Kyoto Protocol

UNFCCC

To achieve stabilization of greenhouse gas concentration

in environment at a level that would prevent dangerous
anthropogenic interference with the climate system.
 Global Warming: Review
• Human activities are causing increased carbon
dioxide gases into the atmosphere due to
fossil fuel emissions
• Although CO2 is one of the most aggressive
GHGs, the large amount of it in our
atmosphere is causing global surface
temperatures to rise
• CO2 accounts for 80% of global warming
 Global Warming: Review
• Greenhouse Gases are trace gases that absorb
infrared radiation in the atmosphere
• A certain level of greenhouse gases are
necessary to sustain life
• Some greenhouse gases include carbon
dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and sulfides
 COP
• Conference of the parties
• 1. COP 1 : Berlin 1995
• Also known as Merlin Mandate which called
upon Annex I Countries to set “quantified
emission limitation or reduction objectives for
post 2000 time frame
• 2. COP-2 : Geneva 1996
• The outcome of this meeting was a
‘ministerial declaration ’calling for the
establishment of legally binding measures for
reducing greenhouse gas emissions.
• 3. COP-3: Kyoto 1997:
• Adoption of Kyoto protocol which specifies
targets and timetables for Annex I countries to
reduce green house gas emissions.
• The Kyoto Protocol treaty was negotiated in December 1997
at the city of Kyoto, Japan and came into force February 16th,
2005.

• The Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework

Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) sets binding
obligations on industrialized countries to reduce emissions of
greenhouse gases.

• The UNFCCC is an international environmental treaty with the

goal of achieving the "stabilization of greenhouse gas
concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent
dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate
system."
 Key Provisions
• In accordance with the Kyoto Protocol, Contracting Parties
from developed countries are committed to reducing their
combined greenhouse gas emissions by at least 5 per cent from
1990 levels by the period 2008-2012.

• Implementation of the legally binding Protocol commitments

promises to produce an historic reversal of the upward trend in
emissions from developed countries.
• In Doha, Qatar, on 8 December 2012, the "Doha
Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol" was adopted. The
amendment includes:

• New commitments for Annex I Parties to the Kyoto

Protocol who agreed to take on commitments in a second
commitment period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December
2020;

• A revised list of greenhouse gases (GHG) to be reported

on by Parties in the second commitment period; and

Amendments to several articles of the Kyoto Protocol

which specifically referenced issues pertaining to the first
commitment period and which needed to be updated for
the second commitment period.
• During the second commitment period,
Parties committed to reduce GHG emissions
by at least 18 percent below 1990 levels in the
eight-year period from 2013 to 2020;
• The Kyoto Protocol also establishes three innovative
mechanisms, known as joint implementation, emissions
trading and the clean development mechanism, which are
designed to help Contracting Parties included in Annex I of the
United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change to
reduce the costs of meeting their emission targets.

• The procedure for the communication and review of

information is established in the Kyoto Protocol. Contracting
Parties from developed countries are required to incorporate in
their national communications the supplementary information
necessary to demonstrate compliance with their commitments
under the Protocol in accordance with guidelines to be
developed.
 Classification of Parties and their
commitments
• Annex I: There are 43 Parties to the UNFCCC listed in
Annex I of the Convention, including the European
Union. These Parties are classified as industrialized
(developed) countries and "economies in transition"
(EITs). The 14 EITs are the former centrally-planned
(Soviet) economies of Russia and Eastern Europe.
• Annex II: Of the Parties listed in Annex I of the
Convention, 24 are also listed in Annex II of the
Convention, including the European Union.
• These Parties are made up of members of
the Organization for Economic Cooperation and
Development (OECD).
• Annex II Parties are required to provide financial
resources to enable developing countries to undertake
emissions reduction activities under the convention and
to help them adapt to adverse effects of climate change.
• To promote the development and transfer of
environmentally friendly technologies to EIT parties and
developing countries to assist them in reducing
their greenhouse gas emissions and manage the impacts
of climate change like Austraila Beljium Canada EU etc
• Non-Annex I: Parties to the UNFCCC not listed in
Annex I of the Convention are mostly low-income
developing countries. Developing countries may
volunteer to become Annex I countries when
they are sufficiently developed.
• Least-developed countries (LDCs): 49 Parties are
LDCs, and are given special status under the
treaty in view of their limited capacity to adapt to
the effects of climate change. Like Ghana, Papua
New Guinea, and Zimbabwe
 Market-based trading mechanisms
provided under Kyoto Protocol:
• Emissions trading
• Emissions trading is a government-mandated,
market-based approach to control pollution by
providing economic incentives for achieving
reductions in the emissions of pollutants

• Emissions trading is established by Article 17 of the Kyoto

Protocol. Annex I Parties may participate in ET for the
purposes of fulfilling their commitments under Article 3.

• Carbon Trading
ET is closely related to the accounting of assigned amounts
under the Kyoto Protocol, the modalities of which are
defined under the following Articles of the Kyoto Protocol:

(a) Article 3: paragraphs 7 and 8 deal with the

establishment of assigned amounts;
(b) Article 3: paragraphs 10, 11 and 12 deal with the
transfer and acquisition of some types of units;
(c) Article 7: paragraph 4 deals with the modalities for
accounting assigned amounts.
•
 Trading System
• 1 carbon unit – 1 ton of CO2
1. CCE
• 2003
• Free from federal governance and is a independent
body. (Factories, Universities, States like Michigan
City like Portland) to work for green pace
• 1 carbon unit – 100 metric tons of CO2

2. EUETS
• 12000 factories and 5 countries
 Eligibility for Kyoto
• 1. National Registry
• 2. Assigned amount of CO2 to be recorded
• 3. Ratify the Kyoto
• 4. Must provide annual report
 Clean Development Mechanism
• The CDM is established by Article 12 of the
Kyoto Protocol to assist non-Annex I Parties in
achieving sustainable development and in
contributing to the ultimate objective of the
Convention, and to assist Annex I Parties in
achieving compliance with their quantified
emission limitation and reduction
commitments under Article 3.
The CDM, defined in Article 12 of the Protocol,
was intended to meet two objectives:

• (1) to assist parties not included in Annex I in

achieving sustainable development and in contributing
to the ultimate objective of the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC),
which is to prevent dangerous climate change; and
• (2) to assist parties included in Annex I in achieving
compliance with their quantified emission limitation
and reduction commitments (greenhouse gas (GHG)
emission caps)

• CDM Executive Board under the guidance of COP of

UNFCCC
• In July 2011, 4,000 MW coal thermal electricity generation plant in
Krishnapatnam in Andhra Pradesh had been registered with the CDM.
• There are total of five coal-fired electricity plants registered with the
CDM, four in India with a capacity of 10,640 MW and one 2,000 MW
plant in China. The five plants are eligible to receive 68.2 million CERs
over a 10-year period with an estimated value of 661 million euros
($919 million) at a CER price of 9.70 euros.

• In September 2012, the Executive Board of the Clean Development

Mechanism adopted rules confirming that new coal thermal power
generation plants could be registered as CDM projects and could use
the simplified rules called 'Programmes of Activities'. The organisation
CDM-Watch described the decision as inconsistent with the objective
of the CDM as it subsidised the construction of new coal power plants.
CDM-Watch described the CERs that would be issued as "non-
additional dirty carbon credits".
 Joint Implementation
• Joint implementation is established by Article 6 of
the Kyoto Protocol to assist Annex I Parties in
meeting their commitments under Article 3.
• Joint implementation (JI) is one of
three flexibility mechanisms set out in the Kyoto
Protocol to help countries with
binding greenhouse gas emissions targets
(the Annex I countries) meet their obligations. JI
is described in Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol.
 Purpose of JI
• To encourage efforts aimed at tacking climate
change in two ways:
– Through the implementation of efficient activities,
technologies and techniques emitting less green
house gases in northern countries
– Through the possibility for the entities subjected
to GHG emission objectives to make additional
emission reductions, at less economic cost.
• Under Article 6, any Annex I country can invest in an
emission reduction project in any other Annex I
country as an alternative to reducing emissions
domestically.
• In this way countries can lower the costs of
complying with their Kyoto targets by investing in
projects that reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an
Annex I country where reducing emissions may be
cheaper, and then using the resulting Emission
Reduction Units (ERUs) towards their commitment
goal.
 Advantages of JI
• Environmental advantage: on both on local and global
level, from the reduction in GHG emissions resulting
from the project.
• Developmental advantage: both economic and social,
for a host country, which benefits from the location of
the project, transfer of technology and related know
how, and introduction of a new source of financing.
• Economic advantage: Due to improved financial
viability of low GHG emission technologies which
favors their application and for entities with GHG
emission reduction commitments at less cost.