The Kyoto Protocol is an extension to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). It was formally adopted in 1998 and entered into force in February 2005. For the first time, the Kyoto Protocol establishes internationally binding emission targets, which are one of the main causes of global warming. Industrial countries which are Party to the Protocol commit to a gradual reduction of their emission compared to 1990 levels. Furthermore, the Convention requires its State Parties to implement policies and measures on climate change mitigation and to report on these measures periodically. In order to achieve these targets, the Kyoto Protocol puts in place a number of market-based mechanisms such as International Emissions Trading or the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). The UN Climate Change Secretariat monitors the effective implementation of the Protocol’s provisions as well as the national statistics and periodic reports which State Parties are required to submit. The Kyoto protocol belongs to the eight conventions on environmental protection included in the GSP+ regulation.

Conference of the Parties (COP) / UN Climate Change Secretariat