In the 20th century, the mean global temperature near the Earth’s surface rose
by 0.6 °C. There is now strong evidence that this global warming is attributable to the activities
of man in the last 50 years. In its Fourth Assessment Report of 2007, the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
projects a further increase in temperature by 1.1 – 6.4 °C until the end of the 21st century.
According to current estimates, this will have a serious impact on human life, e.g. sea-level rise,
further desertification and increase in extreme weather events such as storms, droughts or floods.
Human activities that contribute to climate change include in particular the burning of
fossil fuels and deforestation. These activities increase the content of carbon dioxide in the
Earth’s atmosphere, which is the greenhouse gas that is mainly responsible for the increase in
temperature on Earth. In order to put a limit on further warming near the Earth’s surface, carbon
dioxide emissions must be rigorously reduced. For this purpose, 182 countries have agreed on a
strategy to reduce greenhouse gas emissions under the Kyoto Protocol.
On 16 February 2005 the Kyoto-Protocol entered into force. The Protocol has been ratified by 182 countries and the European Community (as of October 2008). Under this agreement, 36 countries and the European Community are currently committed to limiting and/or reducing their emissions of greenhouse gases. This commitment applies in particular to the period from 2008 to 2012 when targets have to be achieved. Within the European Union countries have differentiated reduction targets for this period. Austria’s commitment is to reduce its annual emissions by 13 % below the levels of the reference year 1990. For hydrofluorocarbons, perfluorocarbons and sulphur hexafluoride Austria has chosen 1995 as a base year.
Fulfilment of the Kyoto commitment is facilitated by the so-called flexible mechanisms. Each country may achieve part of its reduction commitment by financing emission reduction projects in other countries. If these projects are carried out in countries that have an emissions reduction commitment, they are called Joint Implementation (JI) Projects. If such a project is implemented in developing or newly industrialising countries, it is referred to as Clean Development Mechanism (CDM). Another flexible mechanism is the trading of emission allowances, in short emissions trading.
Apart from national measures, the member states of the European Union implement so-called common and coordinated policies and measures to reduce emissions, which include the EU emissions trading scheme. Emissions trading within the EU already started on 1st January 2005 in order to gain experience with emissions trading before the beginning of the Kyoto commitment period in 2008.