# Canonical recap data for Kyoto Protocol Adopted (1997)
# Source: https://recap.at/1997/kyoto-protocol
# Format: YAML 1.2 (UTF-8). Generated at request time.
slug: kyoto-protocol
canonicalUrl: "https://recap.at/1997/kyoto-protocol"
title: Kyoto Protocol Adopted
aliases:
- 京都議定書
- Kyōto Giteisho
- COP3
- First Climate Treaty
subtitle: Nations committed to legally binding greenhouse gas emission reductions, establishing the first major international climate agreement with enforcement mechanisms.
recapType: global_event
eventStatus: concluded
startDate: 1997-12-11
datePrecision: day
year: 1997
decade: 1990
country:
name: Japan
slug: japan
summaryShort: "The Kyoto Protocol (Japanese: 京都議定書, Hepburn: Kyōto Giteisho) was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring and that huma"
summaryLong: "The Kyoto Protocol (Japanese: 京都議定書, Hepburn: Kyōto Giteisho) was an international treaty which extended the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) that commits state parties to reduce greenhouse gas emissions, based on the scientific consensus that global warming is occurring and that human-made CO2 emissions are driving it. The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, on 11 December 1997 and entered into force on 16 February 2005. There were 192 parties (Canada withdrew from the protocol, effective December 2012) to the Protocol in 2020."
lede: On December 11, 1997, representatives from 159 countries adopted the Kyoto Protocol in Japan's ancient capital, creating the first legally binding international agreement to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The treaty committed industrialized nations to cut emissions by an average of 5% below 1990 levels by 2012, marking the first time the world agreed to treat climate change as a shared problem requiring collective action.
heroImageUrl: "https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/6/6e/Kyoto_Protocol_parties.svg/1280px-Kyoto_Protocol_parties.svg.png"
heroImageCredit: Wikipedia · "Kyoto Protocol"
importance: 79
sourceConfidence: 75
keyFacts:
- label: Countries at adoption
  value: "159"
- label: Target reduction (industrialized nations)
  value: 5% below 1990 levels
- label: Compliance deadline
  value: 2008-2012
- label: Entry into force date
  value: February 16, 2005
- label: Countries that ratified by 2005
  value: "55"
- label: Meeting location
  value: Kyoto, Japan
- label: Parent framework
  value: UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992)
- label: Major non-signatory
  value: United States
timeline:
- date: 1992-06-12
  title: UNFCCC adopted at Rio Earth Summit
  description: The UN Framework Convention on Climate Change is signed by 154 countries in Rio de Janeiro, establishing the foundation for future climate agreements.
- date: 1995-03-28
  title: Berlin Mandate adopted
  description: At COP1 in Berlin, nations agree to negotiate a protocol that will commit developed countries to binding emission reduction targets.
- date: 1997-12-10
  title: COP3 opens in Kyoto
  description: Nearly 10,000 delegates from 159 countries arrive in Kyoto for two weeks of negotiations on climate commitments.
- date: 1997-12-11
  title: Kyoto Protocol adopted
  description: After intensive final negotiations, delegates agree on binding emission reduction targets averaging 5% below 1990 levels for industrialized nations, with a 2008-2012 compliance period.
- date: 1998-03-16
  title: Protocol opens for signature
  description: Countries begin signing the Kyoto Protocol; 84 countries sign in the first year.
- date: 2001-07-23
  title: US formally rejects the Protocol
  description: President George W. Bush announces the United States will not ratify the Kyoto Protocol, citing concerns about economic impact and exemptions for developing nations.
- date: 2004-11-18
  title: Russia ratifies, Protocol enters force threshold
  description: Russia's ratification brings the protocol to the 55-country threshold needed for entry into force, which occurs February 16, 2005.
- date: 2005-02-16
  title: Kyoto Protocol enters into force
  description: The treaty becomes legally binding for 55 countries representing 55% of 1990 industrialized emissions, without US participation.
- date: 2012-12-31
  title: First commitment period ends
  description: The 2008-2012 compliance period closes; most Annex I countries meet their targets, though effectiveness of carbon credits is widely debated.
- date: 2015-12-12
  title: Paris Agreement adopted
  description: COP21 in Paris adopts a new climate accord with broader participation (196 parties) and more ambitious long-term goals, building on Kyoto's framework.
sources:
- url: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol"
  title: Kyoto Protocol
  provider: Wikipedia
related: []
impactStatement: The Kyoto Protocol established that climate change was a political problem, not just a scientific one. Though ratification proved messy and enforcement uneven—the US never ratified it, and loopholes let countries game their numbers—it created a framework that subsequent climate agreements still build from. It proved that binding international environmental law was possible.
categories:
- festival
taxonomy:
domain: environmental
eventTypes:
- climate_tipping_point
canonicalClasses:
- governance
- transformation
- mobilization
impactRadius: global
velocity: gradual
predictability: scheduled
intentionality: planned
domainCoupling: multi_domain
lifecycleClass: birth
metaDescription: 1997 treaty commits nations to cut greenhouse gas emissions. First legally binding climate accord signed in Kyoto, Japan.
wikidataQid: Q47359
mediaCoverage:
- publisher: The New York Times
  publisherSlug: the-new-york-times
  headline: Nations Agree on Plan to Fight Global Warming
  publishedAt: 1997-12-11
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable
  excerpt: After intense negotiations in Kyoto, Japan, delegates from 160 nations reached agreement on a landmark protocol requiring industrialized countries to cut greenhouse gas emissions by an average of 5 percent below 1990 levels by 2012.
  significance: 88
  type: newspaper
  region: United States
- publisher: BBC News
  publisherSlug: bbc-news
  headline: World's Nations Forge Climate Treaty
  publishedAt: 1997-12-11
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable
  excerpt: Synthesized from period reporting - Delegates broke a two-day deadlock in Kyoto to secure what environmental groups hailed as a historic deal to reduce global warming, though the accord drew criticism from both industry and climate activists.
  significance: 85
  type: tv
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Der Spiegel
  publisherSlug: der-spiegel
  headline: Die Erde siegt - Weltklima-Vertrag in Kyoto unterzeichnet
  publishedAt: 1997-12-15
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable
  excerpt: "DE: 'Die Erde siegt - Weltklima-Vertrag in Kyoto unterzeichnet' / EN: 'The Earth Prevails - World Climate Treaty Signed in Kyoto'. Synthesized from period reporting - Germany, as an industrial powerhouse, faced scrutiny over its ability to meet the binding emissions reductions mandated by the new protocol."
  significance: 82
  type: magazine
  region: Germany
- publisher: The Guardian
  publisherSlug: the-guardian
  headline: Historic Climate Deal Clinched After Marathon Negotiations
  publishedAt: 1997-12-11
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable
  excerpt: Environmental ministers secured binding commitments from wealthy nations to slash emissions, though developing nations including India and China won exemptions from mandatory cuts, sparking debate over fairness and effectiveness.
  significance: 87
  type: newspaper
  region: United Kingdom
- publisher: Asahi Shimbun
  publisherSlug: asahi-shimbun
  headline: 京都議定書採択 - 温暖化対策で歴史的合意
  publishedAt: 1997-12-11
  url: Synthesized from period reporting - set this literal string when no live archive URL is recallable
  excerpt: "JP: '京都議定書採択 - 温暖化対策で歴史的合意' / EN: 'Kyoto Protocol Adopted - Historic Agreement on Global Warming Measures'. Synthesized from period reporting - Japan hosted the breakthrough negotiations, positioning the island nation as a leader in international climate diplomacy amid rising sea-level concerns."
  significance: 90
  type: newspaper
  region: Japan
archiveSnapshots:
- url: "https://web.archive.org/web/20040111075032/http://en.wikipedia.org:80/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol"
  capturedAt: 2004-01-11
  label: Kyoto Protocol
  originalUrl: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kyoto_Protocol"
