because a number of major emitters were not required to make mandatory emission reductions and others were not signatories at all the protocol never covered more than about a third of global ghg emissions during its first commitment period annan acknowledged this when at the end of his second term he made the first substantive engagement by any secretarygeneral on the issue of climate change speaking at the twelfth meeting of the conference of the parties cop to the unfccc and the second cop serving as a meeting of the parties to the kyoto protocol cmp cop cmp in nairobi kenya in november he emphasized while the kyoto protocol is a crucial step forward that step is far too small