DSS5101 Chap.7 Climate Action from Kyoto to Paris
Climate Action from Kyoto to Paris
SDG 13 runs through the climate convention
Goal 13 calls for urgent climate action on both causes and effects, and the Agenda acknowledges the UN climate convention as the primary forum for negotiating the global response.
The Week 3 lecture therefore teaches climate action through the convention’s two treaties, alongside the science, the IPCC’s assessments and the distinction between mitigation and adaptation.
Kyoto: binding targets for developed countries
The Kyoto Protocol, adopted at the third Conference of the Parties in 1997, required developed-country Parties to keep their emissions of six greenhouse gases within assigned amounts, aiming for a combined cut of no less than 5 per cent on 1990 levels across 2008 to 2012. It came into force in 2005, once at least 55 Parties including developed countries responsible for at least 55 per cent of their group’s 1990 carbon dioxide emissions had ratified.
Its tools were mainly market-based: emissions trading between developed countries, joint implementation projects between them, and the clean development mechanism, which let projects in developing countries generate credits.
Emissions were counted in units of one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent, and a Party that overshot faced a deduction of 1.3 times the excess from its next allowance.
Paris: universal, nationally determined pledges
The Paris Agreement of 2015 set a goal of holding warming well below 2°C while pursuing 1.5°C.
It dropped binding national targets in favour of nationally determined contributions from every country, reported through a transparency framework and reviewed at a global stocktake held first in 2023 and every five years after.
The lecture’s summary maps the agreement article by article, from mitigation and sinks to market and non-market cooperation under Article 6, adaptation under Article 7 and loss and damage under Article 8. It also flags that just transition, though widely discussed, is not explicitly named.
With current national policies pointing to about 3°C of warming, the question the course leaves open is whether the Paris cycle can raise ambition fast enough.
What this chapter covers
- 01
SDG 13 and the primacy of the climate convention
- 02
Kyoto's six gases and the 5 per cent aim
- 03
Emissions trading, joint implementation and the CDM
- 04
Assigned amounts, reserves and the 1.3 penalty
- 05
Paris goals, NDCs and the five-yearly stocktake
- 06
Mitigation, adaptation and loss and damage
Worked example · free
Judging a Kyoto Party at the end of the period
- 2Work out the units held after the sale.
- 2Compare holdings with emissions.
- 2Explain the reserve's role.
Key terms
- Assigned Amount
- A developed-country Party's allowable emissions for a Kyoto commitment period, issued as units of one tonne of carbon dioxide equivalent.
- Nationally Determined Contribution
- The climate pledge each country sets for itself under the Paris Agreement and updates over time.
- Clean Development Mechanism
- The Kyoto mechanism that credits emission reductions from projects in developing countries, helping them develop sustainably and helping developed Parties comply.
- Joint Implementation
- The Kyoto mechanism under which one developed Party earns reduction units from a project in another, if the reductions are additional.
- Global Stocktake
- The Paris Agreement's collective review of progress towards its goals, first held in 2023 and then every five years.
- Commitment Period Reserve
- The minimum quantity of units a Kyoto Party had to keep in its registry, preventing it from selling more than it could spare.
- Climate Adaptation
- Action to reduce vulnerability and strengthen resilience to climate change, the subject of the global goal on adaptation under Article 7.
Climate Action from Kyoto to Paris FAQ
What is the main difference between the Kyoto Protocol and the Paris Agreement?
Kyoto set legally binding emission targets for developed countries only. Paris covers every country but lets each set its own nationally determined contribution, relying on transparency and a five-yearly global stocktake rather than penalties to raise ambition.
What did Kyoto require of developed countries?
To keep their emissions of six greenhouse gases within assigned amounts over 2008 to 2012, with a combined aim of cutting them by no less than 5 per cent on 1990 levels. Individual targets were listed for each country, and some were allowed increases rather than cuts.
How did the Kyoto market mechanisms work?
Emissions trading let developed countries buy and sell units; joint implementation credited projects in another developed country; and the clean development mechanism credited projects in developing countries. Trading redistributed allowances without enlarging the total, and purchases were meant to supplement domestic action.
What is the difference between mitigation and adaptation?
Mitigation reduces emissions or enhances carbon sinks, for instance through renewables and efficiency. Adaptation prepares for impacts that cannot be avoided, by enhancing adaptive capacity, strengthening resilience and reducing vulnerability.
Is just transition part of the Paris Agreement?
The lecture notes that just transition is not explicitly named in the Agreement, even though it is widely discussed and relates to several articles. It is safer to describe it as a theme than to cite an article for it.
What happened to a Kyoto Party that emitted more than its allowance?
The enforcement branch deducted 1.3 times the excess from the next period's assigned amount, required a compliance action plan and suspended the Party's eligibility to transfer units.
Assessment move
Learn the treaties as a comparison table with five rows: date, legal force, participation, long-term goal and tools. Then practise one Kyoto accounting calculation and one Paris cycle explanation, since between them they cover most questions and the group discussion the lecture sets.
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