Kyoto Accord

Kyoto Protocol

Kyoto Protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change
Annex B parties with binding targets in the second period   Annex B parties with binding targets in the first period but not the second   non-Annex B parties without binding targets   Annex B parties with binding targets in the first period but which withdrew from the Protocol   Signatories to the Protocol that have not ratified   Other UN member states and observers that are not party to the Protocol
Signed	000000001997-12-11-000011 December 1997
Location	Kyoto, Japan
Effective	16 February 2005
Condition	Ratification by at least 55 States to the Convention
Expiration	in force (first commitment period expired 31 December 2012)
Signatories	84
Parties	EU, Cook Islands, Niue and all UN member states, except Andorra, Canada, South Sudan and US
Depositary	Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian and Spanish
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Kyoto Protocol Extension (2012–20)

Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol
Acceptance of the Doha Amendment   States that ratified   Kyoto protocol parties that did not ratify   Non-parties to the Kyoto Protocol
Drafted	December 8, 2012
Location	Doha, Qatar
Effective	not in effect
Condition	ratification by 144 (3/4 of 192 Parties) required
Ratifiers	77
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The Kyoto Protocol is an international treaty which extends the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits State Parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the fact that (a) global warming exists and (b) human-made CO₂ emissions have caused it. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on December 11, 1997 and entered into force on February 16, 2005. There are currently 192 parties (Canada withdrew effective December 2012) to the Protocol.

The Kyoto Protocol implemented the objective of the UNFCCC to fight global warming by reducing greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere to "a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system" (Art. 2). The Protocol is based on the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities: it puts the obligation to reduce current emissions on developed countries on the basis that they are historically responsible for the current levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere.

The Protocol's first commitment period started in 2008 and ended in 2012. A second commitment period was agreed on in 2012, known as the Doha Amendment to the protocol, in which 37 countries have binding targets: Australia, the European Union (and its 28 member states), Belarus, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine. Belarus, Kazakhstan and Ukraine have stated that they may withdraw from the Protocol or not put into legal force the Amendment with second round targets. Japan, New Zealand and Russia have participated in Kyoto's first-round but have not taken on new targets in the second commitment period. Other developed countries without second-round targets are Canada (which withdrew from the Kyoto Protocol in 2012) and the United States (which has not ratified the Protocol). As of July 2016, 66 states have accepted the Doha Amendment, while entry into force requires the acceptances of 144 states. Of the 37 countries with binding commitments, 7 have ratified.