Bonn, Nov. 16 - The Kyoto
Protocol, the first international treaty to reduce greenhouse gas emissions,
celebrates its twentieth anniversary on December 11 2017, maintaining itself as
an essential vehicle for developed countries to reduce rapidly your emissions.
António Guterres, Secretary
General of the United Nations told leaders and delegates when he opened the
high-level segment of the UN conference on climate change, COP23 in Bonn.
His message came a day after
Germany, Belgium, Spain and Sweden became the last countries to ratify the Doha
Amendment, which established the second commitment period under the Kyoto
Protocol.
"On this twentieth
anniversary of the adoption of the Kyoto Protocol and the 25th anniversary of
the adoption of the Convention on Climate Change, I ask all nations that have
not yet done so to ratify the Doha Amendment," said Mr. Guterres.
According to him the Doha
Amendment covers the period before 2020, which is central to the overall effort
to get on track to achieve the goal of the Paris Agreement.
To date, 88 Parties have accepted
the Doha Amendment which, in order to enter into force, must have been accepted
by at least 144 of the 192 parties to the Kyoto Protocol.
To celebrate the anniversary of
the Kyoto Protocol and encourage more Parties to ratify the Doha Amendment, UN
Climate Change is launching a campaign on social networks ahead of the 20th
anniversary of the protocol people to send support messages.
“People can take selfies, alone,
with their friends or family with posters that say "I love the Kyoto
Protocol" and publish them on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, with the
hashtag "ILoveKyotoProtocol".
"In 1997, we achieved a
historic agreement with the Kyoto Protocol and its measurable reduction
targets." The 20th anniversary of that agreement next month is something
worth recognizing, "added the president of the COP23, the Prime Minister
of Fiji, Frank Bainimarama.
With the Kyoto Protocol, emission
reduction commitments were set for developed countries. It was adopted on
December 11, 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, and entered into force on February 16, 2005.
During their first commitment
period, from 2008 to 2012, 37 industrialised countries and the European
Community (an organization that is also a Party to the UN Framework Convention
on Climate Change), agreed to assume a leading role in climate action by
reducing their average emissions above 5 percent compared to 1990 levels.
The final reductions exceeded 20
percent "I am sure that the Kyoto Protocol was fundamental to achieve this
exceptional result: Kyoto was a source of inspiration, innovation and an
example of the economic logic of betting on renewable energy, energy efficiency,
new technologies, reduction of pollution and new carbon markets that emerged in
developed countries in this period to start accelerating later, "said
Patricia Espinosa, Executive Secretary of UN Climate Change.
"Thanks to the Kyoto
Protocol, we do not start from scratch and we know that we have solutions to
meet the Paris goal, but only if we now act together to get further, faster,
with the leadership of emissions reduction in the developed nations" she
added.
GNA
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