History Behind Kyoto Protocol

1972- 1^st Earth Summit in Stockholm

The world leaders announced their intention to hold a gathering every 10 years to determine the health of the planet

1988- The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)

Created by the UN, IPCC brought together scientists from the world’s governments to find scientific answers to whether the world was warming or cooling

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1990-First Report of IPCC

-IPCC has reason to believe that planet was warming, and human activity was causing it

-IPCC stated it needed more time to be certain given existing models and science

1988- Toronto Conference on the Changing Atmosphere

-One of the first major scientific conferences on climate change

-Called for 20% cut to 1988 greenhouse gas emissions by 2005

-Called effect of climate change “second only to global nuclear war”

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1992- 2^nd Earth Summit, Rio de Janeiro

-Created the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCC), or the ‘Rio Convention’

-Called on the world to stabilise greenhouse gas emissions by 2000

Each year, the countries that ratified the Rio Convention held a Conference of Parties (COP)

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1995- COP-I in Berlin

Reviewed the adequacy of the Rio Convention’s goal of stablising greenhouse gas emissions

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1995- Second Report of the IPCC

Report claimed that “the balance of evidence” pointed to a “discernible human influence on the global climate system”

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1996- COP-II in Geneva

Countries stated that “climate change represented a danger to humanity”

1997- COP-III in Kyoto, Japan

-The countries came up with new targets

-Now, 1990 greenhouse gas emissions would be cut by 5% between 2008 and 2012

-Though 5% is a global target, different countries have different targets:

EU- 8% (Germany committed to 25% and UK to 15% cut)

US-7%

Canada- 6%

-Kyoto Protocol- Amendment to UNFCCC-Adopted on 11 December, 1997

-Was opened to signature for one year during which 84 countries, including the US, signed the protocol

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COP-IV in Beunos Aires

• Beunos Aires Plan of Action developed
• To decide how the Kyoto mechanism (carbon sinks, emissions trading, clean development in the developing world, etc.) would be implemented
• Countries agreed to finalise mechanism through which targets would be achieved by COP-VI, or by 2000

1999- COP-V in Bonn

-Lengthy, complex and arduous negotiations on the mechanisms

2000-COP-VI in The Hague

-Meeting failed largely because of disagreement between EU and US

-Disagreement related to the role of the so called ‘flexibility mechanisms’

-Subsequent meeting in Ottawa also failed due to deep policy gap

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2001 March- Withdrawal of US from the protocol

2001-2002-COP-VI Part 2 in Bonn, COP-VII in Marrakesh

-Broad agreement reached on outstanding issues between remaining parties at COP-VII

-Enabled the protocol to move towards possible ratification

-All countries except US and Australia agreed to the rules for implementing the Kyoto Protocol

2004- Russia Ratifies the Kyoto Protocol

-For the protocol to go into effect, it had to be ratified by the countries who are together responsible for 55% of 1990 global greenhouse gas emissions

-This milestone was achieved once Ratified ratified the agreement

2005-February-The Kyoto Protocol goes into effect

-Kyoto Protocol automatically goes into effect 90 days after enough countries have signed

-February 16, 2005 was marked as the first day the agreement comes into effect