The Kyoto Protocol, or Kyoto Accord, is an international treaty that intends to reduce greenhouse gases. The Kyoto Protocol is connected to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC). The UNFCCC was created to help stop global warming by controlling greenhouse gas emissions. The UNFCCC is a broader document than the Kyoto Protocol. Unlike the Kyoto Protocol, the UNFCCC is nonbinding. It only encourages countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions.
The Kyoto Protocol is one of several updates of the UNFCCC. It was negotiated in 1997 and officially adopted on December 11, 1997. It didn't come into force, however, until 2005, when Russia finally signed on. The Protocol could only officially begin with at least 55 countries signing and with the sum of those countries' emissions reaching 55% of the world total. Currently, 191 countries have signed. Countries which have signed the Protocol agree to reduce four particular greenhouse gases and two groups of gases. They must reduce their emission levels (the amount of the gases they give off) by 5.2% from the 1990 levels. This percentage is an average for all countries; different countries must reduce different amounts. The objective of the Protocol is to keep levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere at a low level.
Countries can comply with their Kyoto responsibilities in different ways. They can simply reduce their gases. If they can't manage that, they can trade credits with other countries which pollute less so they can buy extra emissions for themselves. This is one of the controversial aspects of the Protocol, because many people believe this carbon trading will not be effective in preventing global warming.
「京都議定書」（或稱京都協議），是希望能減少溫室氣體的國際協定。「京都議定書」跟聯合國的「氣候變化綱要公約」（UNFCCC）有關。該公約想藉控制溫室氣體的排放來阻止全球暖化。UNFCCC涵蓋的內容比「京都議定書」更廣。與「京都議定書」不同的是，UNFCCC是不具約束力的。它只能鼓勵國家降低他們溫室氣體的排放量。
「京都議定書」是UNFCCC 的幾個更新內容之一。它在1997 年被議定，並在1997 年12 月11 日正式通過。然而，一直等到2005 年俄國終於簽署後才生效。條約生效條件是，至少要有55 個國家簽署，而且這些國家的總排放量必須達到全球總排放量的55%。目前簽署的國家有191 個。簽署議定書的國家同意降低四種特定的溫室氣體及兩大類氣體的排放量。他們的排放標準（排放的氣體量）必須比1990年的標準減少5 . 2%。這百分比是各國平均，但不同國家要減低的量不同。議定書的目標是將大氣層中的溫室氣體含量保持在低水平。
各國可用不同方式來擔負「京都議定書」的責任。他們可以單純地減少氣體排放。若無法達成，就跟其他汙染較少的國家「交易」碳權，這樣他們就能為自己買進額外的排放量。這是議定書中一個頗具爭議的問題，因為許多人相信，「碳權交易」是無法有效防止全球暖化的。 |
