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UPSC Prelims 2010 · Environment · Rules for the Planet
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is an international treaty drawn at
- (a) United Nations Conference on the Human Environment, Stockholm, 1972
- (b) UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 1992
- (c) World Summit on Sustainable Development, Johannesburg, 2002
- (d) UN Climate Change Conference, Copenhagen, 2009
Show the answer and explanation
Answer: (b) UN Conference on Environment and Development, Rio de Janeiro, 1992
The UNFCCC was opened for signature at the Rio Earth Summit, 1992.
The idea
A framework convention fixes the goal and the principles but gives no numbers. Numbers come later through protocols and agreements made under it. The UNFCCC’s goal is to keep greenhouse gases in the air at a level that prevents dangerous human interference with the climate.
Rio Earth Summit, 1992: convention opened for signature → In force, 1994 → COP1 at Berlin, 1995 → Kyoto Protocol, 1997: the first numbers → Paris Agreement, 2015
Why the others are wrong
(a) Stockholm 1972 created UNEP.
(c) Johannesburg 2002 reviewed Rio’s progress.
(d) Copenhagen 2009 was COP15.
Also know
Rio 1992 produced five things: the UNFCCC, the Convention on Biological Diversity, Agenda 21, the Rio Declaration and the Forest Principles. The desertification convention (UNCCD) was agreed two years later. The UNFCCC secretariat is at Bonn, Germany, and the parties meet every year as the COP.
🔒 Rio 1992 → UNFCCC (in force 1994; COP1 Berlin 1995).