DECODING KYOTO AND

ITS RELEVANCE
IN COPENHAGEN
“My mandate at Copenhagen was to protect national interest, not save
humanity.” Jairam Ramesh

"It's a nothing burger." Sen. John McCain

It’s a pinch of sugar to sweeten a cauldron of failed

commitments.”

“The proposal is a gross violation of the right to existence

of the African continent. … Africa will become a holocaust.”
BACKGROUND
 In 1992, more than 150 nations came together to sign the United Nations
Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) at The Earth
Summit in Rio De Janeiro.
 The signatories entered into a voluntary and non-binding pledged that
the developed nations would reduce the greenhouse emissions to 1990
levels by the year 2000.
 Due to growing concerns over increasing emissions and their impending
impact, the UNFCCC in 1995, sought to convene to establish a protocol
that would be binding for the developed nations.
KYOTO PROTOCOL:

 The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December

1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005.
 It sets binding targets for 37 industrialised countries and the European
Community for reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions.
 The detailed rules for the implementation of the Protocol were adopted
at COP 7 in Marrakesh in 2001, and are called the “Marrakesh
Accords.”
 184 Parties of the Convention have ratified the Kyoto Protocol as of
14 January 2009
 The most notable non-member of the Protocol is the United States,
which was responsible for 36.1 per cent of the 1990 emission levels.
 The conference in Copenhagen was the 15th conference of parties
(COP15) in the Framework Convention on Climate Change.
PROPOSALS OF THE KYOTO PROTOCOL
 "stabilization of greenhouse gas concentrations in the atmosphere at a level that
would prevent dangerous anthropogenic interference with the climate system.“
 adopted a principle of "common but differentiated responsibilities."

1. the largest share of historical and current global emissions of greenhouse

gases originated in developed countries;
2. per capita emissions in developing countries are still relatively low;
3. the share of global emissions originating in developing countries will grow to
meet social and development needs
 developing countries are also committed to share the common responsibility of
all countries to reduce emissions.
 Financial Commitments
KYOTO MECHANISMS

 Emissions Trading

 The Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

 Joint Implementation (JI)

 mechanism of "compliance”
COPENHAGEN 2009
 To agree a new climate treaty as a successor to the Kyoto protocol, the first phase
of which expires in 2012.
 To ensure that the world’s temperature does not rise more than 2 degrees Celsius
till 2050.
FOUR ESSENTIALS:
1. How much are industrialized countries willing to reduce their emissions of
greenhouse gases?
2. How much are major developing countries such as China and India willing to do
to limit the growth of their emissions?
3. How is the help needed by developing countries to engage in reducing their
emissions and adapting to the impacts of climate change going to be financed?
4. How is that money going to be managed?
THE DANISH DRAFT

 Each country would have to submit a domestic target for climate

mitigation open to global verification
 It proposed emission cuts for rich countries as well as advanced
developing economies like India and China
 Each developing nation declare a “peaking year” for carbon emissions
How the Danish draft undermines developing country interests and is in
contravention of the UN climate convention and Bali Action Plan

 Asks for commitments from emerging economies

 Demands international scrutiny of actions of emerging economies even if they are
not funded by the international community
 Weakens India’s right to get international money against its afforestation efforts
 Demands money from the emerging economies and not just the rich countries for
adaptation and mitigation efforts in developing countries
 Leaves out any mention of establishing carbon equity between rich and poor
countries
 Demands emerging economies peak their carbon emissions by 2020, locking
their carbon emissions and economic growth
PLEASE-ALL DRAFT
 Parties should cooperate in achieving the global and national emissions
as soon as possible
 “Timeframe of peaking” will be longer in developing countries bearing
in mind that social and economic development and poverty eradication
are the first and over-riding priorities of developing parties
 Emphasis on low emission development, since it is indispensable to
sustainable development
 Developed countries as a group should reduce their greenhouse gas
emissions by 75-85 or at least 80 to 95 or more than 95% levels by
2050”.
 COPENHAGEN ACCORD
 The statement made compliance mandatory by asking countries to list
their target emissions, reduction for rich nations and domestic
mitigation for developing countries
 Aimed at a 2 degrees Celsius limit to global warming by reducing
emissions 50% by 2050
 Mentioned a global emission peaking year (without specifying the year)
and $130 billion (Rs.6.1 trillion) for mitigation and adaptation by 2020,
 Aimed to resolve differences on the Kyoto Protocol and the long-term
cooperative action by 2010 in Mexico.
“HANDING OUT CARROTS”
THE GAIN
 “Common but differentiated responsibility’’
in text means more responsibility for
developed economies
 Got the term ‘‘equity’’ embedded with
global goal of bringing temperatures
below by 2°C — means it can demand
burden-sharing of emission cuts
 Green Climate Fund gets established
THE LOSS
 Window open for discussions to kill Kyoto
Protocol in the future
 Links between mitigation actions of rich
countries and finance, tech transfer
weakened
 Agrees to peak emissions in future,
though no specific cut-off year mentioned
 Allows international consultations and
analysis of self-funded actions
 LOOPHOLES
 No agreement on whether to include emissions from aviation and shipping in climate targets, and
make it mandatory to include farming and forestry.
 Kyoto excludes greenhouse gases from aviation and shipping, responsible for at least 5 percent of
global emissions.
 Under Kyoto, rich countries do not have to include in their targets emissions from land use, including
forests and farming.
 Combined, farms and deforestation account for a third of all global greenhouse gases.
 No agreement on how to scale up carbon finance under Kyoto's existing $6.5-billion clean
development mechanism (CDM).
 Under the CDM rich nations pay for emissions cuts in developing countries through trade in carbon
offsets.
BIBLIOGRAPHY
 The Times of India
 Hindustan Times
 Telegraph (UK), The Guardian (UK)
 http://en.cop15.dk/ (official site UNFCCC)
 BBC news
 http://www.reuters.com/subjects/cop15
 NY Times http://www.nytimes.com/cwire/2009/
 http://www.eenews.net/public/25/13656/features/d
ocuments/2009/12/19/document_gw_01.pdf
THANK YOU
MILAN SHARMA
ROLL NO. 56