What is the Kyoto Treaty?

The Kyoto Treaty (also known as the Kyoto Protocol) is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), which is an international treaty on global warming. Countries that ratify this protocol commit to reduce their emissions of carbon dioxide and five other greenhouse gases, or engage in emissions trading if they maintain or increase emissions of these gases. 141 countries have ratified this agreement (the United States and Australia have not ratified). The formal name of this agreement is the Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The Kyoto Treaty commits currently commits industrialised nations to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases by about 5.2% below the 1990 levels over the next decade. The treaty was drawn up in Kyoto, Japan in 1997 and needed to be ratified by countries who were responsible for at least 55% of the world's carbon emissions in 1990 to come into force. The treaty was revised in Bonn, Germany in 2002 to encourage countries like Russia to ratify it. The Bonn compromises include allowing countries like Russia to offset their targets with carbon sinks, which are areas of forest and farmland that can absorb carbon through photosynthesis. It also reduced cuts of the six greenhouse gases from 5.2% to 2%. This was done to encourage the US, a producer of 36% of emissions in 1990, to ratify the treaty, but the US still refuses. [5]

The treaty went into effect with the ratification of Russia on February 16, 2005. It allows emissions trading and takes into account "carbon dioxide sinks" which are forests and areas of growing vegetation that receive carbon dioxide. Emissions trading consists of buying credits to meet a country's goals with emissions from a country that is far below its emission goal. [1]

Fig 1: Picture of the UN Flag and UNFCCC [1]

To see the current newscast of the fossil fuels industry actions to oppose the Kyoto Treaty click here. (Scroll down and clip is called "Ode to Kyoto") [2]

(Note RealPlayer is required to view this; to download click here)