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Compliance with the commitments of the Kyoto Protocol is crucial to begin the downward trend of greenhouse gas emissions that cause climate change. Consequently, designing an effective compliance system should be one of the top priorities for Parties and observers of the climate change negotiations over the next thirteen months leading up to COP-6.
The institutional structure of that system will greatly shape its ability to promote compliance and discourage non-compliance. It must therefore be designed with great care and diligence, guided by the overarching principle of achieving the emission reduction targets in the Protocol, i.e., making the environment whole.
The Kyoto Protocol includes different levels and types of commitments for both Annex B and non-Annex B countries. Parties should create compliance institutions that perform a number of functions: adequately identify questions of implementation, provide adequate opportunities for the Party to clarify, shepherd issues to the most appropriate body for further consideration, transparently assess questions at hand and automatically applyconsequences when appropriate.
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