Kyoto Protocol

The Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Kyoto, Japan, in December 1997 to improve the implementation of the Convention. The Kyoto Protocol commits industrialized countries to stabilize greenhouse gas emissions based on the principles of the Convention. Serbia ratified the Protocol in September 2007.

The Kyoto Protocol sets binding emission reduction targets for 37 industrialized countries and the European community in its first commitment period 2008-2012. Being part of the developing country group “Non-Annex I countries”, the Republic of Serbia did not have quantitative greenhouse gases emission reduction commitments in the first commitment period. However, the Republic of Serbia has all the commitments with regards to establishing and implementing measures and activities to achieve the objectives of the Convention.
The second commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol was launched when the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol was adopted in Doha, Qatar, in December 2012. During the second commitment period, Parties committed to reduce GHG emissions by at least 18 percent below the 1990 levels in the eight-year period from 2013 to 2020. The Doha Amendment has not yet entered into force.
The central feature of the Kyoto Protocol is its requirement that industrialized countries limit or reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. To help countries meet their emission targets, and to encourage the private sector and developing countries to contribute to emission reduction efforts, three market-based mechanisms were developed – International Emissions Trading, Joint Implementation (JI) and the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).
Based on the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol, Serbia as non-Annex I Party can only use the Clean Development Mechanism (CDM).

Clean Development Mechanism (CDM)

The clean development mechanism was designed to meet a dual objective:

to help developed countries fulfill their commitments to reduce emissions, and
to assist developing countries in achieving sustainable development.

Through CDM, the industrially developed countries (Annex I Party) invest in projects which contribute to sustainable development and reduce GHG emissions in developing countries (non-Annex I Parties). The CDM allows emission-reduction projects in developing countries to earn certified emission reduction (CER) credits, each equivalent to one ton of CO₂. These CER credits can be traded and sold, and used by industrialized countries to meet a part of their emission reduction targets under the Kyoto Protocol.
The CDM is the main source of income for the UNFCCC Adaptation Fund, which was established to finance adaptation projects and programmes in developing Parties that are particularly vulnerable to the adverse effects of climate change. The Adaptation Fund is financed by a 2% levy on CERs issued by the CDM.
The mechanism stimulates sustainable development and emission reductions, while giving industrialized countries some flexibility to meet their emission reduction limitation targets. At the same time, implementation of CDM projects enables non-Annex I Parties to get new and more energy efficient technologies under more favorable economic conditions.

The Government of Serbia compiled the “National Strategy for Incorporation of the Republic of Serbia into Clean Development Mechanism” in 2010. Furthermore, seven CDM projects have been developed and submitted to the Convention Secretariat by the established Designated National Authority of Serbia. Read more about the CDM projects in Serbia.

More information on CDM projects

Kyoto Protocol in UNFCCC