KYOTO PROTOCOL

The Kyoto Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), the international treaty on climate change. Countries that have ratified the Kyoto Protocol committed to reduce their emissions of greenhouse gases. The targeted reductions over the first Kyoto period (i.e. during the years 2008 - 2012) compared to the reference year 1990 are listed in Annex B of the Kyoto Protocol; the Czech Republic has target to lower greenhouse gases emissions by 8%. According to Article 25 of the Kyoto Protocol, the Protocol shall enter in force on the ninetieth day after the ratification of at least 55 Parties, whose total carbon dioxide emissions in 1990 accounted for at least 55%. Annex I. It took eight years to meet these conditions, because the ratification of the Protocol by USA or by theRussian Federation was necessary. Russian Federation has ratified the Kyoto Protocol in autumn 2004 and the Kyoto Protocol entered in force on February 16th, 2005.

The Kyoto Protocol was not designed to reduce industrial production, but to mitigate emissions by usage of new technologies from which modernizing of economy would follow, further development of energy efficiency technologies (BTG CE\CZ\OZE). Besides the domestic emission reduction it is possible to meet Kyoto target also by means of the Kyoto Mechanisms. These mechanisms enable Parties to reduce emissions in other countries, where the reduction is more cost-effective.

Greenhouse gases defined by the Kyoto Protocol


The emissions of each greenhouse gas are for the purpose of trading converted to the tons of carbon dioxide equivalent – tCO2e.

Fields for emissions reduction