about the kyoto protocol

Kyoto comes into force

The Kyoto Protocol came into force on 16th February 2005 after the Russian Parliament ratified the treaty in 2004. Kyoto commits industrialised countries who have ratified it to individual, legally binding targets to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. These add up to a total cut in greenhouse-gas emissions of at least 5% from 1990 levels in the period 2008-2012, which is called the ‘first commitment period’. Here you'll find a list of countries, their targets, and more information on Kyoto.

Kyoto is based on the principle of ‘common but differentiated responsibilities’. This reflects the rich, industrialised nations’ overwhelming contribution to historical emissions and therefore their responsibility in acting first to bring down their national emissions.

President Bush has refused to ratify the treaty claiming it would harm the US economy. The US is the world's biggest polluter – despite having around only four per cent of the global population it is responsible for around 25 per cent of the world's carbon dioxide emissions. Australia has also refused to ratify Kyoto making two of the biggest global polluters non-signatories to the treaty.

Friends of the Earth International's vice-chair, Tony Juniper, said: "Despite the best efforts of the US administration and some of its major corporations, the Kyoto Protocol lives. This is an historic moment for life on Earth and must pave the way for new agreements to reduce climate-changing emissions. But intense international pressure must also be placed on President Bush and the administration to finally acknowledge the scale of the threat we now face and to take action to deal with it."

In Brussels, FoE Europe warned that trans-Atlantic relations cannot improve unless the United States takes environmental issues and citizens' rights more seriously and drops its corporate-led foreign policies. Martin Rocholl of FoE Europe said: "President Bush should act as an ambassador for the American people, not as the Ambassador for Exxon, Monsanto and other US corporations who are putting private interests above all else. The Bush administration must join the fight against climate change.”

See Friends of the Earth US website for more information on domestic demands for George Bush to wake up to climate change.

UN climate talks every year

The Conference of the Parties (COP) is the "supreme body" of the Convention, that is, its highest decision-making authority. It is an association of all the countries that are Parties to the Convention. The COP meets every year, unless the Parties decide otherwise.

 Since the Kyoto Protocol came into force in 2005, the annual COPs are also joined by Meeting of the Parties (MOP) of the Kyoto Protocol. From the 3rd to the 14th December in Bali this year, MOP 3 and COP 13 will occur and during which countries will commence negotiations on the post 2012 agreement. This is informally referred to as the Bali Mandate or Roadmap, which details the next two years of negotiations and the basic content and architecture of the post 2012 agreement.

 Progress on the 'Bali Mandate' has been discussed at the Gleneagles Dialogue and the United Nations High Level Summit on Climate Change at which Friends of the Earth International chair Meena Raman made a powerful intervention:

  
"The science tells that in order for the most dangerous impacts to be avoided, average global temperature increase must be kept well below 2 degrees centigrade, compared with pre-industrial levels. Hence, for a post Kyoto regime, there has to be agreement on the “burden-sharing” principles between the North and South in establishing science-based targets. For Friends of the Earth International, a cut of 60-80% for developed countries, while global emissions are cut by 50% by 2050 (compared to 1990 levels) is clearly insufficient, both from a climate change perspective, as well as to provide the necessary environmental space needed for developing countries to meet their sustainable development needs." 

The issue of equity and burden sharing is front and centre of climate change negotiations as climate change is now recognised as a serious international development and environmental issue.

The Indonesian government has been preparing for its role as host to the Bali negotiations and at a recent pre-Bali ministerial meeting, Fara Sofa, Deputy Director of Friends of the Earth Indonesia made the following statements on behalf of Indonesian civil society:
 

“Indonesia is an example of a country is already and will be a victim of climate change. We have been accused of damaging our forests that are important for the global community, yet Indonesia is being eyed as a long-term source of raw materials for the aggressive growth of the global industrial complex with no due regard to the recurrent catastrophes and threat to sustainability of our communities.

Many developing countries face the same situation. Who is going to ameliorate the sufferings of these affected countries and people? Clearly, there is a need for a fund for reconstruction, which goes beyond that for adaptation. This is an issue of development and human rights, and that of humanitarian assistance, which goes beyond the charity notions of aid. The answer to this question is that those countries with the greatest responsibility for historical and continuing greenhouse gas emissions who have sufficient wealth that defines their capacity to act.”

 
 Read the full speech

Intergovernmental Panel of Climate Change: Fourth Assessment Report

In November 2007, the Synthesis Report was released by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change – a group of over 3000 climate scientists with a mandate from the United Nations to produce 'assessment reports' on climate change. This report details that urgent action is needed to ensure that global greenhouse gas emission (currently higher than at any point in history) decline within the next 8 years.

Based on projected impacts of climate change, the international NGO community has declared that to avoid 'dangerous climate change' temperature increases must stay as far below two degrees as possible or around 400 parts per million of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. While the IPCC do not produce emissions reduction scenarios to keep emissions below 450 parts per million, based on their most recent report, industralised countries must take emissions reduction targets of at least 40% by 2020, and at least 95% by 2050 to achieve this objective.

 This sets the imperative to strong, effective commitments, particularly from the industralised countries in the post 2012 agreement.

Friends of the Earth demands for Bali

 Friends of the Earth International is actively involved in the UNFCCC negotiations as well as joining with social movements to build a climate justice movement that will intensify public pressure on our governments to act. We will be active inside the negotiations and in civil society forums outside the negotiations. The Bali branch of Friends of the Earth Indonesia is one of the lead organisations for the international day of action in Bali on December 8th, which will be a very colourful, peaceful action.

 
Central to Friends of the Earth International's demands in Bali is rectifying the fact that current response by the international community is wholly inadequate. Negotiations on a post 2012 agreement must end in 2009 at the latest to allow for the next phase of commitments that are stringent enough to keep temperature increases as far below 2 degrees as possible.

Friends of the Earth International believes that the UNFCCC can provide an essential element of the global solution to climate change by implementing a post-2012 international agreement based on principles of equity and climate justice.