Where did the Kyoto Protocol come from?
In August of 1990, the IPCC released the “First Assessment Report”. This document concluded that human activities were increasing the atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases (GHG’s). It also stated that the increased concentrations would result in an enhancement of the greenhouse effect. Its conclusions were followed by the recommendation of a 60-80% reduction in GHG emissions. These results led to the agreement that an international treaty was needed that would be directed at curbing GHG’s. In 1991, the first negotiating session of the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was held just outside Washington. In May of 1992, negotiations were completed. This resulted in Annex I countries, the 34 countries that make up the industrialized world***, agreeing to reduce their CO2 emission levels to those emitted in 1990. The United States, though, refused to make this target and timetable legally binding, forcing more progressive nations to compromise their positions in
