IntroductionIn response to growing concerns about the increasing concentration of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, many nations came together in 1992 to sign the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change (1992). This voluntary agreement promised that member countries would work to reduce greenhouse gas emissions to 1990 levels by 2000. When it became apparent that major nations such as the United States would not be able to meet these guidelines, the parties of the treaty decided in 1995 to begin negotiations for a protocol that legally binds nations to reductions and limitations of greenhouse gas emissions (Congressional Research Service Report 98-2). These negotiations took place in Kyoto, Japan, and were completed in December 1997. The final product was the Kyoto Protocol, adopted on 12 December 1997 and opened for signature on 16 March 1998. The following research paper will describe detailing the key parts of the protocol, the debate on its impact on areas such as the environment and the economy and, finally, the current situation and prospects for the future. The ProtocolThe main provision of the Kyoto Protocol concerned the reduction of emissions of the three main greenhouse gases (carbon nitrogen dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide) as well as three artificial gases (sulphur hexafluoride, perfluorocarbons and hydrofluorocarbons). The reference for each industrial country was the emissions of the three main greenhouse gases in 1990 and the choice of the 1990 or 1995 levels of the three anthropogenic gases (Yellen 5). In total, the average reduction in greenhouse gas emissions over the period 2008 to 2012 was expected to be about 5% below 1990 levels. One of the main fractures of the Kyoto Protocol...... half of the document ... ...rudder. “The Impact of the Kyoto Protocol on U.S. Economic Growth and Projected Budget Surpluses.” Senate Committee on Energy and Natural Resources, March 25, 1999. Online. Internet. Available http://www.accf.org/Mar99test.htm.Yellen, Janet. Testimony. “The Economics of the Kyoto Protocol.” Senate Committee on Agriculture, Nutrition, and Forestry, Washington DC, March 5, 1998. Online.Internet. Available http://www.state.gov/www/policy_remarks/1998/980305_yellen_climate.html."Buenos Aires Post-Mortem." Worldwatch briefing. Online. Internet. November 18, 1998. Available http://www.worldwatch.org/alerts/981118.html."84 signatories to the Kyoto Protocol." Press release. United Nations. Online. Internet.16 March 1999. Available http://www.unfccc.de/fccc/conv/presskp.html.