What is the Kyoto Protocol?
The Kyoto Protocol was an international agreement that aimed to lower greenhouse gas (GHG) and carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions from human activity. The Kyoto Protocol’s fundamental premise was that developed countries needed to reduce the quantity of CO2 emissions they produced.
On December 11, 1997, the Kyoto Protocol was formally adopted. It took a while for ratification, and on February 16th, 2005, it became effective. The Kyoto Protocol has 192 Parties as of right now.
The Kyoto Protocol, in short, operationalizes the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change by requiring industrialised nations and economies in transition to set and achieve individual emission reduction targets for greenhouse gases (GHG). The Convention only requires such nations to develop mitigation-related policies and procedures and to report on a regular basis.
Background
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), an international agreement that obligated its signatories to create national programs to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases, was expanded with the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol. Carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), perfluorocarbons (PFCs), hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs), and sulphur hexafluoride (SF6) are examples of greenhouse gases whose effects on the energy balance of the atmosphere are predicted to result in global warming (also known as the greenhouse effect).
The protocol offered nations a number of ways to meet their goals. One strategy involved using “sinks,” or organic processes that remove greenhouse gases from the atmosphere. For instance, planting plants that absorb carbon dioxide from the atmosphere. Another strategy was the global initiative known as the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM), which urged rich nations to invest in less developed nations’ infrastructure and technology, where there were frequently large opportunities to reduce emissions.
Challenges
Although the Kyoto Protocol was a historic diplomatic achievement, its success was far from certain. Indeed, reports provided within the first two years of the treaty’s implementation suggested that the majority of signatories would fall short of their emission targets. However, even if the targets were met, some opponents argue that the overall benefit to the environment would be minimal because China, the world’s greatest emitter of greenhouse gases, and the United States, the world’s second largest emitter, were not bound by the protocol. In the meantime, some developing countries claimed that strengthening adaptation to climatic variability and change was just as vital as lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
First commitment period: 2008–2012
The Kyoto Protocol commits 37 industrialised countries and the European Community (the European Union-15, which consisted of 15 governments at the time of the Kyoto discussions) to legally binding objectives for GHG emissions. The targets apply to four greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N2O), sulphur hexafluoride (SF6), and two sets of gases: hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs) and perfluorocarbons (PFCs). In order to calculate emission reductions, the six GHGs are converted into CO2 equivalents. These reduction targets are in addition to the industrial gases, chlorofluorocarbons, or CFCs, that are addressed by the 1987 Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete the Ozone Layer.
Doha Amendment results in Kyoto Protocol Extension
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. On December 8, 2012, the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol was agreed in Doha, Qatar, for a second commitment period beginning in 2013 and extending through 2020. As of 28 October 2020, 147 Parties had deposited their instrument of acceptance, bringing the total to 144 for the Doha Amendment’s entry into force. The amendment took effect on December 31, 2020.
The following are included in the amendment:
- New commitments for Annex I Kyoto Protocol Parties who decided to take on commitments in a second commitment period from January 1, 2013 to December 31, 2020;
- A new list of GHG to be reported on by Parties during the second commitment period; and
- Amendments to various Kyoto Protocol paragraphs that particularly highlighted issues from the first commitment period and required to be modified for the second commitment period.
The modification was distributed to all Kyoto Protocol Parties on December 21, 2012, by the Secretary-General of the United Nations, acting in his capacity as Depositary, in line with Articles 20 and 21 of the Protocol.
Specifics of the agreement
The agreement is a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which was adopted at the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit in 1992 but did not include any legally binding emission limits or enforcement methods. Only UNFCCC Parties can become Parties to the Kyoto Protocol. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in 1997 during the third session of the UNFCCC Conference of Parties in Kyoto, Japan.
The Berlin mandate was recognized in the Kyoto Protocol by exempting developing countries from emission reduction requirements during the first Kyoto commitment period. However, the significant potential for rise in developing-country emissions made negotiations on this topic contentious. The Clean Development Mechanism was created in the final agreement to reduce emissions in developing nations, but in such a way that poor countries incur no expenses for doing so. The common expectation was that developing nations would confront quantitative commitments in following commitment periods while affluent countries met their first round commitments.
Kyoto Protocol Mechanisms
The introduction of flexible market mechanisms based on the trading of emission permits was an important component of the Kyoto Protocol. According to the Protocol, countries shall accomplish their targets primarily through national methods. However, the Protocol provides them with three market-based measures to help them fulfil their targets:
- International Emissions Trading
- Clean Development Mechanism
- Joint Implementation
These measures should ideally promote GHG abatement to begin where it is most cost-effective, such as in underdeveloped countries. It makes no difference where emissions are decreased as long as they are lowered.
This has the added benefit of encouraging green investment in developing countries and including the private sector in the effort to reduce and stabilise GHG emissions at a safe level. It also makes leapfrogging more cost-effective—that is, foregoing the use of older, dirtier technology in favour of newer, cleaner infrastructure and systems with obvious long-term benefits.
Process of Ratification
The Protocol was accepted by UNFCCC COP 3 on December 11, 1997, in Kyoto, Japan. It was opened for signature by UNFCCC parties on March 16, 1998, and was signed by Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, the Maldives, Samoa, St. Lucia, and Switzerland. At the end of the signing period, 82 countries and the European Union had signed.
According to Article 25 of the Protocol, the Protocol enters into force “on the ninetieth day after the date on which not less than 55 Parties to the Convention, incorporating Parties included in Annex I that accounted for at least 55% of the total carbon dioxide emissions for 1990 of the Annex I countries, have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval, or accession.”
The Protocol was ratified by the EU and its member states in May 2002. The “55 parties” clause was fulfilled on May 23, 2002, when Iceland ratified the Protocol. The ratification by Russia on November 18, 2004, satisfied the “55%” condition and brought the treaty into force on February 16, 2005, after the required 90-day hiatus.
Tracking emission targets
To maintain openness and hold Parties accountable, the Kyoto Protocol developed a comprehensive monitoring, review, and verification system, as well as a compliance mechanism. According to the Protocol, countries’ actual emissions must be monitored, and detailed records of trades must be kept.
- Registry systems monitor and record transactions made by Parties in accordance with the processes. The UN Climate Change Secretariat in Bonn, Germany, maintains an international transaction record to ensure that transactions follow the Protocol’s rules.
- Parties comply with the Protocol by submitting yearly emission inventories and national reports at regular intervals.
- A compliance system verifies that Parties are meeting their commitments and assists them in meeting their commitments if they are having difficulty doing so.
- Adaptation – The Kyoto Protocol, like the Convention, is intended to help countries adapt to the negative effects of climate change. It makes it easier to design and deploy technology that can assist boost resilience to the effects of climate change.
What is the difference between the Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol?
The Paris Agreement and the Kyoto Protocol both were signed as part of the UNFCCC with the goal of stabilising greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere and preventing harmful human interference with the climate system.
The Kyoto Protocol only obliged developed countries to reduce emissions, whereas the Paris Agreement recognized climate change as a shared problem and compelled all countries to establish emissions targets.
The Kyoto Protocol did not oblige developing countries, notably large carbon emitters China and India, to take action. The United States signed the pact in 1998 but never ratified it and later withdrew its signature.
The Paris Agreement, to which 194 countries have now signed on, compels all countries to reduce their emissions. Governments set targets, known as nationally determined contributions, with the goal of limiting global average temperature rise to less than 2°C above pre industrial levels and pursuing measures to limit temperature rise to less than 1.5°C.
The Kyoto Protocol from Indian Perspective
- The law absolved India from reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
- India emphasised the disparities in the weight of obligation for climate action between developed and developing countries.
- India was able to maintain its responsibilities for socioeconomic growth while also forcing other Annex I developed nations to assume greater responsibility for lowering greenhouse gas emissions.
- India has ratified the Kyoto Protocol’s second commitment period, also known as the Doha Amendment, in order to meet the emission objectives for the period 2012-2020.
- India was the 80th country to ratify the amendment.
Is the Kyoto Protocol still in effect today?
Although the protocol has been superseded by the Paris Agreement, it remains as an important aspect of environmental and conservation history. The original ratifiers of the Kyoto Protocol have signed the Paris Agreement.
Conclusion
The Kyoto Protocol was created in response to concerns about climate change. The treaty was an agreement between industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and carbon dioxide emissions.
The framework achieved the UN’s goal of mitigating the repercussions of global warming, such as an increase in general seal populations, the extinction of some island governments, glacier melting, and an increase in extreme weather occurrences.
The Kyoto Protocol is widely considered as a historic legislative achievement as one of the most important international climate change treaties. The Paris Agreement supplanted the Kyoto Protocol, yet it remains an important milestone in environmental history.
Works Cited
- “Kyoto Protocol, 1997.” ClearIAS, 4 January 2023, https://www.clearias.com/kyoto-protocol/. Accessed 24 July 2023.
- “Kyoto Protocol | History, Provisions, & Facts.” Britannica, 14 July 2023, https://www.britannica.com/event/Kyoto-Protocol. Accessed 24 July 2023.
- “What is the Kyoto Protocol?” UNFCCC, https://unfccc.int/kyoto_protocol. Accessed 24 July 2023.
- “What Is The Kyoto Protocol? Definition, History, Timeline, Status.” Investopedia, https://www.investopedia.com/terms/k/kyoto.asp. Accessed 24 July 2023.
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Written by- Meghana D
