Kyoto Protocol

Kyoto Protocol

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Annex B parties with binding targets in the second period Annex B parties with binding targets in the first period but not the second non-Annex B parties without binding targets Annex B parties with binding targets in the first period but which withdrew from the Protocol Signatories to the Protocol that have not ratified Other UN member states and observers that are not party to the Protocol
Signed	11 December 1997[1]
Location	Kyoto, Japan
Effective	16 February 2005[1]
Condition	Ratification by at least 55 States to the Convention
Expiration	in force (first commitment period expired 31 December 2012)[2]
Signatories	84[1]
Parties	192[3][4] EU, Cook Islands, Niue and all UN member states, except Andorra, Canada, South Sudan and US
Depositary	Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish

Kyoto Protocol Extension (2012–20)

Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol
Acceptance of the Doha Amendment States that ratified Kyoto protocol parties that did not ratify Non-parties to the Kyoto Protocol
Drafted	8 December 2012
Location	Doha, Qatar
Effective	not in effect
Condition	ratification by 144 (3/4 of 192 Parties) required
Ratifiers	73[5]
Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol at Wikisource

The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the premise that (a) global warming exists and (b) human-made CO₂ emissions have caused it. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. There are currently 192 parties (Canada withdrew effective December 2012)^[4] to the Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol implemented the objective of the UNFCCC to fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to "a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" (Art. 2). The Protocol is based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities: it puts the obligation to reduce current emissions on developed countries on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The Protocol’s first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012. A second commitment period was agreed on in 2012, known as the Doha Amendment to the protocol, in which 37 countries have binding targets: Australia, the European Union (and its 28 member states), Belarus, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have stated that they may withdraw from the Protocol or not put into legal force the Amendment with second round targets.^[8] Japan, New Zealand and Russia have participated in Kyoto's first-round but have not taken on new targets in the second commitment period. Other developed countries without second-round targets are Canada (which withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2012) and the United States (which has not ratified the Protocol). As of July 2016, 66^[9] states have accepted the Doha Amendment, while entry into force requires the acceptances of 144 states. Of the 37 countries with binding commitments, 7 have ratified.

Negotiations were held in the framework of the yearly UNFCCC Climate Change Conferences on measures to be taken after the second commitment period ends in 2020. This resulted in the 2015 adoption of the Paris Agreement, which is a separate instrument under the UNFCCC rather than an amendment of the Kyoto protocol.

The agreement sets out a global action plan to put the world on track to avoid dangerous climate change by limiting global warming to well below 2°C.

Key elements

The Paris Agreement is a bridge between today's policies and climate-neutrality before the end of the century.

Mitigation: reducing emissions

Governments agreed

• a long-term goal of keeping the increase in global average temperature to well below 2°C above pre-industrial levels;
• to aim to limit the increase to 1.5°C, since this would significantly reduce risks and the impacts of climate change;
• on the need for global emissions to peak as soon as possible, recognising that this will take longer for developing countries;
• to undertake rapid reductions thereafter in accordance with the best available science.

Before and during the Paris conference, countries submitted comprehensive national climate action plans (INDCs). These are not yet enough to keep global warming below 2°C, but the agreement traces the way to achieving this target.