Kyoto Protocol

In 1992, the Rio de Janeiro Earth Summit was approved by the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), a permanent secretariat was created and the Conferences of the Parties, COP began.

In 1997 the Kyoto Protocol was adopted and came into force on February 2005 with its ratification. According to the Treaty, the countries (parties) included in Annex I (industrialized countries and countries in transition to market economies) are committed to legally-binding targets to limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. Countries that ratified the protocol add up to a total cut in greenhouse-gas emissions of at least 5% from 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008-2012.

Each Annex I party must undertake domestic policies and measures according to their national circumstances such as:

Promoting energy efficiency
Protection and enhancement of sinks and greenhouse gasses sinks; promotion of sustainable forest management practices, a forestation and reforestation.
Sustainable agriculture
Research, promotion, development, and growth of renewable energy, technologies in carbon dioxide sequestration.
Progressive reduction of the market shortages, tax incentives, tax breaks, subsidies contrary to the objective of the convention in all sectors of greenhouse gasses emitters and implementation of market-based instruments.
Reforms in relevant sectors
Transportation
Limitation and reduction of methane emissions

The Kyoto Protocol allows Annex I parties to change the level of their allowed emissions by trading Kyoto Protocol units with other parties. This trading is carried out through the so-called Kyoto mechanisms:

Clean development mechanism. CDM that allows the transfer of emission reduction units (ERUs) to Annex I countries from projects of non-Annex I countries.
Joint implementation (JI) is a mechanism by which one Annex I party can invest in a project that reduces emissions or enhances sequestration in another Annex I party, and receive credit for the emission reductions or removals achieved through that project.
International emissions trading .An Annex I party may transfer assigned amount units (AAUs) and other Kyoto Protocol units (CERs and ERUs after being generated by a project), from another Annex I party.

The Kyoto Protocol represents a global compromise to reduce greenhouse gas emissions which enhance the greenhouse effect; this being one of the main causes of climate change throughout the world. In order to achieve these emission reductions in industrialized countries, there are different instruments and actions in which Zeroemissions develops its activity.

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