COP22 – Marrakech 2016: Is the implementation of the Kyoto Protocol dead?

Abstract

In late 2011, I wrote an editorial for this journal on the United Nations conference on Climate Change (COP17), which took place in Durban, South Africa titled: COP17 - Durban: Is this the funeral party for the Kyoto Protocol?¹ There were arguments and counter arguments between developed and developing countries on how to deal with the problems of climate change. One of the most critical issues was an extension of the Kyoto protocol to cut down on greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which have been linked to the unpredictable climate changes in recent times. The Kyoto Protocol is the international agreement of the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. The major feature of the Kyoto Protocol sets binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community for reducing greenhouse gas emissions. This amounts to an average of five percent against the 1990 levels over the five-year period 2008-2012.² The major distinction between the Protocol and the Convention is that while the Convention encouraged industrialised countries to stabilize GHG emissions, the Protocol committed them to do so.