The Kyoto Protocol on Climate Change is an international framework to reduce greenhouse gas emissions in an attempt to mitigate global climate change. In December of 1997, representatives from 142 nations met in Kyoto, Japan to negotiate and sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), now known as the Kyoto Protocol. The Protocol, in its latest form, requires developed nations to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to about 5% below 1990 levels by the years 2008-2012. The Kyoto Protocol and its continuing negotiations are far from perfect. However, as it is the only current international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, and has been ten years in the making, many believe getting the Protocol into action is a crucial step in combating global warming.

The Kyoto Protocol suffered a temporary setback in March, 2001, when US President George Bush denounced the Protocol, thereby rejecting ten years of hard work and negotiations. The US was the only country to reject the Protocol in advance of the July meetings in Bonn. It did so for a number of reasons. The Bush administration believes that:

• the protocol is 'fatally flawed' (Associated Press, 23 Jul 2001)
• adherence would cause economic crises
• the 130 developing nations should not be exempt from the current emissions reduction requirements.

Fortunately, the US administration's rejection of the Kyoto Protocol has renewed efforts by other nations and environmentalists to get the Protocol ratified. And on July 23, 2001, 178 nations meeting in Bonn, Germany, with the notable exception of the US, agreed on the rules of the Kyoto Protocol. This action "was a triumph for European diplomacy and an impressive testament to the statesmanship of the other nations of the world, which, against all predictions, decided that it was time to act on the most critical environmental problem of the 21st century." ( Leonie Haimson, Grist Magazine)

As of April 11th, 2002, 53 of the needed 55 countries have ratified it. However, these countries so far only account for 2.4% of the developed world's emissions. This means we need ratification by a number of large (in emissions)countries, i.e. Canada, Japan, Russia, and European Union members to ratify for the protocol to come into force.