A summit to reduce global warming was held on December 1, 1997 in Kyoto City of Japan and an agreement to this effect was also signed. This summit was attended by the representatives of 159 countries. This agreement is popularly known as Kyoto Protocol or Kyoto Thermal Treaty. The following are main items of this historic agreement:
A proposal of 30 per cent cut in the emission of carbon dioxide by 2008-12 A.D. was presented by the island nations in the fear that the temperature is estimated to rise 2C to 3.5C at the present rate of global warming.
According to this agreement the industrial countries can have mutual transfer of fixed quota of cut in the emission of green house gases.
The Kyoto Protocol and agreement would automatically be invalidated if at least 60 countries of the conference of parties do not endorse and implement its provisions. The Protocol has come into effect from 1999.
A Clean Development Fund would be established which would be funded by the fines realized from countries which flout the protocol.
One positive outcome of the summit is that the developed and developing countries accepted at least in principle that some concrete steps should be initiated to check global warming.