Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by establishing [Page 1246]reduction targets for participating nations. It is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change and was signed in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997. The Protocol is based on the belief that increases in carbon dioxide and other greenhouse gases are a major cause of global warming, a position supported by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It is modeled in many respects on the Montreal Protocol, an international agreement that focuses on the reduction of ozone-depleting substances to restore the planet's ozone layer, which is widely regarded as a success. By contrast, the Kyoto Protocol was off to a slower start in achieving significant progress in meeting greenhouse gas reduction targets.

The Kyoto Protocol went into effect in February 2005, 90 days after the Russian Federation signed the agreement, thus reaching the threshold of participation to initiate its provisions. The Protocol calls for the reduction of the six primary greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide, hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons, and sulfur hexafluoride. The most significant human-caused sources of greenhouse gas emissions are use of fossil fuels (especially petroleum and coal), deforestation, and use of chlorofluorocarbons.

The Kyoto Protocol separates countries into two categories: Annex 1 and non-Annex 1. Annex 1 countries include industrialized countries that belonged to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development in 1992 and the so-called economies in transition, which include the Russian Federation and a number of central and eastern European countries. Annex 1 signatories produced most greenhouse gases and agreed to reduce emissions collectively by 5.2% below the levels occurring in 1990 by deadlines between 2008 and 2012. Non-Annex 1 countries are developing countries, such as Brazil, China, and India, which have signed the Protocol but do not have targets for controlling the growth of greenhouse gas emissions yet.

Annex 1 countries committed to specific reduction targets in the Protocol. For example, the European Union (EU) agreed to use a joint approach by its then 15 members to meet an 8% overall reduction in emissions. The United States offered to meet a 7% reduction over 1990 emissions levels, while Canada and Japan agreed to a 6% reduction. The Russian Federation agreed to a 0% reduction, meaning that it would not exceed its 1990 emission levels. Several countries were permitted small increases in emissions to allow for modest growth, for example, Norway at 1% and Australia at 8% over 1990 levels.

Countries may meet their targets within their borders in many ways, such as by improving energy efficiency, by shifting energy sources away from heavy reliance on fossil fuels, and by planting forests. The Kyoto Protocol also encourages the use of three market-based “flexible mechanisms” to allow Annex 1 countries to meet their targets at lower costs. These flexible approaches are the clean development mechanism, joint implementation, and emissions trading. The clean development mechanism allows Annex 1 countries to implement emission reduction projects in developing countries in return for certified emission reductions. Joint implementation allows an Annex 1 country to aid in an emission reduction project in another Annex 1 country, while counting the emission reduction credits toward its own country. Finally, emissions trading allows for the trade or sale of emission reduction credits between Annex 1 countries.

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