The legal framework for EU-Korea climate change cooperation: Opportunities and challenges under the framework agreement and free trade agreement

Climate change is a threat of global dimensions requiring concerted action at the international level. The first global initiative to address the matter by the international community dates from 1992, when delegates at the UN Conference on Environment and Development signed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). Following its entry into force in 1994, state parties initiated a negotiating path, in order to implement the principles and the ultimate goal of the Convention. In 1997, this culminated in the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol, which imposes quantified greenhouse gasses (GHGs) limitations and reductions on developed countries for a five year commitment period. The reach of the Protocol was limited by the refusal to ratify by the United States –xs one of the major global emitters. However, the Kyoto Protocol eventually entered into force in 2005, following the ratification of Russia, partly thanks to strong EU advocacy. After almost twenty years, the multilateral legal framework to fight global warming has developed into a highly complex regulatory regime, and states are also on a negotiating path to reach a new and even more ambitious global agreement on climate change. However, state parties have still not converged on an agreed pathway towards individual emission reductions. Nevertheless, the negotiations, which took place within the Conferences of the Parties (COP and CMP) of the UNFCCC and the Kyoto Protocol, are proving successful in creating a solid basis for a possible future agreement.