The , the first international treaty to set legally binding targets to cut greenhouse gas emissions, was adoped 25 years ago, on 11 December 1997, in Kyoto, Japan. The agreement, which entered into force in 2005 and was ratified by 192 Parties, has since been superseded by the Paris Agreement, but remains a historic landmark in the international fight against climate change.
The Kyoto Protocol committed industrialized countries to reduce their greenhouse gases emissions in accordance with agreed individual targets. Under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibility and respective capabilities,” the Protocol mandated that cut their greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 per cent below 1990 levels, and established a system to monitor countries’ progress.
The Kyoto Protocol only binds developed countries, as they are largely responsible for the high levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.
To enable countries to meet their emissions reduction targets, the Kyoto Protocol established three market-based mechanisms: Through , countries that emit less than they are allowed to can sell this amount to industrialized countries that produce more than they should. In this way, it becomes economically beneficial to reduce emissions. With the and the mechanism, countries can invest in an emission-reducing project and gain credit points.
In December 2012, after the first commitment period of the Protocol ended, parties to the Kyoto Protocol met in Doha, Qatar, to adopt an amendment to the original Kyoto agreement. This so-called Doha Amendment added new emission-reduction targets for the second commitment period, 2012–2020, for participating countries.
In 2015, however, countries agreed on yet another legally binding climate treaty, the Paris Agreement, which entered into force in November 2016 and effectively replaced the Kyoto Protocol.
How is the Paris Agreement different?
Both treaties were concluded under the with the objective of stabilizing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and preventing dangerous human interference with the climate system.
The Kyoto Protocol required only developed countries to reduce emissions, while the Paris Agreement recognized that climate change is a shared problem and called on all countries to set emissions targets.
The Kyoto Protocol did not compel developing countries, including major carbon emitters China and India, to take action. The United States signed the agreement in 1998 but never ratified it and later withdrew its signature.
The Paris Agreement, which now has 194 Parties, requires all countries to reduce their emissions. Governments set targets, known as nationally determined contributions, with the goals of preventing the global average temperature from rising more than 2°C above preindustrial levels and pursuing efforts to keep temperature rise below 1.5°颁.
