The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Find out more about our work to ensure the UN’s global forum for tackling climate change delivers concrete results for nature.
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The global treaty to tackle climate change
The UNFCCC is a forum for countries to take collective decisions to tackle climate change and adapt to its impacts. Almost every country is signed up and they meet annually, along with civil society, businesses and activists from around the globe. A key milestone was the launch of the Paris Agreement in 2015, which included a legally binding target to limit global warming to 2 degrees, or preferably 1.5 degrees, compared to pre-industrial levels.
What next for the UNFCCC?
COP15 was a pivotal moment for the UNFCCC. Seven years on from the Paris Agreement, it needed to galvanise increased action for climate change. It resulted in a landmark agreement called the the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework, which is designed to halt and restore nature loss by 2030. The world is now looking to see those pledges translate into action on the ground, especially the financial support promised to developing nations.
How is the RSPB involved?
The RSPB is working to ensure the UNFCCC includes nature as a vital and significant part of its future strategies to mitigate and adapt to climate change. We help to coordinate other NGOs to bring together a coherent and robust voice for nature in this space. We also work to link decisions taken on this international stage to the development of domestic climate policies and action across the UK.
Future work
COP15 made progress, but the Kunming-Montreal Global Biodiversity Framework must be used as a basis for action. The pledges made by world leaders, including tackling and reversing deforestation, must be delivered on the ground. We’ll be continuing to advocate for changes to UNFCCC processes and definitions so that nature is supported and not harmed by action taken to tackle climate change.