Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol differentiated climate responsibilities by requiring developed countries to meet binding emission targets while not imposing such targets on developing countries. Adopted in 1997 under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), it translated the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities into an asymmetric system of commitments.

Basis of differentiation

The distinction reflected developed countries’ greater historical contribution to greenhouse gas accumulation and their greater capacity to respond. It also recognised developing countries’ needs for economic development and poverty eradication.

• The Convention’s Annex I broadly covers industrialised countries and economies in transition; non-Annex I Parties are principally developing countries.
• The principle of common but differentiated responsibilities and respective capabilities meant that all countries shared responsibility for climate protection, but their obligations were not identical.

Binding targets for developed countries

Under Article 3, Annex I Parties were assigned quantified emission limitation or reduction commitments, with country-specific commitments recorded in Annex B.

• For the first commitment period, 2008-2012, their aggregate emissions of covered greenhouse gases were to be at least 5% below 1990 levels.
• Individual commitments differed among countries; the collective reduction requirement was not a uniform percentage cut for every developed country.
• Parties with targets had to account for emissions against their assigned amounts, supported by inventory reporting and expert review.
• Emissions trading, Joint Implementation and the Clean Development Mechanism provided flexibility in meeting commitments rather than removing the obligation to comply.

Developing countries’ responsibilities and participation

Developing countries, including India, had no binding quantified emission limitation or reduction targets under Kyoto. This did not mean that they had no climate responsibilities.

• Article 10 reaffirmed existing Convention commitments without introducing new commitments for non-Annex I Parties, including programmes addressing mitigation and adaptation.
• Developing countries continued to have obligations concerning national communications and greenhouse gas information, with differentiated reporting arrangements and support.
• The Clean Development Mechanism, established under Article 12, allowed emission-reduction projects in developing countries to generate certified emission reductions that Parties with targets could use towards compliance.
• The mechanism was intended both to assist developing host countries in achieving sustainable development and to help developed countries meet their commitments.