Australia has confirmed it will join the second phase of the Kyoto Protocol after the initial phase of the world’s only legally binding international climate agreement expires at the end of this year.
Kyoto2 will continue commitments to reduce carbon emissions through 2020, at which time the UN climate body hopes to implement a unilaterally agreed plan that is currently under negotiation.
The initial agreement lacked the participation of some of the world’s biggest emitters, namely the United States, China and India, and some of the original signatories have said they would not sign on for the second phase. These include Russia, Canada and Japan. New Zealand has also said it would not join the second phase.
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