What is the Kyoto protocol?
The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) entered into force on Wednesday 16 February 2005. It is the first international treaty designed to reduce Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions, of which Carbon Dioxide (CO2) is the most widely known example. Developed countries, as listed in Annex I to the UNFCCC and which are Parties to the Protocol, must achieve a total cut in their GHG emissions of at least 5% from 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008-2012. Developing countries do not yet have to take emissions reduction measures. Parties to the Protocol are obliged to submit annual greenhouse gas emissions inventories to the UNFCCC. These inventories must include emissions from domestic aviation. Emissions from international aviation and maritime transportation (also known as international bunker fuel emissions) are reported separately and are not subject to the limitation and reduction commitments of Annex I Parties. ICAO has been specifically
The Kyoto Protocol is a legally binding international plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. It set targets for industrialised countries to reduce their pollution, and established an international emissions trading system. The Protocol inlcudes developing countries through a major program, the Clean Development Mechanism, which allows developed countries to invest in clean energy and emissions reduction projects in the developing world, and use the emissions reductions to help meet their domestic targets. The first commitment period for emissions cuts runs from 2008 to 2012, and targets for post 2012 are being negotiated now.
The Kyoto Protocol is a global agreement made under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Countries that have ratified the protocol are committed to reducing their emissions of 6 greenhouse gases. More than 160 countries (not including Australia) have signed the Kyoto Protocol and which means it covers over 55% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Other protocols, such at the Montreal Protocol also limit or stop the use of greenhouse gases.
Most countries around the world are party to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which aims to get countries to work together to consider what could be done to reduce global warming and to cope with whatever temperature increases are inevitable. The Kyoto Protocol is an additional international agreement with more powerful and legally binding measures. It commits Annex I Parties to individual, legally-binding targets to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. The commitments equate to a total cut in greenhouse gas emissions of at least 5% from 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008-2012.
The Kyoto Protocol, known formally as the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, is an international agreement that sets targets for the emissions of six major greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), and sulfur hexafluoride (SF6). Under the Kyoto Protocol, 37 developed countries plus the European community must reduce their emissions of these greenhouse gases by an average of five percent of 1990 levels between 2008 and 2012. Developed countries are largely supposed to meet these targets by reducing emissions within their own borders, but may also achieve credit through emissions trading with other developed countries and by contributing to emissions reduction projects in both developing and developed countries. To date, 182 parties have ratified the Kyoto Protocol, including all developed nations except for the United States. For a summary see The Kyoto Protoco
