KYOTO PROTOCOLy The Kyoto Protocol is

a protocol to the United Nations Framework Convention of Climate Change (UNFCCC or FCCC), aimed at fighting global warming.

y The Protocol was initially

adopted on 11 December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan and entered into force on 16 February 2005.

THE UNITED NATIONS FRAMEWORK CONVENTION ON CLIMATE CHANGE (UNFCCC)y The UNFCCC is an

international environmental treaty and the centerpiece of global efforts to combat global warming.y Its goal is to achieve stabilization of greenhouse

gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.

Targetsy The targets cover emissions of the six main

greenhouse gases, namely: Carbon dioxide (CO2); Methane (CH4); Nitrous oxide (N2O); Hydrofluorocarbons (HFCs); Perfluorocarbons (PFCs); and Sulphur hexafluoride (SF6)

The five principal concepts of the Kyoto Protocol are:y Commitments to the Annex-countries.y Making only a few nations in the Annex 1 group

committed to the protocols limitations. y Implementation. y Annex I countries are required to prepare policies and measures for the reduction of greenhouse gases in their respective countries.

y Minimizing Impacts on Developing Countries

by establishing an adaptation fund for climate change. y Accounting, Reporting and Review in order to ensure the integrity of the Protocol. y Compliance y Establishing a Compliance Committee to enforce compliance with the commitments under the Protocol.

All Parties must develop national communications containing inventories of GHG emissions by source and GHG removals by sinks.

Commitments of PartiesAnnex 1 Country Partiesy Developed countries and countries whose economies are in transition. y Adopt policies and measures to limit their anthropogenic emissions of GHGs y Protect/enhance their GHG to demonstrate that they are taking the lead in modifying longer-term trends.

Submit their national communications on regular basis with the following information:y Projected anthropogenic GHG

emissions by sources and sinks with the aim of returning them to 1990 levels, individually or jointly y Policies and measures to limit GHG emissions and protect/enhance sinks.

Annex II Country PartiesUnder Article 4.2 of the UNFCCC, developed country parties included in Annex II (Annex 1 countries minus the economies in transition) have the following additional commitments: Provide new and additional financial resources to meet the agreed full costs incurred by developing country Parties in complying with their obligations under Article 12.a

y Provide financial resources, including transfer of

technology to meet the agreed full incremental costs of measures to be undertaken by developing country Parties under Article 4.y Promote, the transfer of, or, facilitate and finance access

to, environmentally sound technologies and know-how to other Parties, particularly the developing ones to enable them to implement the provisions of the Convention.

Non-Annex 1 Country PartiesNon-annex 1 country Parties or developing countries Have no commitments to reduce their GHG emissions, but only to develop, periodically update, publish and make available to the Conference of Parties, their national inventories of GHG emissions by sources and removals by sinks .

Institutional BodiesConference (CoP) of Parties-supreme decision-making body of the Convention. -primary task is to promote and review the implementation of the Convention and any related legal instruments (such as the Kyoto Protocol, etc.) -1st Session of the COP agreed on the Berlin Mandate calling for the strengthening of Annex 1 commitments through the adoption of a protocol or another legally binding instrument.

Subsidiary BodiesSubsidiary Bodiesy Subsidiary Body for Scientific and Technological Advise (SBSTA) y provides the CoP with information and advice on scientific and technological concerns y Subsidiary Body for Implementation (SBI) y assists the CoP in the assessment and review of the implementation of the Convention.

UNFCCC Secretariat

: tasked with administrative functions, taking charge of arrangements for sessions, facilitate assistance to parties, etc. Global Environmental Facility (GEF) : interim financial mechanism (Art. 11-21 [3])

Significant Provisions of the Kyoto ProtocolAnnex 1 Country Parties, individually or ensure that their aggregate jointly, anthropogenic CO2 equivalent emissions of GHG do not exceed their assigned amounts. Reduction of their overall emissions by at least 5% below 1990 levels in the commitment period 2008 to 2012.

The Protocol commits Annex B countries that ratify the Protocol to reduce GHG emissions below 1990 levels by the first commitment period (2008-2012) The Protocol will be legally binding when it enters into force. It must be signed and ratified by at least 55 countries, whose total emissions represent 55% of the emissions of the Annex I countries in 1990.

Incorporation by Annex 1 Parties in its annual inventory of anthropogenic emissions the sources and removals by sinks of GHG gases. Expert review process, providing a thorough and comprehensive technical assessment of the implementation of this protocol. No introduction of new commitments for Parties not included in Annex 1.

The Kyoto Protocol reinforces the principle of common but

differentiated responsibilities .

The Kyoto mechanismsy The Kyoto mechanisms are: y Emissions trading known as

the carbon market" y Clean development mechanism (CDM) y Joint implementation (JI).

y The mechanisms help stimulate

green investment and help Parties meet their emission targets in a cost-effective way.

y The Protocol allows this mechanism to allow Annex I

countries to meet their GHG emission limitations byy purchasing GHG emission reductions credits from

elsewhere y financial exchanges, projects that reduce emissions in non-Annex I countries, from other Annex I countries, or from annex I countries with excess allowances

Emission Tradingy It allows countries that have emission units to spare

( Article 17) y - emissions permitted them but not "used" - to sell this excess capacity to countries that are over their targets.

Clean development mechanism (CDM)y Article 12 of the Protocol y as a trailblazer - providing a standardized emissions offset instrument, CERs. y A CDM project activity might involve, for example, a rural electrification project using solar panels or the installation of more energy-efficient boilers. y The mechanism stimulates sustainable development and emission reductions, while giving industrialized countries some flexibility in how they meet their emission reduction or limitation targets.

Joint Implementation (JI) (Article 6 of the Kyoto Protocol)y allows a country with an emission reduction or

limitation commitment under the Kyoto Protocol (Annex B Party) y to earn emission reduction units (ERUs) from an emission-reduction or emission removal project in another Annex B Party, each equivalent to one tons of CO2, which can be counted towards meeting its Kyoto target.

y The Kyoto mechanisms:y Stimulate sustainable development through

technology transfer and investment y Help countries with Kyoto commitments to meet their targets by reducing emissions or removing carbon from the atmosphere in other countries in a cost-effective way y Encourage the private sector and developing countries to contribute to emission reduction efforts

Eligibility requirementsy To participate in the mechanisms, Annex I Parties

must meet, among others, the following eligibility requirements: 1. They must have ratified the Kyoto Protocol. 2. They must have calculated their assigned amount in terms of tonnes of CO2-equivalent emissions.

3. They must have in place a national system for estimating emissions and removals of greenhouse gases within their territory. 4. They must have in place a national registry to record and track the creation and movement of ERUs, CERs, AAUs and RMUs and must annually report such information to the secretariat. 5. They must annually report information on emissions and removals to the secretariat.

MAURITIUS MEXICO MOROCCO NORWAY* REPUBLIC OF KOREA REPUBLIC OF MOLDOVA

23 Sep 2009 A 3 Apr 2009 A 3 Mar 2010 A 26 Aug 2008 A 10 Dec 2009 A 18 Nov 2008 A

RUSSIAN FEDERATION 27 Jun 2008 A * SERBIA SYRIAN ARAB REPUBLIC 31 Jul 2009 A 16 Jun 2009 A

ISSUES AND IMPLICATION

Renewable Energy and Kyoto Protocol: Adoption in MalaysiaBy Salsuwanda Selamat and Che Zulzikrami Azner Abidin

y Energy demand in Malaysia Malaysia s commercial demand for energy is

projected to continue its upward trend, from 1,244 Petajoule (PJ) in 2000 to an estimated 2,218 PJ in 2010. In its 8th Malaysian Plan (2001-2005) has declared RE as the country s fifth fuel in the energy supply mix to diversify its energy source.

y Currently,

the energy supply mix in the country is made up of gas ,coal ,oil and hydro power .

Renewable Energy in the Ninth Malaysian Plan The importance of RE is further

Some sources of biomass

reinforced in the 9th Malaysian Plan (9MP) (2006-2010), coupled with an emphasis towards Energy Efficiency (EE) both on production and utilization. Used of biomass as renewable energy sources. Under the Small Renewable Energy Power Programmed (SREP), small power plants utilizing renewable energy can apply to sell electricity.

Solution for energy crisis and environmental issue.y The EE strategies under the 9MP aim at energy saving

features in the industrial and commercial sectors. The Malaysian Industrial Energy Efficiency Improvement Project (MIIEIP) energy audit tries to identify ways for potential energy savings in energy-intensive industries. New sources of energy will be developed with emphasis on utilizing cost-efficient technology as well as strengthening capacity building under the 9MP.

Climate: What's to become of the Kyoto Protocol?

A graphic showing the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions required by the Kyoto protocol.

The United States signed the protocol but never

ratified it, objecting to the fact that it did not cover major emerging economies. United States favours a new legal framework in which all countries would lay out their carboncurbing schemes, and agree that they be measured and verified by outside experts. The two-week session in Bangkok, attended by

delegates from 180 nations, ends Friday. All parties agree that the central aim. http://www.physorg.com/news174143239.html

Doubt Cast Over Kyoto Protocol s FutureWritten by: Latinamerica Press April 17, 2011

y The preparatory meeting for the 17th Conference of

the Parties of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. y Japan, where the agreement was first forged, along with New Zealand, Australia, Canada and Russia did not support an extension of the Kyoto Protocol. y The European Union defends the extension for the 2008-2012 period in which industrialized nations must reduce emissions by 5 percent based on 1990 levels.

y Eight member nations of the Bolivarian Alliance for

the Peoples of Our America, or ALBA, opposed the carbon bonds market, a mechanism included in the Kyoto Protocol that allows industrialized nations to meet their emission reduction targets by purchasing carbon credits in low-emission countries.y The developed countries are historically responsible

for global warming, said Claudia Salerno, head of the Venezuela delegation and spokeswoman for ALBA.

The Kyoto Protocol- Was it Effective?y In March 2001, the Bush Administration rejected the Kyoto Protocol. y The Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities, y Many argue that it would not be possible to require developing nations to meet reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol.

y A majority of the developing countries use older, and

dirtier technologies and simply lack the transportation and policies to develop environmentally-friendly alternatives. y The emissions in these developing countries will continue to grow and Protocol could be easily offset by the emissions growth in the developing world. y This limitation is shown best by looking at China and India, they represent one third of the world's population but they are left completely unrestricted in terms of their greenhouse gas emissions. y The Kyoto Protocol will have to be changed to include all of the countries in the world.