which induces new commitments for the 2013-2020 period. As of April 2015, 26 states have signed the extension of the protocol.
Let's hope that the countries all over the world will continue or start the fight against global warming, greenhouse gases emission, and pollution in general so that our world can be a better place and so that we could leave a brighter future for our children.
By Jacques Merry