The Kyoto mechanisms

Gro Harlem Brundtland was responsible for one of the UN’s most important contributions towards sustainable development when the report “Our common future” – referred to as the Brundtland report in the international press – was presented in London on 27 April 1987. The report was met with great interest and acknowledgement around the world, and laid the foundation for the UN’s climate work for the next ten years by initiating a completely new way of thinking in order to resolve global environmental challenges. On 25 January 1991, the then Under-secretary of State for the Department of Environmental Protection, Jens Stoltenberg, participated in a meeting of ministers for environmental protection within the organisation of industrial countries (OECD).

Stoltenberg launched innovative initiatives for international environmental work by focusing on the fact that the threat of global climate change requires a new generation of international environmental agreements, which would allow funds to be used in areas where the environmental gain would be the greatest. For the first time in history a governmental initiative was put forward to promote international trade in emission allowances as effective means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions, a system of convertible quotas based on consensus on a global limit for greenhouse gas emissions and fixed emission allowances for each individual country.

The rapid growth of the oil and gas industry made it difficult—and expensive—to implement the Norwegian parliament’s decision of 1989 to stabilise CO₂ emissions before year 2000. These problems were aggravated by the fact that Norway, in contrast to many other countries, had no means of reducing emissions in the power sector, as 99% of all electric power in Norway is generated by CO2-free hydropower stations. This situation prompted Norway to adopt its role of an international promoter of what now is known as “cost-effective agreements”.

The Brundtland report formed the basis of the UN environment conference held in Rio de Janeiro in October 1992. Guidelines for international climate work were agreed upon through the UN framework convention on climate change (The Climate Convention - United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change - UNFCCC). To date, 189 countries have ratified the convention

and have therefore agreed to the main goal of stabilising the concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a level that the Earth can tolerate.

This again formed the basis of the Kyoto Protocol, which was finally negotiated and agreed upon in December 1997. The protocol is legally binding and contains concrete emission reduction targets for industrial countries. In addition to actions taken within a country, the protocol opens the way for a country to fulfil its obligations by means of what is known as Kyoto­ mechanisms. The Kyoto Protocol came into force on 16 February 2005. To date, 168 countries and regional economic co-operation organisations have signed the protocol. The USA, which alone is responsible for about 30 percent of the world’s total emissions (i.e. more than South America, Africa, the Middle East, Australia, Japan and Asia all together), has refused to sign.