International response

Climate change is a global issue requiring policy and science leadership and action from the international community..

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is the international body responsible for providing global advice on, and assessing the international community's understanding of, climate change. Australian scientists and researchers continue to make significant contributions to many areas of this work.

The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) is the primary policy instrument for facilitating a global response. Australia was among the first countries to ratify the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.

In 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was developed through the UNFCCC’s negotiating processes. Although Australia was a signatory of the Kyoto Protocol, it did not ratify the agreement, but did agree to limit emissions to 108 per cent of 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012.

On 3 December 2007, Prime Minister Kevin Rudd ratified the Kyoto Protocol as the first official act of the new Australian Government at the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Bali. The conference culminated in the adoption of the Bali Roadmap for an international agreement on climate change, which is essential to reaching a secure climate future. Australia has committed to meeting its Kyoto Protocol target and has set a target to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 60 per cent on 2000 levels by 2050.

As a party to the UNFCCC, Australia will be a participant in the United Nations Climate Change Conference in Copenhagen in December 2009 to determine the post-2012 international framework to deliver global emission reductions.