Kyoto Protocol

KYOTO PROTOCOL
IN FULL Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change,
international treaty, named for the Japanese city in which it was adopted

in December 1997, that aimed to reduce the emission of gases that
contribute to global warming. In force since 2005, the protocol called for
reducing the emission of six greenhouse gases in 41 countries plus
the European Union to 5.2 percent below 1990 levels during the
“commitment period” 2008–12. It was widely hailed as the most significant
environmental treaty ever negotiated, though some critics questioned its
effectiveness.
Background and provisions

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted as the first addition to the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international
treaty that committed its signatories to develop national programs to
reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases, such
as carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O),
perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and sulfur
hexafluoride (SF6), affect the energy balance of the global atmosphere in
ways expected to lead to an overall increase in global average temperature,
known as global warming (see also greenhouse effect). According to
the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, established by the United
Nations Environment Programme and the World Meteorological
Organization in 1988, the long-term effects of global warming would
include a general rise in sea level around the world, resulting in the
inundation of low-lying coastal areas and the possible disappearance of
some island states; the melting of glaciers, sea ice, and Arctic permafrost;
an increase in the number of extreme climate-related events, such
as floods and droughts, and changes in their distribution; and an increased
risk of extinction for 20 to 30 percent of all plant and animal species. The
Kyoto Protocol committed most of the Annex I signatories to the UNFCCC
(consisting of members of the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and
Development and several countries with “economies in transition”) to
mandatory emission-reduction targets, which varied depending on the
unique circumstances of each country. Other signatories to the UNFCCC
and the protocol, consisting mostly of developing countries, were not
required to restrict their emissions. The protocol entered into force in
February 2005, 90 days after being ratified by at least 55 Annex I
signatories that together accounted for at least 55 percent of total carbon
dioxide emissions in 1990.
The protocol provided several means for countries to reach their targets.
One approach was to make use of natural processes, called “sinks,” that
remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. The planting of trees,
which take up carbon dioxide from the air, would be an example. Another
approach was the international program called the Clean Development
Mechanism (CDM), which encouraged developed countries to invest in
technology and infrastructure in less-developed countries, where there
were often significant opportunities to reduce emissions. Under the CDM,
the investing country could claim the effective reduction in emissions as a
credit toward meeting its obligations under the protocol. An example would
be an investment in a clean-burning natural gas power plant to replace a
proposed coal-fired plant. A third approach was emissions trading, which
allowed participating countries to buy and sell emissions rights and thereby
placed an economic value on greenhouse gas emissions. European
countries initiated an emissions-trading market as a mechanism to work
toward meeting their commitments under the Kyoto Protocol. Countries
that failed to meet their emissions targets would be required to make up the
difference between their targeted and actual emissions, plus a penalty
amount of 30 percent, in the subsequent commitment period, beginning in
2012; they would also be prevented from engaging in emissions trading
until they were judged to be in compliance with the protocol. The emission
targets for commitment periods after 2012 were to be established in
future protocols.
Challenges
Although the Kyoto Protocol represented a landmark diplomatic
accomplishment, its success was far from assured. Indeed, reports issued in
the first two years after the treaty took effect indicated that most
participants would fail to meet their emission targets. Even if the targets
were met, however, the ultimate benefit to the environment would not be
significant, according to some critics, since China, the world’s leading
emitter of greenhouse gases, and the United States, the world’s second
largest emitter, were not bound by the protocol (China because of its status
as a developing country and the United States because it had not ratified
the protocol). Other critics claimed that the emission reductions called for
in the protocol were too modest to make a detectable difference in global
temperatures in the subsequent several decades, even if fully achieved with
U.S. participation. Meanwhile, some developing countries argued that
improving adaptation to climate variability and change was just as
important as reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
Treaty extension and replacement

At the 18th Conference of the Parties (COP18), held in Doha, Qatar, in
2012, delegates agreed to extend the Kyoto Protocol until 2020. They also
reaffirmed their pledge from COP17, which had been held in Durban, South
Africa, in 2011, to create a new, comprehensive, legally binding climate
treaty by 2015 that would require greenhouse-gas-producing countries—
including major carbon emitters not abiding by the Kyoto Protocol (such as
China, India, and the United States)—to limit and reduce their emissions of
carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases. The new treaty, planned for
implementation in 2020, would fully replace the Kyoto Protocol.
After a series of conferences mired in disagreements, delegates at

the COP21, held in Paris, France, in 2015, signed a global but nonbinding
agreement to limit the increase of the world’s average temperature to no
more than 2 °C (3.6 °F) above preindustrial levels while at the same time
striving to keep this increase to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) above preindustrial levels.
The landmark accord, signed by all 196 signatories of the UNFCCC,
effectively replaced the Kyoto Protocol. It also mandated a progress review
every five years and the development of a fund containing $100 billion by
2020—which would be replenished annually—to help developing countries
adopt non-greenhouse-gas-producing technologies

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KYOTO PROTOCOL

IN FULL Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework

international treaty, named for the Japanese city in which it was adopted

Background and provisions

Treaty extension and replacement

After a series of conferences mired in disagreements, delegates at

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