The European Council has taken steps to speed up the Doha Amendment to the Kyoto Protocol which they claim will take further steps in the fight against climate change.

The Kyoto Protocol is an international agreement linked to the United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. It sets out binding reduction targets for 37 industrialised countries and the EU in its first commitment period from 2008 to 2012.

The targets are an average of 5% emissions reduction compared to 1990 levels.

At the Doha climate change conference in 2012, all 192 Parties to the Protocol adopted the amendment, which created a second commitment period from 1 January 2013 to 31 December 2020.

The council approved the Doha Amendment including Iceland’s participation for the second commitment period and requested consent of the EU Parliament in order to adopt the decision on its conclusion.