The Kyoto protocol is an agreement that has the purpose of stabilizing the concentration of green house gases in the atmosphere. It was signed at the Rio de Janeiro earth summit in 1992 under the United Nations Convention on Climate Change. The protocol seeks to avoid a negative impact on climate change due to the action of men in a period of time that will not affect food availability or sustainable development in developing countries.

In 1997, the protocol countries came up with a plan to reduce 6 green house gases and formalized the agreement in Kyoto, Japan.

These gases are: carbon dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), and nitrate oxide (N2O). Industrial fluoride gases include: hydrofluorocarbons (HFC), perfluorocarbons (PFC), and sulfur bexafluoride (SF6).
 
Taking as a reference the emission levels as of 1990, the committed global average reduction was 5.2% on these GHG over the 2008 to 2012 period.

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