The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, which was attended by approximately 160 nations, opened in Kyoto, Japan on December 1, 1997. Consistent with the spirit of the 1992 United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change, the intent of the Kyoto Convention was to negotiate a legally binding protocol to limit greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. On December 11, after ten days of tough negotiating, agreement was finally reached on a Protocol. The negotiating is by no means concluded on this matter. The parties will convene in Bonn in June for preparatory meetings and again in November in Buenos Aires for the fourth session of the Conference.
Compliance is currently optional for the developing countries.
The Senate has been sending messages to the President concerning the Kyoto global climate change treaty for months. However, he notes that there are no penalties for noncompliance and the developing countries are not required to participate. He is also convinced that many members are simply skeptical of the science behind the treaty. Wirth also predicted that the treaty will not be voted on by the Hill for some time and when it finally comes up for a vote, it will be ratified. Industry Response American industry is literally boiling over the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol.