The Kyoto Protocol

After two and a half years of international negotiations the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan on the 11th of December 1997. The protocol is a legal binding agreement for industrialised countries to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2012 to levels generated in 1990. New Zealand ratified the Kyoto Protocol on the 19th of December 2002 and is one of 170 countries to ratify.

In the last 50 to 100 years, human activity has changed markedly and rapidly. These changes have impacted significantly on the atmosphere. Worldwide there have been developments in transportation, agriculture and industry. These activities produce greenhouse gases, and as a consequence the concentration of these gases in the Earth’s atmosphere has increased. The greenhouse balance has been upset and more heat has been trapped. The Earth has begun to warm and the climate to change.

There is evidence of climate change effects, including raised temperatures and sea levels and the increased frequency of extreme weather events. The occurrence of these changes is projected to be more pronounced, and the rate of change more rapid.

(The above is taken from the Introduction of New Zealand’s Greenhouse Gas Inventory, click here to find a link to learn more.)

In 1990 New Zealand’s greenhouse gas emissions were estimated to be 61.9 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents (tCO₂e). In 2005 it is estimated that New Zealand emitted 77.2 million tonnes of carbon dioxide equivalents. The current trend is that this figure is increasing and will continue to do so, if no action is taken to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Analysis by the Ministry for the Environment shows New Zealand will have a net deficit of 45.5 million tonnes of carbon dioxide at the end of 2012. At a price of $25 this equates to just over 1.1 billion dollars. For more on New Zealand’s net position click here.

For more on Kyoto go to our links page.