ABSTRACT
Article 1 For the purposes of this Convention: 1 ‘Adverse effects of climate change’ means changes in the physical environment or biota resulting from climate change which have significant deleterious effects on the composition, resilience or productivity of natural and managed ecosystems or on the operation of socio-economic systems or on human health and welfare. 2 ‘Climate change’ means a change of climate which is attributed directly or indirectly to human activity that alters the composition of the global atmosphere and which is in addition to natural climate variability observed over considerable time periods. 3 ‘Climate system’ means the totality of the atmosphere, hydrosphere, biosphere and geosphere and their interactions. 4 ‘Emissions’ means the release of greenhouse gases and/or their precursors into the atmosphere over a specified area and period of time. 5 ‘Greenhouse gases’ means those gaseous constituents of the atmosphere, both natural and anthropogenic, that absorb and re-emit infra-red radiation. 6 ‘Regional economic integration organisation’ means an organisation constituted by sovereign states of a given region which has competence in respect of matters governed by this Convention or its Protocols and has been duly authorised, in accordance with its internal procedures, to sign, ratify, accept, approve or accede to the instruments concerned. 7 ‘Reservoir’ means a component or components of the climate system where a greenhouse gas or a precursor of a greenhouse gas is stored. 8 ‘Sink’ means any process, activity or mechanism which removes a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas from the atmosphere. 9 ‘Source’ means any process or activity which releases a greenhouse gas, an aerosol or a precursor of a greenhouse gas into the atmosphere. Article 2 The ultimate objective of this Convention and any related legal instruments that the Conference of the Parties may adopt is to achieve, in accordance with the relevant provisions of the Convention, stabilisation of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. Such a level should be achieved within a time-frame sufficient to allow ecosystems to adapt naturally to climate change, to ensure that food production is not threatened and to enable economic development to proceed in a sustainable manner. Article 3 In their actions to achieve the objective of the Convention and to implement its provisions, the parties shall be guided, inter alia, by the following:
future generations of humankind, on the basis of equity and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities. Accordingly, the developed country Parties should take the lead in combating climate change and the adverse effects thereof. 2 The specific needs and special circumstances of developing country parties, especially those that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change, and of those parties, especially developing country parties, that would have to bear a disproportionate or abnormal burden under the Convention, should be given full consideration. 3 The parties should take precautionary measures to anticipate, prevent or minimise the causes of climate change and mitigate its adverse effects. Where there are threats of serious or irreversible damage, lack of full scientific certainty should not be used as a reason for postponing such measures, taking into account that policies and measures to deal with climate change should be costeffective so as to ensure global benefits at the lowest possible cost. To achieve this, such policies and measures should take into account different socioeconomic contexts, be comprehensive, cover all relevant sources, sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases and adaptation, and comprise all economic sectors. Efforts to address climate change may be carried out co-operatively by interested Parties. 4 The parties have a right to, and should, promote sustainable development. Policies and measures to protect the climate system against human-induced change should be appropriate for the specific conditions of each party and should be integrated with national development programmes, taking into account that economic development is essential for adopting measures to address climate change. 5 The parties should co-operate to promote a supportive and open international economic system that would lead to sustainable economic growth and development in all parties, particularly developing country parties, thus enabling them better to address the problems of climate change. Measures taken to combat climate change, including unilateral ones, should not constitute a means of arbitrary or unjustifiable discrimination or a disguised restriction on international trade.
