Parties to UNFCCC / Evaluation of Kyoto Protocol

Parties to UNFCCC are classified as:

·         Annex  I countries – industrialized countries and economies in transition

·         Annex II countries – developed countries which pay for costs of developing countries

·         Developing countries.

Annex I countries which have ratified the Protocol have committed to reduce their emission levels of greenhouse gasses to targets that are mainly set below their 1990 levels. They may do this by allocating reduced annual allowances to the major operators within their borders. These operators can only exceed their allocations if they buy emission allowances, or offset their excesses through a mechanism that is agreed by all the parties to UNFCCC.

Annex II countries are a sub-group of the Annex I countries. They comprise the OECD members, excluding those that were economies in transition in 1992.

Developing countries are not required to reduce emission levels unless developed countries supply enough funding and technology. Setting no immediate restrictions under UNFCCC serves three purposes:

·         It avoids restrictions on their development because emissions are strongly  linked to industrial capacity

·         They can sell emissions credits to nations whose operators have difficulty meeting their emissions targets

·         They get money and technologies for low- carbon investments from Annex II countries.

Developing countries may volunteer to become Annex I countries when they are sufficiently developed.

Recognizing that developed countries are principally responsible for the current high levels of GHGs emission in the atmosphere as a result of more than 150 years of industrial activities, the protocol places a heavier burden on developed countries under the principle of common but differentiated responsibilities. The Kyoto protocol was adopted in Kyoto in Japan on December 11, 1997 and entered into force on Feb 16, 2005.

Evaluation of Kyoto Protocol

·          The protocol has been described as socially unjust as it not based on per capita concept. This concept is necessary as about 20% of total population of the world residing in the developed nations is responsible for making 75% of the total GHGs emissions and that too to fulfill their luxury based needs. The per capita in North America and Western Europe is about 20 times more than in the developing countries.

·          Kyoto Protocol was signed in order to reduce GHGs emission but the flexibility mechanism like CDMs allows a developed country to take credit for the GHG emission reductions achieved in the developing countries with its assistance. It means the developed countries that are primarily responsible for increasing GHG emission can skip their reduction commitment only by spending money.

·         The sellers of GHG emission reductions credit may sell these credits on terms and conditions favorable to itself. Therefore the protocol is ecologically not very effective and it is seen more as a carbon trading agreement than an ecological agreement.