The Kyoto Protocol was an agreement negotiated by many countries in December 1997 and came into force with Russia's ratification on February 16, 2005. The reason for the lengthy timespan between the terms of agreement being settled upon and the protocol being engaged was due to terms of Kyoto requiring at least 55 parties to ratify the agreement and for the total of those parties emissions to be at least 55% of global production of greenhouse gases.The protocol was developed under the UNFCCC - the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change.
Participating countries that have ratified (which is an important term that I'll clarify) the Kyoto Protocol have committed to cut emissions of not only carbon dioxide, but of also other greenhouse gases, being:
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)
Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)
If participant countries continue with emissions above the targets, then they are required to engage in emissions trading; i.e. buying "credits" from other participant countries who are able to exceed their reduction targets in order to offset.
The goals of Kyoto were to see participants collectively reducing emissions of greenhouse gases by 5.2% below the emission levels of 1990 by 2012.
While the 5.2% figure is a collective one, individual countries were assigned higher or lower targets and some countries were permitted increases. For example, the USA was expected to reduce emissions by 7%. This chart gives you an idea why different countries were apportioned different targets:
The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol is that it sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions .These amount to an average of five per cent against 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.
The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouragedindustrialised countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so.
Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHG emissions in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activity, the Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.”
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh in 2001, and are called the “Marrakesh Accords.”
The Kyoto Protocol, while well intentioned, would appear to be doomed to failing its objectives even before the 2008-2012 averaging period commences. Carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere are rising at a frightening rate with no sign of slowing. Global temperatures are continuing to rise.
The science behind Kyoto was shaky due to the limited availability of crucial data and knowledge at the time; particularly in regard to positive feedback loops in nature being revealed that amplify warming and prevent carbon dioxide from being absorbed. Scientists studying global warming are finding Nature fighting back in ways they never contemplated daily.
Without the USA ratifying the protocol or recently emerging economic powerhouses such as China reducing emissions drastically; the targets will likely not be met.
Even the "permissible" degree of global warming generated by target levels (if reached) will have far greater environmental impact that was originally envisioned.
Kyoto should be viewed as a stepping stone to more drastic action. And that action is required now.
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