IntroductionIn response to growing concerns about the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, many countries came together in 1992 to sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. climate (1992). This voluntary agreement committed that member countries would work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by the year 2000. When it became clear that large countries like states If the United States would not be able to meet these guidelines, the treaty parties decided in 1995 to begin negotiations for a protocol that would legally require nations to reduce and limit greenhouse gas emissions (Congressional Research Service Report 98-2). These negotiations took place in Kyoto, Japan, and concluded in December 1997. The final product was the Kyoto Protocol, adopted on December 12, 1997 and opened for signature on March 16, 1998. The following research paper will detail the fundamental elements of the protocol, the debate on its impact in areas such as the environment and the economy and, finally, its current situation and future prospects. The Protocol The main provision of the Kyoto Protocol was the reduction of emissions of the three main greenhouse gases (carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) as well as for three man-made gases (sulfur hexafluoride, perfluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons). The benchmark for each industrialized country was its 1990 emissions of the three major greenhouse gases and its choice between 1990 or 1995 levels of the three human-caused gases (Yellen 5). In total, the average reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the period 2008 to 2012 is expected to be around 5 percent lower than their 1990 levels. One of the main divides in the Kyoto Protocol..... . middle of paper ... ...timine. “the impact of the Kyoto Protocol on U.S. economic growth and projected budget surpluses.” Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, March 25, 1999. Online. Internet. Available http://www.accf.org/Mar99test.htm.Yellen, Janet. Testimony. “The Economics of the Kyoto Protocol.” Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Washington DC, March 5, 1998. Online.Internet. Available at http://www.state.gov/www/policy_remarks/1998/980305_yellen_climate.html. “Buenos Aires Post-Mortem.” Global Surveillance Briefing. Online. Internet. November 18, 1998. Available at http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/981118.html. “84 signatories to the Kyoto Protocol.” Press release. The United Nations. Online. Internet, March 16, 1999. Available at http://www.unfccc.de/fccc/conv/presskp.html.