Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is legally binding for Annex B countries, i.e. 36 industrial countries and economies in transition. These countries will cut their greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions of about 5% from 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008-2012. 168 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol to date.

Australia, Austria, Belarus, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Croatia**, Czech Republic**, Denmark, Estonia, European Community, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy**, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein**, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Monaco**, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Russian Federation**, Slovakia ** Slovenia **, Spain, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey **, Ukraine **, United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland, United States of America

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

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

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

Signed but didn’t access the Kyoto Protocol: Australia, United-States, Kazakhstan

Didn’t sign nor access Kyoto: Afghanistan, Andorra, Brunei, Republic of Center-Africa, Comoros, Saint Christophe and Niévès, Saint Marin, Sao Tome and Principe, Somalia, Tajikistan, Taiwan, Tchad, Tonga, Vatican, Zimbabwe

The flexibility mechanisms

The Kyoto Protocol includes three so-called ‘flexibility mechanisms’, instruments which allow governments in industrialized countries to achieve parts of their emission reduction commitments under the Kyoto Protocol through projects abroad rather than through action or policy changes at home. This allows the parties under the Kyoto Protocol to reach their commitments at the lowest cost.

Emissions Trading: The emission trading-mechanism will allow industrialized countries to buy and sell greenhouse gases emission credits from and to other countries to help meet their domestic reduction targets.
Countries that keep emissions below their agreed target will be able to sell the excess emissions to countries that find it more difficult or more expensive to meet their own targets.

Joint Implementation (JI): Joint Implementation under the Kyoto Protocol allows industrialized countries (Annex B countries) to meet part of their required cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions by paying for projects that reduce emissions in other Annex B countries. In practice, this will likely mean facilities built in the countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union – the "transition economies" – supported by Western European and North American countries.

Clean Mechanism Development (CDM): Clean Mechanism Development allows Annex B countries to meet part of their required cuts in greenhouse-gas emissions by investing in projects that reduce emissions in non Annex B countries.