Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto-Protocol is an amendment to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC)and was agreed in 1997. The objective of the Protocol was to reduce the annual greenhouse gas emissions of industrialized countries by an average of 5.2 percent compared to 1990 levels during the first so called commitment period (2008-2012). Today 191 countries have ratified the Kyoto Protocol. For the second commitment period (2013-2020) the reduction targets are being updated. Furthermore, nitrogen trifluoride (NF3) was added to the basket of the six Kyoto Protocol gases. The Protocol has never been ratified by the USA and Canada withdrew its ratification in 2013. The Kyoto-Protocol will be replaced by the Paris Agreement in 2020.