This is a list of notable events relating to the

environment Environment most often refers to: __NOTOC__ * Natural environment, all living and non-living things occurring naturally * Biophysical environment, the physical and biological factors along with their chemical interactions that affect an organism or ...

in 1992. They relate to environmental law,

conservation Conservation is the preservation or efficient use of resources, or the conservation of various quantities under physical laws. Conservation may also refer to: Environment and natural resources * Nature conservation, the protection and managem ...

environmentalism Environmentalism or environmental rights is a broad philosophy, ideology, and social movement regarding concerns for environmental protection and improvement of the health of the environment, particularly as the measure for this health seeks ...

and

environmental issue Environmental issues are effects of human activity on the biophysical environment, most often of which are harmful effects that cause environmental degradation. Environmental protection is the practice of protecting the natural environment on t ...

Events

*The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change supplementary report of 1992 was published to contribute to the debate on the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change at the 1992 Earth Summit, held in Rio de Janeiro. *Henry W. Kendall, a former chair of the Union of Concerned Scientists (UCS) board of directors, wrote "

World Scientists' Warning to Humanity The "World Scientists' Warning to Humanity" was a document written in 1992 by Henry W. Kendall and signed by about 1,700 leading scientists. Twenty-five years later, in November 2017, 15,364 scientists signed "World Scientists' Warning to Humanity ...

", which begins: "Human beings and the natural world are on a collision course." A majority of the Nobel Prize laureates in the sciences signed the document; about 1,700 of the world's leading scientists appended their signature. *A moratorium is placed on the Northern Cod fishery by the Canadian government after a collapse in the annual harvested quantity.

January

* A storm in the North Pacific Ocean causes a shipping container containing 28,800

Friendly Floatees Friendly Floatees are plastic bath toys (including rubber ducks) marketed by The First Years and made famous by the work of Curtis Ebbesmeyer, an oceanographer who models ocean currents on the basis of flotsam movements. Ebbesmeyer studied the ...

to be washed aboard. The resulting flotsam was later used to track ocean currents.

March

*The

Mingbulak oil spill The Mingbulak oil spill also known as the Fergana Valley oil spill was the worst terrestrial oil spill in the history of Asia. The oil spill was caused by a blowout on March 2, 1992 at the Mingbulak oil field in the Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan at w ...

was a massive terrestrial oil spill at the Mingbulak oil field in the Fergana Valley, Uzbekistan. It was the worst oil spill in the history of Asia and the oil coming out of the well caught fire and burnt for two months.

April

*The ''Katina P'', a Greek oil tanker carrying 72,000 tonnes of oil, sank off the Mozambique coast.

May

*The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, usually known simply as the

Basel Convention The Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes and Their Disposal, usually known as the Basel Convention, is an international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations ...

, enters into force. It is an international treaty that was designed to reduce the movements of hazardous waste between nations, and specifically to prevent transfer of hazardous waste from developed to less developed countries.

June

*The

United Nations Conference on Environment and Development The United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), also known as the Rio Conference or the Earth Summit (Portuguese: ECO92), was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro from June 3 to June 14, 1992. Earth Su ...

(UNCED), also known as the Rio Summit, Rio Conference, Earth Summit (Portuguese: Eco '92) was a major United Nations conference held in Rio de Janeiro. * The Amendment Act on Reduction of Total Amount of Nitrogen Dioxide and Particulate Matters Originating from Automobiles in Designated Areasis passed in Japan, setting the maximum emissions of nitrogen dioxide (NOx) and particulate matters(PMs) allowed by trucks, buses, and diesel passenger vehicles.

September

* The Convention for the Protection of the Marine Environment of the North-East Atlantic (OSPAR) concludes in

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), ma ...

, creating the OSPAR Commission.

December

*The ''Aegean Sea'' oil tanker exploded and caused an oil spill off the coast of Spain.