Emissions Targets
The Kyoto Protocol entered into force in February 2005, and to date, has been ratified by 165 countries. These include both industralised and developing countries – Annex 1 refers to industralised countries, and non-Annex 1 to developing countries. Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol lists the subset of Annex 1 countries which have taken on emissions targets - commitments to reduce their emissions by a certain percentage, relative to a baseline, typically set in 1990, over the first phase of the Kyoto commitment which runs from 2008 to 2012.
According to the UNFCCC, these targets are:
| Country (Annex B to the Kyoto Protocol) | Phase 1 Emission reductions targets |
|---|---|
| EU-15, Bulgaria, Czech Republic, Estonia, Latvia,Liechtenstein, Lithuania, Monaco, Romania,Slovakia,Slovenia, Switzerland | -8% |
| Canada, Hungary, Japan, Poland | -6% |
| Croatia | -5% |
| New Zealand, Russian Federation, Ukraine | 0 |
| Norway | +1% |
| Australia | +8% |
| Iceland | +10% |
These targets, which range from –8% to +10%, represent either an outright cut in emissions levels for industralised countries, or a lower level increase from current levels compared to an expected 'business as usual' scenario for less developed countries. In some cases, countries have benefited from this process due to the restructuring of economies since the 1990 baseline, or the inclusion of national forestry assets as viable carbon sinks.
On average, these commitments represent a reduction of 5.2% below 1990 levels. Whilst these targets were accepted at a national level, many Governments have transferred at least part of the responsibility of meeting them onto industry.