Explain the various declarations and conventions with regards to common but differentiated responsibilities.

(i)Rio Declaration :It states that states shall cooperate in the spirit of global partnership to conserve, protect and restore the health and integrity of the earth’s ecosystem. It states that in view of the different contributions of global environmental degradation, states have common but differentiated responsibilities. The developed countries acknowledge their responsibilities that they bear in the international pursuit of sustainable development.

(ii) The 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change :  It provides that the parties should act to protect the climate system “on the basis of equality and in accordance with their common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities”.

(iii) The Kyoto Protocol (1997): It is an international agreement settings targets for industrialised countries to cut their greenhouse gas emissions. As the per capita emissions in developing countries is low, China and India were exempted from cutting their greenhouse gas emissions.