Your green promises:

Walk to school twice a week, Katie Doben, Winchester >> Buy food locally to cut down on carbon emissions, Ali Baylis >> Walk home from school, Rachel Carver, Winchester >> Start growing my own herbs and vegetable, Georgie Cave >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Poppy De Groot >> Recycle everything that should go in the recycle bin, Catriona Brown, Hampshire >> Start growing my own herbs and vegetable, Alice C >> Cycle to work once a week, Jessie Baker >> Turn lights off when I leave a room, Mona Freidin, New York >> Recycle my household waste, Madeleine, Winchester >> Start growing my own herbs and vegetable, Johnny >> Take showers instead of baths. Nevet Basker, Bellevue, WA, USA >> Turn the tap off when I brush my teeth, Sharon Goldstein, Northwood >> Signed up to a renewable energy provider (Good Energy) and encouraging our visitors and members to do likewise, Moishe House London >> Reject opportunities to see the world, when that means taking a plane, Jeremy, London >> Dedicated to leading the way in environmental efforts through local & vegetarian catering, zero waste & reducing carbon emissions by 10% in 2010, Tzedek, London >> Re-use plastic bags when shopping, Lisa, London >> Find something to make with every item in my organic vegetable box, Penny Kustow, Rickmansworth >> Not use the car for short journeys, Jon, Damascus >> I will not leave the tap running while brushing my teeth, Lucy Freeman, 7 >> I will buy more vegetables from the farmers market, Ben, Stanmore >> I will join the 10:10 Campaign, Naomi, 28 >> I will turn off my laptop when I am not using it, Dave, 25, Golders Green >> I will recycle my paper and plastics, Jo, 46 >> I will reduce the temperature of my washing machine cycles, Evelyn, 35 >>

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The Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement between 182 Parties of the UNFCCC. The Kyoto Protocol was agreed upon at the third Conference of the Parties (COP3) in December 1997 in Kyoto, Japan, and entered into force on February 16th, 2005.

The Protocol was the first international agreement with specific obligations for the reduction in greenhouse gas emissions. The protocol set binding targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European Community for reducing greenhouse gasses. All agreed to reduce their emissions by at least 5% compared to 1990 levels. The United States never ratified the Kyoto Protocol, despite helping to shape the original agreement. It is felt that without the involvement of the USA, any international agreement is limited in its ability to tackle climate change. The Kyoto Protocol expires in 2012.

The protocol set out three market based ‘flexibility mechanisms’ for countries to reduce their emissions:

Emissions trading: One country can buy a certain number of emissions from another country.
Joint Implementation (JI): developed counties can receive an ‘emissions reduction unit’ if it helps to finance another developed country’s emission reduction scheme.
Clean Development Mechanism (CDM): Developed countries can finance their emission reductions by financing projects in developing countries e.g. solar panel instillations.

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