What is the Kyoto Protocol?

The Kyoto Protocol (short for “Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change”) is an international treaty where 192 parties are committed to reducing greenhouse gases because of global warming.

The Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC, where the Kyoto Protocol was adopted, was held in Kyoto, Japan on 11 December 1997. The treaty would be in effect from 2005 to 2012, and the subsequent Doha Amendment in 2012 would extend the period to 2020.

Why was the Kyoto Protocol created?

The Kyoto Protocol was created because of the realization of the potential dangers of climate change. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), established in 1988, warned of the destructive effects of global warming, including rising sea levels and extreme weather. The Kyoto Protocol was thus an international cooperation to prevent the climate crisis.

What were the main provisions of the Kyoto Protocol?

Parties that ratified the Kyoto Protocol agreed to reduce six key greenhouse gases, including:

Carbon dioxide: The most common greenhouse gas. Set as the standard of measurement using carbon dioxide equivalents.
Methane: In recent times, coming under the concerns of agriculture, infrastructure leaks, and landfills.
Nitrous oxide: Aka laughing gas, but its greenhouse gas effect and ozone layer depleting harm is no joke.
Perfluorocarbons: Often released in industrial processes, like aluminum processing.
Hydrofluorocarbons: A replacement of the ozone-depleting CFC as refrigerants, but poor global management of refrigerator disposal contributes significantly to global warming.
Sulphur hexafluoride: Sometimes used as a party trick to lower voices, but it is highly potent as a greenhouse gas.

Most signatories in Annex I (defined as developed countries and countries transitioning to market economies) were required to set and hit a mandatory target, since the Kyoto Protocol is legally binding. This meant that failing to meet their targets, countries would be required to pay the penalty for their shortfall.

The mechanisms in the Kyoto Protocol

Three market mechanisms were also introduced in the Kyoto Protocol, namely:

International Emissions Trading: Treating greenhouse gases as tradable commodities, acting as paying for the rights of emissions.
Clean Development Mechanism: Encouraging developing countries to invest in clean technology in developing countries.
Joint implementation: Offers flexibility for developed countries to meet their targets while investing in developing countries.

Did the Kyoto Protocol fail?

Arguably, it failed to prevent the climate catastrophe we are facing today. Instead of reducing greenhouse gases, the world saw a 12.7% increase in global greenhouse gas emissions between 2005 and 2012.

Looking back at the Kyoto Protocol now that we are in a climate emergency, there was a lack of understanding and commitment to the climate catastrophe then.

Some key players did not sign the Kyoto Protocol, notably Taiwan (understandably because of political complications with China) and the United States. By 1997, the United States was emitting 5.69 billion tons of CO2, accounting for 23.4% of global emissions. The United States left the treaty because it felt it was unfair to developed countries (https://earth.org/the-kyoto-protocol). This was a time when the term “climate justice” was not mainstream yet.

Countries that were the largest emitters included China (who was considered a developing country and not bound to the Kyoto Protocol) and the United States, whose emissions overshadowed the progress made by countries who successfully met their targets.

2015 Paris Agreement succeeds 1997 Kyoto Protocol

The Paris Climate Accords in 2015 became the spiritual successor of the Kyoto Protocols. Also known as the Paris Agreement, which was non-binding, saw all 196 signatories to limit global temperature increase to under 2 degrees. It replaced the Kyoto Protocol as the main driver in the fight against climate change.

[Reference] United Nations Climate Change
[Reference] The Paris Agreement