Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an International Agreement under the United Nation Framework Convention on Climate Change (hereinafter referred as "UNFCCC") with the ultimate goal of archieving "stabilization of greenhouse gas (GHG) concentrations in the atmosphare at a level that would prevent dangarous anthropogenic interference with the climate system. "Kyoto Protocol" was adopted at the Conference of the Parties in Kyoto, Japan on December 11, 1997 and enter into force on February 16, 2005, in accordance with the Article 23, in which defined as "the ninetieth day after the date on which not less than 55 Parties to the UNFCCC, incorporating Parties included in Annex I which accounted in total for at least 55 % of the total carbon dioxide emissions for 1990 of the Parties included in Annex I, have deposited their instruments of ratification, acceptance, approval or accession". 191 parties (190 countries and 1 Regional Economic Integration Organization) ratified the Protocol.

Under the Kyoto Protocol, All parties in the list of Annex I Parties committed their target to reduce six types of greenhouse in a level of 5.2% from the benchmark of 1990’s level by the year 2012, while the Protocol define three flexible mechanism, so called “Kyoto Mechanism” or Joint Implementation (J/I) , Clean Development Mechanism (CDM) , and Emission Trading (ET), and can be used by Annex I Parties to meet their emission reduction commitments.

Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka had accessed the Protocol on September 3, 2002. For more information please see "Progress in Sri Lanka" in History & Background

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1.United Nation Framework for Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)
Please see UNFCCC for detailed information

2. Greenhouse Gases (Kyoto Protocol Annex A)

Carbon dioxide (CO2)
Methane (CH4)
Nitrous oxide (N2O)
Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs)
Perfluorocarbons (PFCs)

Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

List of Greenhouse gas Global Warming Point

Greenhouse Gases

GWPs

Utilization

Name

Carbon Dioxide

CO2

Methane

CH4

Nitrous Oxide

N2O

310

Trifluoromethane (HFC-23)

CHF3

11,700

Chemical Plant, Screw Compressor

Difluoromethane (HFC-32)

CH2F2

650

Fluoromethanes (HFC-41)

CH3F

150

1.1.1.2.2 Pentafluoroethane (HCF-125)

C2HF5

2,800

1.1.2.2 Tetrafluoroethane (HCF-134)

C2H2F4

1,000

1.1.1.2 Tetrafluoroethane (HCF-134a)

CH2HFCF3

1,300

Freezer for Transporter (Truck, Train, Vessel)

1.1.2 Trifluoroethane (HCF-143)

C2H3F3

300

1.1.1 Trifluoroethane (HCF-143a)

C2H3F3

3,800

1.1 Difluoroethane (HCF-152a)

C2H4F2

140

1.1.1.2.3.3.3 Heptafluoropropylene (HFC-227ea)

C3HF7

2,900

1.1.1.3.3.3 Hexafluoropropylene HFC-236fa)

C3H2F6

6,300

1.1.2.2.3 Pentafluoropropylene (HFC-245ca)

C3H3F5

560

Turbo Compressor

1.1.1.2.3.4.4.5.5.5 Decafluoropropylene (HFC- 43- 10mee)

C5H2F10

1,300

Perfluoromethane (PFC-14)

CF4

6,500

Perfluoroethane (PFC-116)

C2F6

9,200

Perfluoropropane (PFC-218)

C3F8

7,000

Perfluorobutane (PFC-31-10)

C4F10

7,000

Perfluorocyclobutane (PFC-c318)

c-C4F8

8,700

Perfluoropentane (PFC-41-12)

C5F12

7,500

Perfluorohexane (PFC-51-14)

C6F14

7,400

Sulfer Haxafluoride

SF6

23,900

Pentafluorobutane

910

Lists of Annex I Parties & Non Annex I Parties Non Annex I Parties were made by UNFCCC in 1995. Members for Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) and parties of economic in transition are listed in the List of Annex I Parties, while the others are listed in the List of Non Annex I Parties.

3. Annex-I parties & their committed target on Emission Reduction (2008-2012)

Australia	+8%	Greece	-8%	Norway	+1%
Austria	-8%	Hungary *	-6%	Poland *	-6%
Belgium	-8%	Iceland	+10%	Portugal	-8%
Bulgaria *	-8%	Ireland	-8%	Romania *	-8%
Canada	-6%	Italy	-8%	Russian Federation *	0%
Croatia	-5%	Japan	-6%	Slovakia *	-8%
Czech Republic *	-8%	Latvia *	-8%	Slovenia *	-8%
Denmark	-8%	Liechtenstein	-8%	Spain	-8%
Estonia *	-8%	Lithuania *	-8%	Sweden	-8%
European Community	-8%	Luxembourg	-8%	Switzerland	-8%
Finland	-8%	Monaco	-8%	Ukraine *	0%
France	-8%	Netherlands	-8%	United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland	-8%
Germany	-8%	New Zealand	0%	United States of America	-7%

* Countries that are undergoing the process of transition to a market economy.

4) Non Annex-I parties

Afghanistan	Congo	Iran (Islamic Republic of)	Nauru	Somalia
Albania **	Cook Islands	Iraq	Nepal	South Africa
Algeria	Costa Rica	Israel	Nicaragua	Sri Lanka
Angola	Cuba	Jamaica	Niger	Sudan
Antigua and Barbuda	Cyprus	Jordan	Nigeria	S uriname
Argentina	Côte d'Ivoire	Kazakhstan **	Niue	Swaziland
Armenia **	DPR of Korea	Kenya	Oman	Syrian Arab Republic
Azerbaijan	DR of the Congo	Kiribati	Pakistan	Tajikistan
Bahamas	Djibouti	Kuwait	Palau	Thailand
Bahrain	Dominica	Kyrgyzstan	Panama	The former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia
Bangladesh	Dominican Republic	Lao PDR	Papua New Guinea	Timor-Leste
Barbados	Ecuador	Lebanon	Paraguay	Togo
Belize	Egypt	Lesotho	Peru	Tonga
Benin	El Salvador	Liberia	Philippines	Trinidad and Tobago
Bhutan	Equatorial Guinea	Libyan Arab Jamahiriya	Qatar	Tunisia
Bolivia	Eritrea	Madagascar	Republic of Korea	Turkmenistan **
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Ethiopia	Malawi	Republic of Moldova **	Tuvalu
Botswana	Fiji	Malaysia	Rwanda	Uganda
Brazil	Gabon	Maldives	Saint Kitts and Nevis	United Arab Emirates
Brunei Darussalam	Gambia	Mali	Saint Lucia	United Republic of Tanzania
Burkina Faso	Georgia	Marshall Islands	Saint Vincent and the Grenadines	Uruguay
Burundi	Ghana	Mauritania	Samoa	Uzbekistan **
Cambodia	Grenada	Mauritius	San Marino	Vanuatu
Cameroon	Guatemala	Mexico	Sao Tome and Principe	Venezuela (Bolivarian Republic of)
Cape Verde	Guinea	Micronesia (FS of	Saudi Arabia	Vietnam
Central African Republic	Guinea-Bissau	Mongolia	Senegal	Yemen
Chad	Guyana	Montenegro	Serbia	Zambia
Chile	Haiti	Morocco	Seychelles	Zimbabwe
China	Honduras	Mozambique	Sierra Leone
Colombia	India	Myanmar	Singapore
Comoros	Indonesia	Namibia	Solomon Islands

* Observer State
** Party for which there is a specific COP and/or CMP decision

2. Kyoto Mechanisms
Under Kyoto Protocol additional means of meeting emission reduction target were set by allowing Annex I countries to count GHG emission reduced in another country as its own reduction.

Under Kyoto Protocol, the Annex I countries are to reduce GHG emissions by national measures, but also market-based mechanism; i.e. Joint Implementation (Article 6), Clean Development Mechanism (Article 12), and Emission Trading (Article 17) can be used to meet the reduction target.

Joint Implementation and Emission Trading are implemented in developed countries while CDM is implemented between a government or party in developed nation and that of developing countries in which emission reduction can be counted for developed nation in exchange of technology tranfer / financial assistance to the developing country.

Clean Development Mechanism
Please see CDM for detailed information

Joint Implementation

Joint Implementation and Emission Trading are mechanisms introduced under Kyoto Protocol where a developed country (Annex I country with committed target) can earn carbon credit (ERUs: Emission Reduction Units) from another developed country (Annex I country) to meet the GHG emission reduction target of the investing country/party.

Through this scheme, host country can benefit investment and technology transfer while the investing country can obtain the emission reduction at cost-effective manner. In emission trading, carbon credit is traded among industrialized countries.

Joint Implementation or so call, J/I is defined under Article 6 of Kyoto Protocol as one of three mechanisms to help Annex B countries to achieve their target or obligation by earning emission reduction units (ERUs) with flexible & cost efficient means from any emission reduction or emission removal activities and/or projects implemented in another Annex B countries.

There are two tracks for J/I or Track 1 & Track 2, depending on whether host country comply with six categorized eligibilities or not. For the case host country comply with all of 6 eligibilities, then Track 1 or simplified JI procedure might be applied, while not, host country shall apply for Track 2.

Emission Trading

Emission Trading are mechanisms introduced under Kyoto Protocol where a developed country (Annex I country with committed target) can earn carbon credit (ERUs: Emission

Land-use Land-use change Forestry (LULUCF)
The parties decided that greenhouse gas removals and emissions through certain activities are accounted for in meeting the Kyoto Protocol’s emission targets under Article 3.3 and the Parties could elect additional human-induced activities related to LULUCF, specifically, forest management, cropland management, grazing land management and re-vegetation, to be included in its accounting for the first commitment period under Article 3.4 of the Kyoto Protocol.

For further information. Please refer to Joint Implementation / Home of UNFCCC