By Xinhua
Bali, Indonesia : Japanese Environment Minister Ichiro Kamoshita on Tuesday cut a huge birthday cake in celebration of the 10th anniversary of the Kyoto Protocol, the agreement ever adopted by countries with specific plan to reduce greenhouse gas emissions.
Kyoto was a very important first step on actions taken by the international community, and Japan would do its best to meet its commitments under the Protocol, said the minister at a birthday party held here for the Protocol.
The birthday cake was wheeled in by Greenpeace at the end of a press conference with some of the main negotiators of Kyoto, who say that Kyoto still provides the building blocks of whatever comes next.
But there was a strong undercurrent of regret that Kyoto did not work as well as planned, mainly due to the decision of the United States not to join the Protocol.
Raul Estrada, who presided over the Kyoto talks, said here Tuesday at another event marking the 10th anniversary of Kyoto Protocol that the Protocol was adopted unanimously and followed U.S. proposals for cap and trade.
Michael Zammit Cutajar, who formerly headed the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC), said Kyoto was the most important economic agreement launched by the United Nations.
The Kyoto Protocol was adopted at the third Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC (COP 3) in Kyoto, Japan on December 11, 1997.
The Protocol shares the objective and institutions of the UNFCCC. The major distinction between the two, however, is that while the Convention encouraged industrialized countries to stabilize greenhouse gases (GHGs) emissions, the Protocol commits them to do so. The detailed rules for its implementation were adopted at COP 7 in Marrakesh in 2001, and are called the “Marrakesh Accords”.
The Protocol places a heavier burden on developed nations under the principle of “common but differentiated responsibilities.” The Kyoto Protocol entered into force on February 16, 2005, and 176 Parties have ratified the treaty to date.
The celebrations were held as thousands of delegates, scientists and representatives from intergovernmental and non-governmental organizations are meeting here to discuss a roadmap for a future international agreement on enhanced global action to fight climate change in the period after 2012, the year the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol expires.