Paris Agreement vs Kyoto Protocol [Comparison Chart]
December 9th, 2020
Martha Benduski
The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) was established at the United Nations Convention on Environment and Development with the purpose of uniting countries within the UN to combat climate change via reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The signatories of the UNFCCC meet annually at the Conference of the Parties (COP) to confer on further reductions of emissions and increase environmental protection. Through the UNFCCC there have been two agreements signed by nations in the UN to formally declare emission reduction goals. These are the Kyoto Protocol (1997) and the Paris Agreement (2015).
The Kyoto Protocol and subsequently the Paris Agreement are accords made between nations to unify the fight against rising global temperatures. Both agreements have made impacts on reduced emissions. However, under current commitments there will likely be a rise of about 2.8 degrees Celsius in global temperatures, well above the target goal of 1.5 C which mitigate the worst impacts from climate change (find more on targets and commitments here).
The way forward seems challenging. Yet through unification of the climate movement and increased pressure on political institutions to implement greenhouse gas emission reduction policies, each voice can make a difference.
Learn about how Care About Climate brings youth voices to the international climate policy stage through our CAAP program.
Want to learn more about the Paris Agreement? Read our blog “What is the Paris Agreement”.
Resources:
The following resources were used to write this blog:
https://greencoast.org/kyoto-protocol-vs-paris-agreement/
https://www.nytimes.com/2020/11/04/climate/paris-climate-agreement-trump.html
https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-thermometer/