What is the Kyoto Protocol?
The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty that was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in 1997 under the auspices of the United Nations. The treaty is regarded as the first binding agreement under international law to curb climate change and came into force in 2005. As such, the Protocol is a supplementary UN agreement to the 1992 Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kyoto Protocol was replaced by the Paris Climate Agreement in 2015.
Kyoto Protocol: The targets
The main objective of the Kyoto Protocol was to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in industrialized countries by an average of 5.2 percent in the period from 2008 to 2012 compared to the base year 1990. The focus was on the six greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) and halogenated hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs). The EU had committed itself to reducing its emissions by 8 percent between 2008 and 2012 compared to 1990. This target was then divided up between the EU member states in an internal EU procedure. Germany had pledged to emit 21 percent fewer greenhouse gases.
Which countries are in the Kyoto Protocol?
The Kyoto agreement was approved by 191 countries, including all member states of the European Union and major emerging economies such as Brazil, China, India and South Africa. The USA has not yet ratified the Kyoto Protocol. Canada withdrew from the protocol in 2013.
Emissions trading, CDM and JI: the implementation of the Kyoto Treaty
The Kyoto Protocol introduced three flexible mechanisms for implementing the agreement:
- Emissions trading: According to Article 17 of the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries that have more emission allowances (AAUs) than they need can sell these surplus allowances to other countries.
- Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): In accordance with Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries can purchase emission reduction units (ERUs) from climate protection projects in other industrialized countries. This enables them to meet their own emissions targets through projects abroad.
- Joint Implementation (JI): Under Article 12 of the Kyoto Protocol, industrialized countries can acquire certified emission reductions (CERs) by investing in climate protection projects in developing countries and use these to meet their own commitments.
Isthe Kyoto Protocol still valid?
The first commitment period of the Kyoto Agreement ran from 2008 to 2012. After five years of negotiations, the signatory countries agreed in Doha in 2012 on a further commitment period until the end of 2020, when the emissions reduction was raised to 18 percent below the 1990 level. However, not all countries have ratified this amendment. After 2020, the signatory states agreed on the Paris Agreement as part of the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
From Kyoto to the Paris Climate Agreement
The Paris Climate Agreement builds on the framework of the Kyoto Protocol, but expands it considerably by including all countries - both developed and developing. The countries are obliged to make national climate protection contributions, which are to be updated and tightened every five years.