Doha Amendment

Doha Amendment
User:Canuckguy, User:Danlaycock · Public domain · source
Name	Doha Amendment
Long name	Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol pursuant to its Article 3, paragraph 9 (the Doha Amendment)
Type	Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol
Date drafted	8 December 2012
Location signed	Doha, Qatar
Date effective	31 December 2020
Condition effective	Acceptance by 144 parties to the Kyoto Protocol
Parties	147
Depositor	Secretary-General of the United Nations
Languages	Arabic, Chinese, English, French, Russian, Spanish

Doha Amendment. The Doha Amendment is an international treaty that established a second commitment period for the Kyoto Protocol, the landmark agreement under the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Adopted at the 2012 United Nations Climate Change Conference in Qatar, it set binding greenhouse gas emission reduction targets for a group of industrialized countries from 2013 to 2020. This amendment aimed to maintain a rules-based multilateral framework for climate action while the broader Paris Agreement was being negotiated.

Background and context

The amendment emerged from negotiations during the COP 18 conference, as the first commitment period of the Kyoto Protocol was concluding. Key parties like the European Union, Australia, and several others sought to preserve the protocol's legal architecture and market mechanisms. This period was marked by the withdrawal of major emitters, including Japan, Russia, and notably Canada, which had formally exited the protocol the previous year. The negotiations in Doha occurred amidst growing calls for a more inclusive global pact, which would later materialize as the Paris Agreement.

Key provisions

The core provision established a second commitment period spanning from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020. It set quantified emission limitation and reduction objectives for a list of developed country parties, including the European Union and its then-member states, Australia, Belarus, Iceland, Kazakhstan, Liechtenstein, Monaco, Norway, Switzerland, and Ukraine. The amendment also updated the list of greenhouse gases to include nitrogen trifluoride and made technical adjustments to the rules governing Land use, land-use change and forestry activities and the carryover of surplus Assigned Amount Units from the first period.

Ratification and entry into force

The formal adoption required ratification, acceptance, or approval by at least 144 parties to the Kyoto Protocol, a threshold that took over eight years to achieve. The process was slow, with Norway and Monaco among the early ratifiers, while larger blocs like the European Union completed its internal process later. The amendment finally entered into force on the last day of 2020, following the deposit of the necessary instrument by Nigeria, which pushed the total past the required number. This late entry meant its operational period had nearly concluded upon its formal activation.

Impact and implementation

Despite its delayed entry into force, many parties, such as the European Union and its member states, began implementing their second-period targets domestically from 2013 onward under political commitment. The amendment ensured the continued operation of the Kyoto Protocol's flexible mechanisms, including the Clean Development Mechanism and International Emissions Trading, providing some continuity for carbon markets. Its existence served as a symbolic bridge between the older, division-based approach of the Kyoto Protocol and the new universal framework being developed under the Ad Hoc Working Group on the Durban Platform for Enhanced Action.

Criticism and challenges

The amendment faced significant criticism for its limited environmental coverage, as the listed parties represented only about 15% of global emissions after the withdrawals of nations like Canada and Japan. The prolonged ratification process highlighted challenges of multilateral consensus within the United Nations system. Furthermore, the overlap with the negotiation and adoption of the Paris Agreement led to questions about its practical relevance, with some viewing it as a largely political instrument to maintain negotiation momentum rather than a driver of substantial new mitigation action.

Category:Climate change treaties Category:2012 in the environment Category:2012 in Qatar Category:United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change Category:Treaties extended to Greenland Category:Treaties extended to the Faroe Islands