Kyoto Protocol
A protocol to the 1992 UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (UNFCCC) adopted at the Third Session of the Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC in 1997 in Kyoto, Japan. It contains legally binding commitments, in addition to those included in the UNFCCC. Countries included in Annex B of the protocol (most OECD countries and countries with economies in transition) agreed to control their national anthropogenic emissions of greenhouse gases (CO2, CH4, N2O, HFCs, PFCs and SF6) so that the total emissions from these countries would be at least 5 per cent below 1990 levels in the commitment period, 2008 to 2012.