Kyoto Protocol to the Convention on Climate Change

 

Article 1

For the purposes of this Protocol, the definitions contained in Article 1 of
the Convention shall apply. In addition:

1. “Conference of the Parties”means the Conference of the Parties to the
Convention.

2. “Convention”means the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change,
adopted in New York on 9 May 1992.

3. “Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change”means the Intergovernmental Panel
on Climate Change established in 1988 jointly by the World
Meteorological
Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme.

4. “Montreal Protocol “means the Montreal Protocol on Substances that Deplete
the Ozone Layer, adopted in Montreal on 16 September 1987 and as subsequently
adjusted and amended.

5. “Parties present and voting”means Parties present and casting an affirmative
or negative vote.

6. “Party” means, unless the context otherwise indicates, a Party to this
Protocol.

7. “Party included in Annex I”means a Party included in Annex I to the
Convention, as may be amended, or a Party which has made a notification under
Article 4, paragraph 2(g), of the Convention.

Article 2

1. Each Party included in Annex I in achieving its quantified emission
limitation and reduction commitments under Article 3, in order to promote
sustainable development, shall:

(a) Implement and/or further elaborate policies and measures in accordance
with its national circumstances, such as:

(i) Enhancement of energy efficiency in relevant sectors of the national
economy;

(ii) Protection and enhancement of sinks and reservoirs of greenhouse gases not
controlled by the Montreal Protocol, taking into account its commitments under
relevant international environmental agreements; promotion of sustainable forest
management practices, afforestation and-reforestation;

(iii) Promotion of sustainable forms of agriculture in light of climate change
considerations;

(iv) Promotion, research, development and increased use of new and renewable
forms of energy, of carbon dioxide sequestration technologies and of advanced
and innovative environmentally sound technologies;

(v) Progressive reduction or phasing out of market imperfections, fiscal
incentives, tax and duty exemptions and subsidies in all greenhouse gas emitting
sectors that run counter to the objective of the Convention and apply market
instruments;

(vi) Encouragement of appropriate reforms in relevant sectors aimed at promoting
policies and measures which limit or reduce emissions of greenhouse gases not
controlled by the Montreal Protocol;

(vii) Measures to limit and/or reduce emissions of greenhouse gases not
controlled by the Montreal Protocol in the transport sector;

(viii) Limitation and/or reduction of methane through recovery and use in waste
management, as well as in the production, transport and distribution of energy;
(b) Cooperate with other such Parties to enhance the individual and combined
effectiveness of their policies and measures adopted under this Article,
pursuant to Article 4, paragraph 2(e)(i), of the Convention. To this end, these
Parties shall take steps to share their experience and exchange information on
such policies and measures, including developing ways of improving their
comparability, transparency and effectiveness. The Conference of the Parties
serving as the meeting of the Parties to this Protocol shall, at its first
session or as soon as practicable thereafter, consider ways to facilitate such
cooperation, taking into account all relevant information.

2. The Parties included in Annex I shall pursue limitation or reduction of
emissions of greenhouse gases not controlled by the Montreal Protocol from
aviation and marine bunker fuels, working through the International Civil
Aviation Organization and the International Maritime Organization, respectively.

3. The Parties included in Annex I shall strive to implement policies and
measures under this Article in such a way as to minimize adverse effects,
including the adverse effects of climate change, effects on international trade,
and social, environmental and economic impacts on other Parties, especially
developing country Parties and in particular those identified in Article 4,
paragraphs 8 and 9 of the Convention, taking into account Article 3 of the
Convention. The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties
to this Protocol may take further action, as appropriate, to promote the
implementation of the provisions of this paragraph.

4. The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to this
Protocol, if it decides that it would be beneficial to coordinate any of the
policies and measures in paragraph 1(a) above, taking into account different
national circumstances and potential effects, shall consider ways and means to
elaborate the coordination of such policies and measures.

Article 3

1. The Parties included in Annex I shall, individually or jointly, ensure that
their aggregate anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of the
greenhouse gases listed in Annex A do not exceed their assigned amounts,
calculated pursuant to their quantified emission limitation and reduction
commitments inscribed in Annex B and in accordance with the provisions of this
Article, with a view to reducing their overall emissions of such gases by at
least 5 per cent below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008 to 2012.

2. Each Party included in Annex I shall, by 2005, have made demonstrable
progress in achieving its commitments under this Protocol.

3. The net changes in greenhouse gas emissions from sources and removals by
sinks resulting from direct human-induced land use change and forestry
activities, limited to afforestation, reforestation, and deforestation since
1990, measured as verifiable changes in stocks in each commitment period shall
be used to meet the commitments in this Article of each Party included in Annex
I. The greenhouse gas emissions from sources and removals by sinks associated
with those activities shall be reported in a transparent and verifiable manner
and reviewed in accordance with Articles 7 and 8.

4. Prior to the first session of the Conference of the Parties serving as the
meeting of the Parties to this Protocol, each Party included in Annex I shall
provide for consideration by the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and
Technological Advice data to establish its level of carbon stocks in 1990 and to
enable an estimate to be made of its changes in carbon stocks in subsequent
years. The Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to
this Protocol shall, at its first session or as soon as practicable thereafter,
decide upon modalities, rules and guidelines as to how and which additional
human-induced activities related to changes in greenhouse gas emissions and
removals in the agricultural soil and land use change and forestry categories,
shall be added to, or subtracted from, the assigned amount for Parties included
in Annex I, taking into account uncertainties, transparency in reporting,
verifiability, the methodological work of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate
Change, the advice provided by the Subsidiary Body for Scientific and
Technological Advice in accordance with Article 5 and the decisions of the
Conference of the Parties. Such a decision shall apply in the second and
subsequent commitment periods. A Party may choose to apply such a decision on
these additional human-induced activities for its first commitment period,
provided that these activities have taken place since 1990.

5. The Parties included in Annex I undergoing the process of transition to a
market economy whose base year or period was established pursuant to decision
9/CP.2 of the Conference of the Parties at its second session, shall use that
base year or period for the implementation of their commitments under this
Article. Any other Party included in Annex I undergoing the process of
transition to a market economy which has not yet submitted its first national
communication under Article 12 of the Convention may also notify the [*34]
Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to this Protocol
that it intends to use a historical base year or period other than 1990 for the
implementation of its commitments under this Article. The Conference of the
Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to this Protocol shall decide on
the acceptance of such notification.

6. Taking into account Article 4, paragraph 6, of the Convention, in the
implementation of their commitments under this Protocol other than those in this
Article, a certain degree of flexibility shall be allowed by the Conference of
the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to this Protocol to the
Parties included in Annex I undergoing the process of transition to a market
economy.

7. In the first quantified emission limitation and reduction commitment period,
from 2008 to 2012, the assigned amount for each Party included in Annex I shall
be equal to the percentage inscribed for it in Annex B of its aggregate
anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions of the greenhouse gases listed
in Annex A in 1990, or the base year or period determined in accordance with
paragraph 5 above, multiplied by five. Those Parties included in Annex I for
whom land use change and forestry constituted a net source of greenhouse gas
emissions in 1990 shall include in their 1990 emissions base year or period the
aggregate anthropogenic carbon dioxide equivalent emissions minus removals in
1990 from land use change for the purposes of calculating their assigned amount.

8. Any Party included in Annex I may use 1995 as its base year for
hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride, for the purposes
of the calculation referred to in paragraph 7 above.

9. Commitments for subsequent periods for Parties included in Annex I shall be
established in amendments to Annex B to this Protocol, which shall be adoptedin accordance with the provisions of Article 20, paragraph 7. The Conference of
the Parties serving as the meeting of the Parties to this Protocol shall
initiate the consideration of such commitments at least seven years before the
end of the first commitment period mentioned in paragraph 7 above.

10. Any emission reduction units, or any part of an assigned amount, which a
Party acquires from another Party in accordance with the provisions of Article 6
and of Article 16 bis shall be added to the assigned amount for that Party.

11. Any emission reduction units, or any part of an assigned amount, which a
Party transfers to another Party in accordance with the provisions of Article 6
and of Article 16 bis shall be subtracted from the assigned amount for that
Party.

12. Any certified emission reductions which a Party acquires from another Party
in accordance with the provisions of Article 12 shall be added to the assigned
amount for that Party.

13. If the emissions of a Party included in Annex I during a commitment period
are less than its assigned amount under this Article, this difference shall, on
request of that Party, be added to the assigned amount for that Party for
subsequent commitment periods.

14. Each Party included in Annex I shall strive to implement the commitments
mentioned in paragraph 1 above in such a way as to minimize adverse social,
environmental and economic impacts on developing country Parties, particularly
those identified in Article 4, paragraphs 8 and 9, of the Convention. In line
with relevant decisions of the Conference of the Parties on the implementation
of those paragraphs, the Conference of the Parties serving as the meeting of the
Parties to this Protocol shall, at its first session, consider what actions are
necessary to minimize the adverse effects of climate change and/or the impacts
of response measures on Parties referred to in those paragraphs. Among the
issues to be considered shall be the establishment of funding, insurance and
transfer of technology.

Author: international

Mentioned in these Entries

Montreal Protocol, country.